Discrete Practice Questions

Consult your online resources for additional practice.

1. Researchers repeatedly startle a participant with a loud buzzer. After some time, the participant stops being startled by the buzzer. If the researchers interrupt the study with the sound of pans banging together, which of the following would likely be observed?

   1. Increased startle response to the buzzer
   2. Decreased startle response to the buzzer
   3. No change in the response to the buzzer
   4. Generalization to previously nonaversive stimuli

2. Many pets will run toward the kitchen when they hear the sound of a can opener opening a can of pet food. The sound of the can opener is a(n):

   1. conditioned response.
   2. unconditioned response.
   3. conditioned stimulus.
   4. unconditioned stimulus.

3. A person suffers from food poisoning after eating a spoiled orange and later finds that the smell of lemon and other citrus fruits make her nauseated. This is an example of:

   1. acquisition.
   2. generalization.
   3. discrimination.
   4. negative reinforcement.

4. Which of the following processes would increase the likelihood of a behavior?

   1. Extinction
   2. Negative punishment
   3. Positive punishment
   4. Avoidance learning

5. A credit card company begins applying an interest rate to credit card accounts in response to late payments. This is an example of:

   1. positive reinforcement because the bank will now make more money.
   2. negative reinforcement because the bank is adding a fee to motivate the person to pay their bills.
   3. positive punishment because the bank is adding a fee to reduce the incidence of late payments.
   4. negative punishment because the bank is decreasing the amount the person has to pay.

6. A rat is trained to press a lever to obtain food under a fixed-interval schedule. Which of the following behaviors would the rat most likely exhibit?

   1. Pressing the lever continuously whenever it is hungry.
   2. Pressing the lever exactly once and waiting for the food pellet before pressing it again.
   3. Pressing the lever slowly at first, but with increasing frequency as the end of the interval approaches.
   4. None of the above; the association formed by fixed-interval schedules is too weak to increase behavior.

7. Which of the following is true of teaching an animal a complicated, multistage behavior?

   1. The individual parts of the behavior should not run counter to the animal’s natural instincts.
   2. The behaviors must be tied to a food reward of some kind.
   3. Rewarding individual parts of the behavior on their own interferes with reinforcement of the entire behavior.
   1. I only
   2. I and III only
   3. II and III only
   4. I, II, and III

8. Which of the following is true of controlled processing?

   1. It is the means through which information enters short-term memory.
   2. Information that requires controlled processing cannot become automatic.
   3. It always requires active attention to the information being encoded.
   4. Most information we can later recall is encoded using controlled processing.

9. Which of the following methods of encoding is most conducive to later recall?

   1. Semantic
   2. Visual
   3. Iconic
   4. Acoustic

10. Which of the following would be most likely to be stored in long-term memory?

    1. A list of nonsense words
    2. A list of the dates of birth of 15 randomly selected people
    3. A list of the names of musicians in an individual’s favorite bands
    4. A list of the dates of battles in the Peloponnesian War

11. An individual memorizes a shopping list by associating each item with an image that corresponds with a number. This individual is using which of the following mnemonics?

    1. Clustering
    2. Method of loci
    3. Elaborative rehearsal
    4. Peg-words

12. A researcher uses a partial-report procedure after presenting participants with an array of nine numbers for a fraction of a second. Which of the following is the most likely result of this procedure?

    1. The participants will be able to recall any of the rows or columns in great detail but only immediately after presentation.
    2. The participants will only be able to recall the first few numbers in the array due to the serial position effect.
    3. The participants will be able to recall approximately seven of the numbers for a few seconds following presentation of the stimulus.
    4. The participants will not be able to recall any of the numbers verbally, but will be able to draw the full array under hypnosis.

13. Which of the following is an example of a semantic memory?

    1. Having the ability to drive a car
    2. Knowing the parts of a car engine
    3. Remembering the experience of learning to drive
    4. Associating a car with other vehicles in a semantic network

14. Which of the following is an example of a circumstance that could cause a state-dependent recall effect?

    1. The individual is outside on a rainy day.
    2. The individual is high on marijuana.
    3. The individual is in a manic episode.
    1. I only
    2. III only
    3. II and III only
    4. I, II, and III

15. Which of the following would elderly individuals be most likely to have trouble recalling?

    1. The circumstances of meeting his or her significant other in college
    2. A doctor’s appointment scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
    3. The names of the characters in his or her favorite television show
    4. That a library book needs to be returned when passing by the library on a morning walk