Question 1

When competitive swimmers stayed focused on their practice techniques during swim team practice, they were rewarded by their coach playing popular music over the loudspeakers in the pool area. When they were inattentive or started ''goofing off,'' the coach played recordings of gloomy, off-key organ music. In this example, the coach is using _____ to help his swimmers stay focused.

Accepted Answer

The coach is using behavior modification, a technique based on operant conditioning principles, where rewards (popular music) are used to reinforce desired behavior (staying focused) and undesirable behavior (goofing off) is discouraged with an unpleasant stimulus (gloomy, off-key organ music).

Question 2

Edward C. Tolman would have most likely made which of the following statements?

Accepted Answer

Edward C. Tolman was a behaviorist who believed that animals develop mental representations or cognitive maps of their environment, which allows them to learn and navigate through mazes efficiently. This concept is known as Tolman's cognitive map theory. Therefore, option D is the most likely statement Tolman would have made. Option A is incorrect because Tolman believed that animals are capable of learning, and not just humans. Option B may be true but does not capture Tolman's central idea about the importance of cognitive maps. Option C may also be relevant to Tolman's views, but again, it does not specifically address his cognitive map theory.

Question 3

Roy is having trouble passing his calculus course. No matter how hard he studies, he cannot seem to pass a calculus test. Eventually, Roy gives up and stops studying or even coming to calculus class. Roy's behavior can be explained as an example of:

Accepted Answer

Roy's behavior is an example of learned helplessness, as he has given up trying to succeed in his calculus course despite his initial efforts. This is a common phenomenon observed in situations where individuals perceive that their actions do not lead to desired outcomes or that they lack control over the situation.

Question 4

According to psychologist Edward C. Tolman, learning that is not immediately demonstrated in overt behavior is termed:

Accepted Answer

According to Tolman, latent learning occurs when learning has taken place but is not immediately demonstrated in behavior. This means that the knowledge or understanding of the learning is present in the individual, but they have not yet demonstrated it in their actions or behavior. Choices A, B, and D are unrelated to Tolman's concept of latent learning.

Question 5

Edward C. Tolman's concept of latent learning helps to demonstrate that:

Accepted Answer

Tolman's concept of latent learning suggests that learning can occur without any immediate or apparent reinforcement and can be demonstrated later when a reward is introduced. This indicates that rewards affect the performance of what has already been learned rather than the learning process itself.

Question 6

If exposure to inescapable and uncontrollable aversive events produces passive behavior, the response of passivity is termed:

Accepted Answer

The response of passivity in the face of inescapable and uncontrollable aversive events is known as learned helplessness. It is a phenomenon where a person or animal learns that they have no control over the negative situations they are facing and therefore becomes passive and gives up trying to escape or avoid the situation. This response can occur even when escape or avoidance is possible, leading to a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.

Question 7

A shuttlebox was used by:

Accepted Answer

The shuttlebox was used by Martin Seligman and Steven Maier to demonstrate the phenomenon of learned helplessness. In this experiment, dogs were placed in a shuttlebox, and one side of the box delivered an electric shock while the other side did not. Initially, the dogs would jump to the non-shocking side to escape the shock. However, after repeated exposure to the electric shock, the dogs stopped trying to escape and instead lay down passively, indicating that they had learned to be helpless in the face of the aversive stimulus. This experiment became a classic in the field of psychology and helped researchers understand the concept of learned helplessness.

Question 8

_____ began his research career by studying learned helplessness in dogs, and later, in humans. He applied his findings to psychological problems in humans, including major depressive disorder, and he investigated why some people succumb to learned helplessness while others persist in the face of obstacles.

Accepted Answer

Martin Seligman is known for his research on learned helplessness, initially studying it in dogs and later applying his findings to humans. He also investigated why some people are more resilient than others in the face of obstacles.

Question 9

The psychologists and teachers at the Center for Children with Special Needs have designed an elaborate program that teaches the children how to feed themselves, brush their teeth, and so forth using a carefully designed program of shaping and reinforcement. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The given scenario describes a program based on behavior modification, which is the use of operant conditioning techniques such as shaping and reinforcement to modify behavior. It involves identifying desired behaviors, breaking them down into smaller steps, and reinforcing each step towards achieving the desired behavior.

Question 10

The text describes the conditioning of learned helplessness in dogs. According to the text discussion, why did the dogs display learned helplessness?

Accepted Answer

The text states that the dogs displayed learned helplessness because they had developed the cognitive expectation that there was nothing they could do to escape or change their environment. This expectation was created by experiencing an uncontrollable event (electric shock) repeatedly, until the dogs gave up trying to escape. The dogs were not reinforced for passive behavior (A) and all other operant responses were not necessarily punished (B). It is not mentioned that the behavior they needed to learn was too complex for dogs to perform (D).

Question 11

Rats are allowed to wander through a maze for several days with no food reward at the end of it. On the tenth day, a food reward is placed at the end of the maze. Which of the following results would provide evidence for latent learning?

Accepted Answer

This scenario describes the phenomenon of latent learning, where the rats do not show any improvement in their behavior during days 1-10, but suddenly perform much better on day 11 when a food reward is introduced. Option A is not indicative of latent learning as there is no improvement in behavior before or after the food reward. Option B describes normal learning where performance improves gradually over time. Option D describes the opposite of learning, where performance deteriorates over time.

Question 12

Road construction prevents you from getting to the shopping mall using the route that you always travel. You think about the situation for a moment and then come up with a different route to take. To figure out this alternative route, you are using what Tolman referred to as:

Accepted Answer

Tolman's concept of a cognitive map refers to our mental representation of the physical environment and the relationships between different locations. In this scenario, the individual is using their cognitive map to navigate from their usual route to an alternative route. Biological preparedness refers to our innate tendency to learn certain associations easily (e.g. fear of spiders), stimulus generalization refers to applying learned responses to similar stimuli, and instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to innate behaviors rather than learned behaviors. None of these concepts are relevant to the scenario described.

Question 13

One of Tolman's classic research studies involved three groups of rats running mazes for several days. The rats in Group 1 received a food reward at the end of the maze every time they ran the maze. The rats in Group 2 never received a food reward in the maze. In contrast, the rats in Group 3 did not receive a food reward at the end of the maze until the eleventh day of the study. What behavior did the rats in Group 2 and Group 3 display on day 12?

Accepted Answer

The rats in Group 2 did not receive any reinforcement and therefore did not learn the layout of the maze. The rats in Group 3 did not receive reinforcement until the eleventh day, but on the twelfth day, they showed a sharp decrease in errors, indicating that they had learned the layout of the maze without reinforcement. This suggests that learning can occur without immediate reinforcement, and that cognitive processes such as mental mapping play a role in learning.

Question 14

The phenomenon called learned helplessness was identified by two young psychology graduate students named:

Accepted Answer

Learned helplessness was identified by Martin Seligman and Stephen Maier in experiments with dogs in the 1960s.

Question 15

In applying conditioning principles in the workplace, a large retailer allowed employees to choose their own reinforcers. A casual dress code and flexible work hours proved to be effective in increasing productivity. The employer has used _____ to improve employee performance.

Accepted Answer

The employer has used behavior modification, which involves the use of reinforcement to increase desired behaviors and decrease undesired behaviors. Allowing employees to choose their own reinforcers, such as a casual dress code and flexible work hours, is an example of positive reinforcement. The positive reinforcement of these choices has led to increased productivity in the workplace. Classical conditioning involves pairing a neutral stimulus with a natural or automatic response, higher order conditioning involves pairing a previously conditioned stimulus with a new stimulus to create a conditioned response, and the partial reinforcement effect is a phenomenon in which behaviors that are reinforced intermittently are more resistant to extinction than behaviors reinforced every time. None of these principles are directly relevant to the scenario given.

Question 16

Which learning researcher believed that operant conditioning involved an organism learning ''what leads to what,'' or the cognitive expectation that a particular consequence would follow a particular behavior?

Accepted Answer

Edward C. Tolman emphasized that operant conditioning involved the learning of cognitive expectancies, or an organism's expectation of a particular consequence following a particular behavior.

Question 17

Helen always drives down Sheridan Avenue to go to the college campus. One morning Helen discovers that Sheridan Avenue is closed at 23rd Street because of flooding. Helen immediately takes a different route to the campus. How would psychologist Edward Tolman explain Helen's behavior?

Accepted Answer

Edward Tolman proposed the theory of cognitive maps, which suggests that humans and animals organize their environment in the form of mental maps. Helen's immediate decision to take a different route suggests that she had formed a cognitive map of the area and was able to navigate based on her knowledge of the area's layout, even when faced with an unexpected obstacle.

Question 18

Psychologist Edward C. Tolman's studies with rats in mazes led him to conclude that:

Accepted Answer

Tolman's studies led him to conclude that reinforcement is not necessary for learning to occur. He proposed that learning involves forming cognitive maps, or mental representations of the environment, that do not always rely on reinforcement to develop.

Question 19

The application of learning principles to help people learn more effective or adaptive behaviors is called:

Accepted Answer

Behavior modification is the application of learning principles, such as operant and classical conditioning, to help people learn more effective or adaptive behaviors. Operant training and discrimination training are specific techniques within behavior modification, and classical conditioning is another learning principle that may be used in behavior modification, but A is the most general and all-encompassing answer.

Question 20

Elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1996, _____ launched a new movement called positive psychology, which would emphasize research on human strengths, rather than human problems.

Accepted Answer

Martin Seligman is credited with launching the positive psychology movement while serving as president of the American Psychological Association in 1996. He emphasized research on human strengths rather than human problems, focusing on positive emotions, relationships, and experiences.

Quiz 5: Section 2: Learning