Module 3.7 - 3.9 Quiz

Just before something scary happens in a horror film, they often play scary-sounding music. When I hear the music, I tense up in anticipation of the scary event. In this situation, the music serves as a(n)

• US.

• CS.

• UR.

• CR.

Answer explanation

(B) The music before a scary event in a horror movie serves as a CS. It is something we associate with a fear-inducing event (the US). In this example, preparing to be scared is the CR and the fear caused by the event in the movie is the UR.

The classical conditioning training procedure in which the US is presented before the CS is known as

• backward conditioning.

• aversive conditioning.

• simultaneous conditioning.

• delayed conditioning.

Answer explanation

(A) The classical conditioning training procedure in which the US is presented first is known as backward conditioning since, in most other procedures, the CS is presented first. The term aversive conditioning does not have anything to do with the order of the presentation of US and CS but rather indicates that the UR and CR are unpleasant. Simultaneous conditioning, as the name suggests, is when the CS and US are presented at the same time. Delayed conditioning is when the CS is presented first and overlaps the presentation of the US. In trace conditioning, the CS is presented first and the CS and US do not overlap. The US is then presented a

Tina likes to play with slugs, but she can find them by the shed only after it rains. On what kind of reinforcement schedule is Tina’s slug hunting?

• continuous

• fixed-interval

• fixed-ratio

• variable-interval

Answer explanation

(D) Tinaʼs slug hunting is rewarded on a variable-interval schedule. The passage of time is a key element in when she is reinforced because the slugs appear only after it rains. Since rain does not fall on a fixed schedule (e.g., every third day), she is on a VI schedule. If she were on a continuous schedule, she would find slugs whenever she looked. If the slugs appeared every three days, Tina would be on a fixed-interval schedule. If she needed to turn over three rocks to find a slug, she would be on a fixed-ratio schedule. If the number of rocks she needed to turn over varied, she would be on a variable-ratio schedule.

Which of the following is an example of a generalized reinforcer?

• chocolate cake

• water

• money

• applause

Answer explanation

(C) Money is a generalized reinforcer because it can be exchanged for so many things that it is reinforcing to virtually everybody. Chocolate cake (food) and water are examples of primary reinforcers, while applause and high grades are examples of secondary reinforcers

Try as you might, you are unable to teach your dog to do a somersault. He will roll around on the ground, but he refuses to execute the gymnastic move you desire because of

• equipotentiality.

• preparedness.

• instinctive drift.

• chaining.

Answer explanation

(C) Instinctive drift limits your pet’s gymnastic abilities. Instinctively, your dog will perform certain behaviors and will drift toward these rather than learning behaviors that go against his nature. Equipotentiality is the opposite position that asserts that any animal can be conditioned to do anything. Preparedness refers to a biological predisposition to learn some things more quickly than others. Preparedness explains why teaching a dog to fetch a stick is easier than teaching it to do a somersault. Chaining is when one has to perform a number of discrete steps in order to secure a reward.

Lily keeps poking Jared in Mr. Clayton’s third-grade class. Mr. Clayton tells Jared to ignore Lily. Mr. Clayton is hoping that ignoring Lily’s behavior will

• punish her.

• extinguish the behavior.

• negatively reinforce the behavior.

• cause Lily to generalize.

Answer explanation

Mr. Clayton is hoping that ignoring Lily’s behavior will extinguish the behavior. Something that is not reinforced is put onto an extinction schedule.

The table below describes the behaviors of a rat named Sniffy. The psychologist working with Sniffy was investigating how giving or taking away food pellets related to whether Sniffy stood on her hind legs or not. In each of the four conditions listed in the table, Sniffy received a food pellet or a food pellet was taken away, and Sniffy stood on her hind legs or she didn’t.

In the cell marked with the number 1, what kind of conditioning most likely took place?

• Negative reinforcement

• Positive reinforcement

• Negative punishment

• Positive punishment

Answer explanation

In the cell marked with the number 1, Sniffy received a food pellet and then performed the target behavior (standing on her hind legs). This is positive reinforcement—when an organism receives a stimulus and repeats a target behavior. Choices A, D, and E correspond to other cells in the table. Choice B, classical conditioning, describes a different kind of conditioning. It relates a neutral stimulus to a preexisting relationship to a stimulus that already elicits an “unconditioned” response. (Skill 1b)

A friend came to visit Dana and knocked on the door. After Dana opened the door, her dog Phinny saw the “stranger” and barked like crazy. This happened the next few times that a “stranger” knocked on Dana’s door. Now Phinny barks whenever she hears anything that sounds like someone is knocking on the door.

In this example, what is the unconditioned stimulus?

• Hearing a knock

• Barking

• Opening the door

• Seeing a stranger

Answer explanation

For many dogs, seeing a stranger will automatically cause barking, making it an unconditioned stimulus. Hearing a knock, choice A, was previously a neutral stimulus. A neutral stimulus is a stimulus that doesn’t automatically cause a specific response. Choice B, barking, is the response. At the beginning of the scenario, it was an unconditioned response. After several pairings of hearing a knock on the door and seeing a stranger, barking became a conditioned response to the knock on the door. Opening the door, choice C, is related to seeing a stranger. However, this option doesn’t describe any specific behavior Phinny does when a door opens. Choice E, generalization, is a term related to this example. Phinny is generalizing knocks on the door to anything that sounds like a knock. (Skill 1b)

A friend came to visit Dana and knocked on the door. After Dana opened the door, her dog Phinny saw the “stranger” and barked like crazy. This happened the next few times that a “stranger” knocked on Dana’s door. Now Phinny barks whenever she hears anything that sounds like someone is knocking on the door.

The scenario says, “Now Phinny barks whenever she hears anything that sounds like someone is knocking on the door.” This is an example of which of the following learning principles?

• Discrimination

• Spontaneous recovery

• Reinforcement

• Generalization

Answer explanation

Generalization occurs when any stimulus similar to the original conditioned stimulus elicits the conditioned response. In this case, Phinny is conditioned to bark (CR) at any stimulus similar to the knock on the door. Choice A, discrimination, occurs when an organism responds only to the original conditioned stimulus. In this case, if Phinny only barked at a knock on the door, and not other similar sounds, it would be an example of discrimination. Choice B, spontaneous recovery, occurs when an organism responds to a stimulus again after the response was extinct. For example, if Phinny had stopped barking to the sound of a knock on the door, but one day in response to a knock, Phinny barks again. Extinction of a conditioned response, choice C, happens when a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus. In Phinny’s case, her barking (CR) would stop (extinction) if she heard repeated knocks on the door (CS) unaccompanied by a “stranger” (US). Choice D, reinforcement, is an element of operant conditioning, not the classical conditioning scenario referred to in this question. (Skill 1b)

Professor Wilikins is demonstrating principles of learning to her class. She gently blows air into the eye of a student volunteer while saying the word “puff,” and the puff of air makes the student blink. After three pairings, the student blinks when Professor Wilikins says “puff” but does not blow any air toward the student. What psychological principle is Professor Wilikins demonstrating?

• Operant conditioning

• Semantic conditioning

• Latent learning

• Classical conditioning

Answer explanation

This scenario is an example of classical conditioning because there is a clear, unconditional relationship between the puff of air (unconditioned stimulus) and the eye blink (unconditioned response). The word “puff” (conditioned stimulus) eventually elicits the response of the eye blink (now a conditioned response). The example does not fit the operant conditioning model (choice A) because there is neither a reinforcement nor a punishment in the scenario. Choice B, semantic conditioning, is not a psychological term. Latent learning (choice C) and expectancy effect (choice D) are not relevant to this scenario. (Skill 1b