UNIT VI REVIEW

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS TO REMEMBER

1. learning, p. 270
2. habituation, p. 271
3. associative learning, p. 271
4. stimulus, p. 271
5. respondent behavior, p. 271
6. operant behavior, p. 271
7. cognitive learning, p. 272
8. classical conditioning, p. 272
9. behaviorism, p. 272
10. neutral stimulus (NS), p. 273
11. unconditioned response (UR), p. 274
12. unconditioned stimulus (US), p. 274
13. conditioned response (CR), p. 274
14. conditioned stimulus (CS), p. 274
15. acquisition, p. 275
16. higher-order conditioning, p. 276
17. extinction, p. 276
18. spontaneous recovery, p. 276
19. generalization, p. 276
20. discrimination, p. 277
21. operant conditioning, p. 283
22. law of effect, p. 283
23. operant chamber, p. 284
24. reinforcement, p. 284
25. shaping, p. 284
26. discriminative stimulus, p. 285
27. positive reinforcement, p. 285
28. negative reinforcement, p. 285
29. primary reinforcer, p. 286
30. conditioned reinforcer, p. 286
31. reinforcement schedule, p. 287
32. continuous reinforcement schedule, p. 287
33. partial (intermittent) reinforcement schedule, p. 287
34. fixed-ratio schedule, p. 288
35. variable-ratio schedule, p. 288
36. fixed-interval schedule, p. 288
37. variable-interval schedule, p. 288
38. punishment, p. 289
39. biofeedback, p. 296
40. preparedness, p. 300
41. instinctive drift, p. 303
42. cognitive map, p. 304
43. latent learning, p. 304
44. insight, p. 304
45. intrinsic motivation, p. 305
46. extrinsic motivation, p. 305
47. problem-focused coping, p. 306
48. emotion-focused coping, p. 306
49. personal control, p. 306
50. learned helplessness, p. 307
51. external locus of control, p. 309
52. internal locus of control, p. 309
53. self-control, p. 309
54. observational learning, p. 312
55. modeling, p. 312
56. mirror neurons, p. 313
57. prosocial behavior, p. 315

KEY CONTRIBUTORS TO REMEMBER

Ivan Pavlov, p. 272

John B. Watson, p. 272

B. F. Skinner, p. 283

Edward L. Thorndike, p. 283

John Garcia, p. 301

Robert Rescorla, p. 303

Edward C. Tolman, p. 304

Albert Bandura, p. 312

AP^® EXAM PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Which of the following most accurately describes an impact of punishment?
   1. Punishment is a good way to increase a behavior, as long as it is not used too frequently.
   2. Punishment may create problems in the short term but rarely produces long-term side effects.
   3. Punishment can be effective at stopping specific behaviors quickly.
   4. Punishment typically results in an increase of a behavior caused by the removal of an aversive stimulus.
   5. Punishment should never be used (in the opinion of most psychologists), because the damage it causes can never be repaired.
2. Which of the following is an application of shaping?
   1. A mother who wants her daughter to hit a baseball first praises her for holding a bat, then for swinging it, and then for hitting the ball.
   2. A pigeon pecks a disk 25 times for an opportunity to receive a food reinforcement.
   3. A rat presses a bar when a green light is on but not when a red light is on.
   4. A rat gradually stops pressing a bar when it no longer receives a food reinforcement.
   5. A gambler continues to play a slot machine, even though he has won nothing on his last 20 plays, and he has lost a significant amount of money.
3. What is one of the principal functions of mirror neurons?
   1. To allow an organism to replace an unconditioned response with a conditioned response
   2. To help produce intrinsic motivation in some children
   3. To be the mechanism by which the brain accomplishes observational learning
   4. To allow an organism to react differently to various schedules of reinforcement
   5. To explain why modeling prosocial behavior is more effective than modeling antisocial behavior
4. Which of the following illustrates generalization?
   1. A rabbit that has been conditioned to blink to a tone also blinks when a different tone is sounded.
   2. A dog salivates to a tone but not to a buzzer.
   3. A light is turned on repeatedly until a rat stops flexing its paw when it’s turned on.
   4. A pigeon whose disk-pecking response has been extinguished is placed in a Skinner box three hours later and begins pecking the disk again.
   5. A child is startled when the doorbell rings.
5. What did Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiments demonstrate?
   1. Children are likely to imitate the behavior of adults.
   2. There may be a negative correlation between televised violence and aggressive behavior.
   3. Children are more likely to copy what adults say than what adults do.
   4. Allowing children to watch too much television is detrimental to their development.
   5. Observational learning can explain the development of fears in children.
6. What did Robert Rescorla and Allan Wagner’s experiments establish?
   1. That the acquisition of a CR depends on pairing the CS and the US
   2. That different species respond differently to classical conditioning situations
   3. The current belief that classical conditioning is really a form of operant conditioning
   4. That mirror neurons form the biological basis of classical conditioning
   5. The importance of cognitive factors in classical conditioning
7. Which of the following best demonstrates the law of effect?
   1. Tommy keeps asking Josie to the prom even though she has said no several times.
   2. Gloria refuses to make her bed and is grounded.
   3. A dog whines at the door and is let out so later she whines again.
   4. A baseball player drops a ball and is cut from the team.
   5. A dancer chooses a costume based on what her friends are wearing.
8. Which of the following processes would produce the acquisition of a conditioned response?
   1. Repeatedly present an unconditioned response.
   2. Administer the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus.
   3. Make sure that the conditioned stimulus comes at least one minute before the unconditioned stimulus.
   4. Pair a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus several times.
   5. Present the conditioned stimulus until it starts to produce an unconditioned response.
9. An organism responds to a 10-Hz tone but not to a 25-Hz tone, demonstrating the concept of
   1. generalization.
   2. a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement.
   3. a fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement.
   4. discrimination.
   5. positive reinforcement.
10. A student studies diligently to avoid the bad feelings associated with a previously low grade on a test. In this case, the studying behavior is being strengthened because of what kind of reinforcement?
    1. Positive reinforcement
    2. Negative reinforcement
    3. Delayed reinforcement
    4. Primary reinforcement
    5. Conditioned reinforcement
11. Taste aversion studies lead researchers to which of the following conclusions?
    1. Taste is the most fundamental of the senses.
    2. Animals must watch another animal have a taste reaction before they exhibit the aversion.
    3. Animals must evaluate a situation cognitively before taste aversion develops.
    4. Taste aversion is a universal survival mechanism.
    5. A US must occur within seconds of a CS for conditioning to occur.
12. Mary checks her phone every 30 minutes for incoming text messages, but she finds messages only some of the time. Her behavior is being maintained by what kind of reinforcement schedule?
    1. Fixed-interval
    2. Variable-interval
    3. Variable-ratio
    4. Fixed-ratio
    5. Continuous
13. After being conditioned to salivate to the sound of a tone that had been paired with food, a dog stops salivating when the tone is repeatedly presented without the food. After a few weeks, the dog hears the tone and starts salivating again. Which of the following best explains the dogs renewed salivation?
    1. Spontaneous recovery
    2. Extinction
    3. Generalization
    4. Discrimination
    5. Acquisition
14. Latent learning is evidence for which of these conclusions?
    1. Punishment is an ineffective means of controlling behavior.
    2. Negative reinforcement should be avoided when possible.
    3. Cognition plays an important role in operant conditioning.
    4. Conditioned reinforcers are more effective than primary reinforcers.
    5. Shaping is usually not necessary for operant conditioning.
15. Classical and operant conditioning are based on the principles of which psychological perspective?
    1. Cognitive
    2. Biological
    3. Behavioral
    4. Evolutionary
    5. Humanistic
16. Jazz is determined to quit drinking and enters a therapy program. The program places a nausea-inducing drug into each drink she takes. After a few weeks, the sight or thought of a drink makes Jazz sick. Her sickness as a result of the drug is a(n)
    1. US.
    2. UR.
    3. NS.
    4. CS.
    5. CR.
17. Review the scenario in Question 16. The drug that makes her sick is a(n)
    1. US.
    2. UR.
    3. NS.
    4. CS.
    5. CR.
18. An employee at a shoe store is paid $10 for each pair that he sells. If he does not sell any shoes, he does not get paid. His paycheck is based on which of the following schedules of reinforcement?
    1. Variable ratio
    2. Fixed interval
    3. Fixed ratio
    4. Variable interval
    5. Spontaneous
19. An employee at the store next door gets paid every Friday, no matter how many pairs of shoes she sells. Her paycheck is based on which of the following schedules of reinforcement?
    1. Variable ratio
    2. Fixed interval
    3. Fixed ratio
    4. Variable interval
    5. Spontaneous
20. Which of the following statements is true?
    1. Positive punishment continues a behavior; negative punishment discontinues a behavior.
    2. Positive reinforcement continues a behavior; negative reinforcement discontinues a behavior.
    3. Positive punishment discontinues a behavior; negative punishment continues a behavior.
    4. Positive punishment continues a behavior; positive reinforcement continues a behavior.
    5. Positive reinforcement continues a behavior; negative reinforcement continues a behavior.

Free-Response Questions

1. Briefly explain how the concepts below could be used to help a child stop throwing temper tantrums.
   • Extinction (operant conditioning)
   • Positive reinforcement
   • Modeling
   • Negative reinforcement
   • Shaping
   • Extinction (classical conditioning)

Rubric for Free Response Question 1

1 point: Extinction (operant conditioning) The child might be throwing a temper tantrum because that behavior is being reinforced (for example, it gains desired attention from a parent). Extinction could be used to stop the temper tantrum by removing the reinforcement. Without the reinforcement, eventually the behavior (tantrums) should decrease. Page 297

1 point: Positive reinforcement A positive reinforcer (such as reading a favorite book) could be used to encourage a behavior other than temper tantrums. The child could be given the positive reinforcement after a prosocial behavior, such as sharing a toy with a friend instead of throwing a tantrum. Pages 285–287

1 point: Modeling The child might learn to avoid temper tantrums through modeling or observational learning. A parent or other adult could show positive behaviors when disappointed, and the child might imitate this behavior. Pages 315–318

1 point: Negative reinforcement Negative reinforcement occurs when an aversive stimulus is removed, and this removal reinforces an aversive behavior. In this situation, a parent or adult could sit the child on a “time-out” seat as soon as the temper tantrum begins. The child could leave the time out seat as soon as she or he stops crying. Release from the time out seat could reinforce not crying, and help to stop the temper tantrums. Pages 285–287

1 point: Shaping A parent or other adult could gradually shape the child’s negative behavior toward desired behaviors by rewarding successive approximations. For example, a child could first be rewarded for crying more quietly during a tantrum, then for stopping yelling, then for avoiding the tantrum completely. Pages 284–285

1 point: Extinction (classical conditioning) In the context of classical conditioning, a behavior becomes extinct because a neutral stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus. For example, a child might have been classically conditioned to throw a tantrum whenever the child’s brother was present, because the brother always pinched the child. The tantrums could be made extinct by convincing the brother to stop the pinching. The conditioned stimulus (the brother) is presented to the child without the unconditioned stimulus (the pinching). After repeated pairings, the conditioned response of the tantrum should become extinct. Page 276

2. Martin is a sixth-grade teacher who feels he is not able to connect with some of his students. Several of them have had academic problems in the past and although Martin feels that they can do the work, he believes that these students have given up. Explain how Martin could use each of these concepts to learn how best to help his students succeed.
   • External locus of control
   • Self-control
   • Learned helplessness
   • Intrinsic motivation

(4 points)

3. Researchers investigating conditioning throughout the history of psychology reached very different conclusions about how humans learn behaviors. Explain how these theorists might explain this example of behavior and response: A child cries when she sees a large pile of peas on her dinner plate.
   • Edward L. Thorndike
   • B. F. Skinner
   • Ivan Pavlov
   • Albert Bandura

(4 points)