Unit 2: Learning - Practice Quiz

1 What is learning?

2 Which feature is most closely associated with learning?

3 Which approach emphasizes observable changes in behavior?

4 Which theory explains learning as a connection between a stimulus and a response?

5 Classical conditioning was famously studied by which psychologist?

6 In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus after being paired with what?

7 What is extinction in classical conditioning?

8 Operant conditioning focuses mainly on how behavior is influenced by what?

9 Who is strongly associated with the study of operant conditioning?

10 What does positive reinforcement do?

11 What is punishment intended to do?

12 Observational learning occurs when a person learns by doing what?

13 Which psychologist is best known for research on observational learning?

14 What is generalization in learning?

15 What is discrimination in learning?

16 What does shaping involve in operant conditioning?

17 Which reinforcement schedule provides reinforcement after every correct response?

18 A fixed-ratio schedule provides reinforcement after what?

19 What is positive transfer of training?

20 Which factor can increase a learner's effort and persistence?

21 A student improves her ability to solve algebra problems after practicing similar problems repeatedly. Which feature best supports calling this change learning?

22 A teacher explains that students learn best when they actively organize new information with what they already know. Which perspective is most consistent with this explanation?

23 Before an exam, a student repeatedly hears the same warning bell that signals the start of a difficult test. Eventually, the bell alone produces anxiety. In this example, the bell has become a:

24 A dog salivates when it sees food. After a tone is repeatedly sounded before the food, the dog salivates to the tone. What is the dog's salivation to the tone called?

25 A child who became afraid of one large dog later becomes afraid of many large dogs. This pattern illustrates:

26 After a conditioned response has disappeared because the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus, the response briefly returns. This is called:

27 A student submits assignments on time because the teacher removes a late penalty whenever the student meets the deadline. This consequence is an example of:

28 A child loses video-game privileges after breaking a household rule, and rule breaking decreases. Which process is illustrated?

29 A trainer teaches a dolphin to jump through a hoop by rewarding successive behaviors, beginning with swimming toward the hoop. This method is called:

30 A rat presses a lever because pressing produces food, but the behavior decreases when food is no longer delivered. The decrease demonstrates:

31 A child watches an older sibling receive praise for cleaning a room and then begins cleaning more often. Which process best explains the child's behavior?

32 According to observational learning theory, which sequence best describes how a person learns a behavior by watching a model?

33 A student studies in a quiet room but performs poorly in a noisy examination hall. Which process may explain why the learned material is difficult to recall?

34 A person who learned to drive a manual car can more quickly learn to operate another manual vehicle. This is an example of:

35 A salesperson receives a bonus after every fifth successful sale. Which reinforcement schedule is being used?

36 A student checks email because messages arrive after unpredictable amounts of time. This behavior is maintained by which schedule?

37 Which reinforcement schedule typically produces a high, steady response rate and strong resistance to extinction?

38 A student who learned Latin grammar finds it easier to understand the grammar of Spanish. This is best classified as:

39 Two students have similar ability, but the student who believes effort can improve performance practices longer and improves more. This outcome is most closely related to:

40 A learner connects a new concept to familiar examples and organizes it into a meaningful diagram. Which factor is most directly supporting learning?

41 A student performs accurately on a newly learned procedure several weeks after practice, even though the procedure has not been used during that interval. Which criterion most strongly supports classifying the change as learning rather than a temporary performance effect?

42 A learner fails repeatedly on a problem, then suddenly reorganizes the relationships among its elements and solves it without additional trial-and-error practice. Which theoretical interpretation best fits this pattern?

43 A tone is repeatedly paired with food until it elicits salivation. A second tone is then paired with the first tone but never with food. Later, the second tone elicits salivation. What process best explains this result?

44 A child becomes anxious when entering a clinic after many painful injections there. Anxiety later decreases when the child repeatedly enters the clinic without receiving an injection. Months later, anxiety briefly returns during another clinic visit. Which sequence best describes the learning processes?

45 A light predicts shock in Context A but is repeatedly presented without shock in Context B. When tested later, the light produces more fear in Context A than in Context B. What does this finding most directly demonstrate?

46 A supervisor stops assigning an unpleasant extra report whenever an employee submits work on time. On-time submission increases. Which classification is most accurate?

47 A teacher praises a student for raising a hand, but the student increasingly interrupts because praise is delivered after interruptions that happen to follow difficult questions. What best explains the outcome?

48 A rat presses a lever to obtain food. The researcher then delivers food freely, independent of pressing, while continuing to record behavior. Pressing declines substantially. Which interpretation is strongest?

49 A child watches an adult receive praise for sorting objects by color. The child later sorts objects correctly only when given the same objects and an incentive. Which distinction is most important?

50 A model behaves aggressively, receives no visible consequence, and is imitated more often by observers who believe the model is highly competent. Which combination best explains the pattern?

51 A dog initially responds to a 1,000-Hz tone that predicts food. After discrimination training, it responds strongly to 1,000 Hz but weakly to 800 Hz and 1,200 Hz. Which concept is illustrated by the response pattern?

52 A student studies a difficult symbol system repeatedly but shows little improvement. After learning a simpler symbolic system, performance on the difficult system improves sharply without direct practice. Which process is most likely involved?

53 After repeated exposure to a harmless alarm sound, a person responds less strongly. When the sound is paired with an unexpected emergency, the response rapidly returns. Which account best fits this pattern?

54 A slot machine pays after an unpredictable number of plays, whereas a worker receives a bonus after every tenth completed unit. Which schedule classification is correct?

55 Two employees receive email responses for checking their inboxes. One is reinforced after unpredictable time intervals; the other is reinforced after unpredictable numbers of checks. Which behavior pattern is generally expected?

56 A pilot trained on a control panel with a particular switch layout makes errors when using a new panel whose switches perform the same functions but are arranged differently. Which explanation is most defensible?

57 A student learns a general principle of statistical reasoning and later applies it successfully to an unfamiliar medical decision problem. Which instructional feature most likely promoted this transfer?

58 A learner performs well on practice tests but performs poorly on the final exam after being told that failure will permanently define future ability. Which explanation best integrates motivational and cognitive influences?

59 A student believes ability is fixed, avoids challenging problems, and abandons difficult tasks after early errors. Which intervention is most likely to improve persistence and learning?

60 A learner can recall material during practice but not during an exam conducted in a different environment. Studying in multiple settings improves later recall. Which principle best explains the improvement?