Exam 7: Learning and Adaptation: the Role of Experience

When young animals are raised in "enriched" environments, they tend to have heavier brains with more dendrites and synapses and have higher concentrations of various neurotransmitters. Instances like these most clearly demonstrate how

John Watson and Rosalie Rayner (1920) conditioned baby Albert to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise that Albert already feared. After the conditioning had taken place, the researchers also found that Albert was afraid of furry white and grey objects, such as a rabbit and a Santa Claus mask. The fact that Albert was afraid of these additional items demonstrated that _____________.

According to the two-factor theory of avoidance learning, phobias are created through _____________ but are maintained through ____________.

In an effort to get his dog to roll over, Bronn gives his dog a treat if he turns to the left. After the dog is reliably turning left, he must get down on the ground to get another treat. Then again he has to roll left for the treats. Finally the dog has to roll over to get a treat. Bronn is using the method known as

An increase in the strength of a response to a repeated stimulus is known as

Jayden is trying to teach his dog some tricks. So he gives him a doggie treat if he rolls over after 2 min have passed. But the dog must perform the roll over before he gets the treat. Jayden is using a(n)

Psychologists sometimes use aversion therapy in order to condition repulsion to a stimulus that triggers an unwanted behaviour by pairing that stimulus with an aversive or noxious UCS.

Rats and human patients experience pleasure when the hypothalamus is stimulated and will act as if they have just been _________.

According to the ______________ perspective of operant conditioning, the best predictor of behaviour is the perceived contingency between behaviour and its consequences.

One difficulty that a therapist might encounter when trying to treat a client with a phobia is _____________, where the fear response to a stimulus that has been extinguished might suddenly reappear if the client encounters the location where the phobia was acquired after a break.

Don's parents want to him to do more chores around the house so they decide to pay him a small amount (50 cents) for each chore he does. Initially, this produces a large increase in the number of chores that Don does, but his parents soon tire of paying him for his work and discontinue the monetary reward program. Don continues his chores for a short while but once he realizes that he's no longer being paid, he stops doing them all together. The discontinuing of Don's chore behaviour best illustrates the process of

When the CS is presented repeatedly without the UCS, the CR will gradually weaken in a process called _____________.

Jon used to be in love with Henry. But over the past year, Jon says that the feeling is no longer there and he has fallen out of love. This is a sad situation, but in terms of classical conditioning, it is simply an example of

Randy fights with his younger brother Paul over a new toy. Their parents take the toy away from the boys and the fighting decreases. Randy and Paul's parents are using _____________ to lessen the fighting.

Which of the following has the highest adaptive significance for humans in terms of its ability to save time and effort, and to reduce exposure to potentially dangerous trial-and-error processes?

Julie is being treated for her fear of flying. It seems that the fear has been extinguished, but the therapist wants to see her again in a few months. Most likely, the therapist is concerned about

Every time Joan goes to the beach, the wind comes up and blows sand into her eyes. As a result, her eyes water up a bit. Now, whenever she gets near the beach, she starts to cry. For Joan, the watering from the sand is a(n)

You are waiting at the crosswalk for the light to change. Finally the "WALK" sign illuminates and you begin to cross the street. Even though you watch for traffic as you cross, you have learned that the appearance of this light usually means that it is safe to cross the street. Thus, the "WALK" sign would be considered an example of a

Operant conditioning is most concerned with emitted behaviours, while classical conditioning focuses more on _________.

Billy is offered five M&Ms and is told that if he can wait and not eat these M&Ms for ten minutes, he can have 15 M&Ms. Unfortunately, after waiting for only a couple of minutes, the M&Ms start to look too delicious, so Billy goes ahead and eats them. Based on this example, psychologists would most likely say that Billy has yet to learn