5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2010-2011 Edition (35 page)

(A) pizza

(B) stomach virus

(C) mushrooms

(D) headache

(E) aversion to mushrooms

8.
If a previous experience has given your pet the expectancy that nothing it does will prevent an aversive stimulus from occurring, it will likely

(A) be motivated to seek comfort from you

(B) experience learned helplessness

(C) model the behavior of other pets in hopes of avoiding it

(D) seek out challenges like this in the future to disprove the expectation

(E) engage in random behaviors until one is successful in removing the stimulus

9.
While readying to take a free-throw shot, you suddenly arrive at the answer to a chemistry problem you’d been working on several hours before. This is an example of

(A) insight

(B) backward conditioning

(C) latent learning

(D) discrimination

(E) the Premack Principle

10.
If the trainer conditions the pigeon to peck at a red circle and then only gives him a reward if he pecks at the green circle when both a red and green circle appear, the pigeon is demonstrating

(A) matching-to-sample generalization

(B) abstract learning

(C) intrinsic motivation

(D) insight

(E) modeling

11.
Latent learning is best described by which of the following?

(A) innate responses of an organism preventing new learning and associations

(B) unconscious meaning that is attributed to new response patterns

(C) response patterns that become extinguished gradually over time

(D) delayed responses that occur when new stimuli are paired with familiar ones

(E) learning that occurs in the absence of rewards

12.
Rats were more likely to learn an aversion to bright lights and noise with water if they were associated with electric shocks rather than with flavors or poisoned food. This illustrates

(A) insight

(B) preparedness

(C) extinction

(D) observational learning

(E) generalization

13.
Which of the following responses is
not
learned through operant conditioning?

(A) a rat learning to press a bar to get food

(B) dogs jumping over a hurdle to avoid electric shock

(C) fish swimming to the top of the tank when a light goes on

(D) pigeons learning to turn in circles for a reward

(E) studying hard for good grades on tests

14.
Spontaneous recovery refers to the

(A) reacquisition of a previously learned behavior

(B) reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after a rest period

(C) return of a behavior after punishment has ended

(D) tendency of newly acquired responses to be intermittent at first

(E) organism’s tendency to forget previously learned responses, but to relearn them more quickly during a second training period

1. C—
The tuning fork is the CS and salivation is the CR. Pavlov’s dog learned to salivate to the tuning fork.

2. B—
The definition of shaping is reinforcing behaviors that get closer and closer to the goal.

3. E—
Variable interval is correct. John doesn’t know when a fish will be on his line. Catching fish is unrelated to the number of times he pulls in his line, but rather to
when
he pulls in his line.

4. C—
Tokens serve as secondary reinforcers the chimps learned to respond to positively. They were connected with the primary reinforcer grapes.

5. C—
Greg transferred from the class to avoid having to see his old girlfriend. Avoidance is one type of negative reinforcement that takes away something aversive.

6. B—
Watson and Raynor’s experiment with Little Albert showed emotional learning and phobias may be learned through classical conditioning.

7. B—
The stomach virus is the UCS that automatically caused him to get sick. The mushrooms are the CS which he learned to avoid because of the association with the virus that caused his sickness.

8. B—
Learned helplessness occurs when an organism has the experience that nothing it does will prevent an aversive stimulus from occurring.

9. A—
Insight learning is the sudden appearance of a solution to a problem.

10. B—
The animal showed understanding of a concept when it was able to tell the difference between the red and green circles, and only pecked at the green circle to get a reward.

11. E—
Latent learning is defined as learning in the absence of rewards.

12. B—
The rats were biologically prepared to associate two external events, like shock and the lights and sounds together.

13. C—
The fish swimming to the top of the tank when the light goes on shows classical conditioning.

14. B—
Spontaneous recovery occurs when a conditioned response is extinguished, but later reappears when the CS is present again without retraining.

Learning
—a relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of experience (nurture).

Classical conditioning
—learning which takes place when two or more stimuli are presented together; an unconditioned stimulus is paired repeatedly with a neutral stimulus until it acquires the capacity to elicit a similar response. The subject learns to give a response it already knows to a new stimulus.

•
Stimulus
—a change in the environment that elicits (brings about) a response.

•
Neutral stimulus (NS)
—a stimulus that initially does not elicit a response.

•
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS or US)
reflexively, or automatically, brings about the unconditioned response.

•
Unconditioned response (UCR or UR)
—an automatic, involuntary reaction to an unconditioned stimulus.

•
Conditioned stimulus (CS)
—a neutral stimulus (NS) at first, but when paired with the UCS, it elicits the conditioned response (CR).

•
Acquisition
—in classical conditioning, learning to give a known response to a new stimulus, the neutral stimulus

Delayed conditioning
—ideal training—NS precedes UCS; briefly overlaps.

Simultaneous conditioning
—NS and UCS paired together at same time.

Trace conditioning
—NS presented first, removed, then the UCS is presented.

Backward conditioning
—UCS presented first and NS follows.

Conditioned taste aversion
—an intense dislike and avoidance of a food because of its association with an unpleasant or painful stimulus through backward conditioning.

Temporal conditioning
—time serves as the NS.

•
Extinction
—repeatedly presenting a CS without a UCS leads to return of NS.

•
Spontaneous recovery
—after extinction, and without training, the previous CS suddenly elicits the CR again temporarily.

•
Generalization
—stimuli similar to the CS also elicit the CR without training.

•
Discrimination
—the ability to tell the difference between stimuli so that only the CS elicits the CR.

•
Higher-order conditioning
—classical conditioning in which a well-learned CS is paired with an NS to produce a CR to the NS.

Aversive conditioning
—learning involving an unpleasant or harmful stimulus or reinforcer.

Avoidance
behavior takes away the unpleasant stimulus before it begins.
Escape
behavior takes away the unpleasant stimulus after it has already started.

Instrumental learning
—associative learning in which a behavior becomes more or less probable depending on its consequences.

Law of Effect
—behaviors followed by positive consequences are strengthened while behaviors followed by annoying or negative consequences are weakened.

Operant conditioning
—learning that occurs when an active learner performs certain voluntary behavior and the consequences of the behavior (pleasant or unpleasant) determine the likelihood of its recurrence.

•
Positive reinforcement
—a rewarding consequence that follows a voluntary behavior thereby increasing the probability the behavior will be repeated.

•
Primary reinforcer
—something that is biologically important and, thus, rewarding.

•
Secondary reinforcer
—something rewarding because it is associated with a primary reinforcer.

•
Generalized reinforcer
—secondary reinforcer associated with a number of different primary reinforcers.

•
Premack principle
—a more probable behavior can be used as a reinforcer for a less probable one.

•
Negative reinforcement
—removal of an aversive consequence that follows a voluntary behavior thereby increasing the probability the behavior will be repeated; two types are escape and avoidance.

•
Punishment
—an aversive consequence that follows a voluntary behavior thereby decreasing the probability the behavior will be repeated.

•
Omission training
—removal of a rewarding consequence that follows a voluntary behavior thereby decreasing the probability the behavior will be repeated.

•
Shaping
—positively reinforcing closer and closer approximations of a desired behavior to teach a new behavior.

•
Chaining
establishes a specific sequence of behaviors by initially positively reinforcing each behavior in a desired sequence, then later rewarding only the completed sequence.

A reinforcement schedule states how and when reinforcers will be given to the learner.

•
Continuous reinforcement
—schedule that provides reinforcement following the particular behavior every time it is emitted; best for acquisition of a new behavior.

•
Partial reinforcement or intermittent schedule
—occasional reinforcement of a particular behavior; produces responding that is more resistant to extinction.

•
Fixed ratio
—reinforcement of a particular behavior after a specific number of responses.

•
Fixed interval
—reinforcement of the first particular response made after a specific length of time.

•
Variable ratio
—reinforcement of a particular behavior after a number of responses that changes at random around an average number.

•
Variable interval
—reinforcement of the first particular response made after a length of time that changes at random around an average time period.

Superstitious behaviors
can result from unintended reinforcement of unimportant behavior.

Behavior modification
—a field that applies the behavioral approach scientifically to solve problems (applied behavior analysis).

Token economy
—operant training system that uses secondary reinforcers to increase appropriate behavior; learners can exchange secondary reinforcers for desired rewards.

(Biological) Preparedness
—predisposition to easily learn behaviors related to survival of the species.

Instinctive drift
—a conditioned response that moves toward the natural behavior of the organism.

Cognitivists interpret classical and operant conditioning differently from behaviorists.

• Cognitivists reject Pavlov’s
contiguity
theory that classical conditioning is based on the association in time of the CS prior to the UCS.

• Cognitivist Richard Rescorla’s
contingency
theory says that the key to classical conditioning is how well the CS predicts the appearance of the UCS.

•
Latent learning
—learning in the absence of rewards.

•
Insight
—the sudden appearance of an answer or solution to a problem.

•
Observational learning
—learning that occurs by watching the behavior of a model.

IN THIS CHAPTER

Summary:
Do you remember how classical conditioning compares with operant conditioning? In order to profit from what you learn, you need to remember it—information from sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and even skin sensations needs to be translated into codes that your brain can store and you can retrieve.
Memory
is your capacity to register, store, and recover information over time, or more simply, the persistence of learning over time. Your memory can be affected by how well you focus your attention, your motivation, how much you practice, your state of consciousness when you learn something and your state of consciousness when you recall it, and interference from other events and experiences. Cognitive psychologists study
cognition
, all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering information.