AP Psychology Unit 4 Review Questions - Learning & Conditioning

A researcher studying memory plays a specific musical tone before presenting a list of words to memorize. After several trials, participants show increased alertness when they hear the tone, even before the words appear. In this scenario, the increased alertness is the:

• Unconditioned stimulus

• Unconditioned response

• Conditioned stimulus

• Conditioned response

Which of the following scenarios best demonstrates negative reinforcement?

• A student receives extra credit for completing optional assignments

• An employee arrives on time to work to avoid a written warning

• A child loses video game privileges for not completing homework

• A driver receives a speeding ticket for exceeding the speed limit

A basketball player makes approximately 60% of free throws during practice but only 40% during games. According to learning theory, what process best explains this phenomenon?

• Extinction

• Stimulus discrimination

• Generalization

• Latent learning

In which reinforcement schedule would a behavior be MOST resistant to extinction?

• Fixed ratio

• Fixed interval

• Variable ratio

• Continuous reinforcement

A therapist works with a client who has a phobia of elevators. The therapist gradually exposes the client to elevator-related stimuli, starting with pictures, then videos, then standing near an elevator, and finally riding one. This therapeutic approach primarily relies on:

• Positive punishment

• Successive approximations

• Spontaneous recovery

• Instinctive drift

A laboratory rat learns to navigate a maze but receives no reinforcement during training. Later, when food is introduced at the maze's end, the rat immediately demonstrates knowledge of the correct path. This best illustrates:

• Insight learning

• Latent learning

• Observational learning

• Classical conditioning

After repeatedly smelling a particular perfume before becoming nauseous from chemotherapy, a patient now feels queasy when encountering that scent in other contexts. This illustrates the principle of:

• Biological preparedness

• Stimulus generalization

• Second-order conditioning

• Negative punishment

A factory pays workers based on the number of units they complete, with payment occurring after every 50 units. This compensation system represents which schedule of reinforcement?

• Fixed interval

• Variable interval

• Fixed ratio

• Variable ratio

Which concept explains why a single instance of food poisoning can create a lasting aversion to a particular food, even though similar one-trial learning rarely occurs with other types of stimuli?

• Instinctive drift

• Biological preparedness

• The partial reinforcement effect

• Stimulus discrimination

A young child watches an older sibling receive praise for making their bed each morning. The child begins making their own bed without being directly reinforced. This behavior change is best explained by:

• Classical conditioning

• Operant conditioning

• Observational learning

• Spontaneous recovery