1. iClicker Questions for
Psychology for AP by David G. Myers
Karla Gingerich, Colorado State University
Unit 6: Learning

2. Through direct experience with animals, we come to anticipate that dogs will bark and that birds will chirp. This best illustrates:
A. the law of effect.
B. spontaneous recovery.
C. respondent behavior.
D. associative learning.
Answer: D

3. Ivan Pavlov noticed that dogs began salivating at the mere sight of the person who regularly brought food to them. For the dogs, the sight of this person was a(n):
A. primary reinforcer.
B. unconditional stimulus.
C. immediate reinforcer.
D. conditioned stimulus.
Answer: D

4. Conditioning seldom occurs when a(n) ________ comes after a(n) _____.
A. CS; US
B. UR; CS
C. secondary reinforcer; operant behavior
D. negative reinforcer; operant behavior
Answer: A

5. The predictability of an association between a CS and a US facilitates an organism's ability to anticipate the occurrence of the US. This fact is most likely to be highlighted by a(n) ________ perspective.
A. evolutionary
B. behaviorist
C. cognitive
D. neuroscience
Answer: C

6. Researchers condition a flatworm to contract when exposed to light by repeatedly pairing the light with electric shock. The electric shock is a(n):
A. negative reinforcer.
B. conditioned stimulus.
C. conditioned reinforcer.
D. unconditioned stimulus.
Answer: D

7. If you get violently ill a couple of hours after eating contaminated food, you will probably develop an aversion to the taste of that food but not to the sight of the restaurant where you ate or to the sound of the music you heard there. This best illustrates that associative learning is constrained by:
A. intrinsic motivation.
B. spontaneous recovery.
C. biological predispositions.
D. conditioned reinforcers.
Answer: C

8. After getting ill from eating her friend’s Thanksgiving turkey, Natalia couldn’t stand the the sight or smell of turkey. However, when her friend baked a whole chicken, Natalia thought it sounded good. This illustrates:
A. generalization.
B. discrimination.
C. extinction.
D. acquisition.
Answer: B

9. The law of effect relates most closely to:
A. modeling.
B. operant conditioning.
C. classical conditioning.
D. latent learning.
Answer: B

10. For some children who bite themselves or bang their heads, squirting water into their faces when they hurt themselves has been observed to decrease the frequency of these self-abusive behaviors. This best illustrates the potential value of:
A. punishment.
B. conditioned reinforcers.
C. negative reinforcers.
D. latent learning.
Answer: A

11. Occasional, unpredictable reinforcement usually results in _________ rates of responding.
A. unpredictable
B. steady
C. delayed
D. speedy
Answer: B

12. Mirror neurons are important to the process of learning because they:
A. enhance cognitive maps.
B. enable imitation.
C. provide a neurological basis for operant conditioning.
D. explain aversive conditioning.
Answer: B

13. Critical Thinking Questions

14. A. jumping out of the shower B. sound of the toilet flushing
Martin likes to shower in the men’s locker room after working out. During a shower he hears a toilet flushing nearby. Suddenly boiling hot water comes out of the showerhead, causing Martin serious discomfort. Later on in the shower, he hears another toilet flush and he immediately jumps out from under the showerhead. In this scenario, what is the unconditioned response (UR)?
A. jumping out of the shower
B. sound of the toilet flushing
C. pain avoidance
D. boiling hot water
Answer: C

15. A child is sent to his room with no supper because he presented a bad report card to his parents. The parent’s intent was to:
A. punish poor academic performance.
B. negatively reinforce poor academic performance.
C. extinguish poor academic performance.
D. partially reinforce poor academic performance.
Answer: A

16. Brian ate a tuna salad sandwich that had become tainted from being in the sun too long. Not long after eating, Brian became extremely nauseated and felt awful. After that, even the sight of a tuna sandwich caused Brian to feel nauseated. In this scenario, what is the conditioned response (CR)?
A. tuna
B. nausea
C. mayonnaise
D. sight of any sandwich
Answer: B

17. Luke gets paid a fixed sum after every four pianos he tunes
Luke gets paid a fixed sum after every four pianos he tunes. He is on a _________ schedule of reinforcement.
A. fixed interval
B. fixed ratio
C. variable interval
D. variable ratio
Answer: B

18. Extinction occurs ___________ in classical conditioning and ___________ in operant conditioning.
A. when the CS is presented with the US; when reinforcement increases
B. when the CS is presented alone repeatedly; when reinforcement increases
C. when the CS is presented alone repeatedly; when reinforcement stops
D. when the CS is presented with the US; when reinforcement stops
Answer: C