Learning And Conditioning Practice Quiz

In Pavlov's experiment, an unconditioned response refers to a natural and automatic reaction that occurs without any prior learning. In this case, salivation is considered an unconditioned response because it is an innate reaction to the presentation of food or meat powder. The dog's salivation is not learned or conditioned; it is a reflexive response that is naturally elicited by the presence of food.

The correct answer is "Operant chamber." An operant chamber, also known as a Skinner box, is a device used in operant conditioning experiments to study animal behavior. It typically consists of a small enclosure with a lever or button that an animal can press to receive a reward or reinforcement. The operant chamber allows researchers to observe and manipulate the consequences of an animal's behavior, providing valuable insights into learning and conditioning processes.

Punishment is the opposite of reinforcement because while reinforcement is used to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring again, punishment is used to decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring again. Reinforcement involves providing a reward or positive consequence for a desired behavior, while punishment involves providing a negative consequence or removing a positive consequence for an undesired behavior. Therefore, punishment and reinforcement have opposite effects on behavior.

Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of extinction training. It suggests that the original association between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is still intact, even though the response had previously been suppressed. This phenomenon demonstrates that extinction does not completely erase the learned association, but rather temporarily inhibits the conditioned response.

When UCS (Unconditioned Stimulus) is subsequently omitted, the CR (Conditioned Response) will experience extinction. Extinction refers to the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a learned response when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is no longer followed by the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). In this case, since the UCS is no longer present, the CR will gradually diminish and cease to occur.

The given scenario suggests that when a doctor consistently tells a child that something won't hurt, even though it sometimes does, it creates a lack of predictability for the child. This lack of predictability can lead to the child becoming anxious whenever they are in the doctor's office, as they do not have reliable safety signals. Therefore, the correct answer is that predictability is also important for emotional reactions.

Classical conditioning is the Pavlovian route; positive reinforcement is the mechanism by which operant conditioning works.

Habituation is a form of learning where an organism becomes accustomed to a repeated or continuous stimulus over time, causing a decrease in response. In this context, the correct answer is "single stimulus" because habituation involves learning about and becoming less responsive to a specific, singular stimulus. It does not involve multiple stimuli or multiple responses.

The law of effect explains that behavior that is followed by a satisfying consequence is more likely to be repeated in the future. In this scenario, the hungry cat learns to open the latch to obtain food, which is a behavior that is followed by the satisfying consequence of getting the fish. Therefore, the cat repeating this behavior is an example of the law of effect.

Generalization is a cognitive process that involves drawing conclusions or making assumptions based on similarities or patterns observed in a group or category of things. When faced with differences, individuals often generalize in order to make sense of the world and simplify complex information. By identifying commonalities or shared characteristics among different things, generalization allows individuals to categorize and understand them more easily. Therefore, differences can trigger the process of generalization as individuals try to find commonalities or patterns among disparate elements.