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Chapter 3 Multiple Choice Questions 1. In Pavlov's basic classical conditioning procedure, the food is a(n) a. unconditioned stimulus. b. unconditioned response. c. conditioned stimulus. d. neutral stimulus. Answer: a. unconditioned stimulus. Rationale: In classical conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus (US) is a stimulus that naturally triggers a response without prior learning. In Pavlov's experiment, food is the stimulus that naturally triggers salivation in dogs without any prior conditioning. Therefore, it is considered the unconditioned stimulus. 2. In Pavlov's basic classical conditioning procedure, salivating in response to the sound of a metronome is a(n) a. unconditioned stimulus. b. unconditioned response. c. conditioned stimulus. d. conditioned response. Answer: d. conditioned response. Rationale: In classical conditioning, a conditioned response (CR) is a learned response to a previously neutral stimulus (now conditioned stimulus) that is paired with an unconditioned stimulus. In Pavlov's experiment, the salivation in response to the sound of a metronome is learned through the association with food (unconditioned stimulus), making it a conditioned response. 3. A study measures the percentage of trials on which a CR occurs. This is an example of the _______ procedure. a. Anticipation b. blank trials c. sign tracking d. conditioned suppression Answer: b. blank trials Rationale: Blank trials refer to trials where the conditioned stimulus (CS) is presented alone without the unconditioned stimulus (US). By measuring the percentage of trials on which a conditioned response (CR) occurs during these blank trials, researchers can assess the strength of conditioning without interference from the presentation of the US. 4. In a suppression ratio, a value of ____ indicates ____. a. .5; total suppression b. 0; no suppression c. .5; partial suppression d. 0; total suppression Answer: d. 0; total suppression Rationale: In a suppression ratio, the numerator represents the rate of responding in the presence of both the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the aversive stimulus (US), while the denominator represents the rate of responding in the absence of the CS but with the aversive stimulus present. A value of 0 indicates that there is no responding in the presence of the CS, indicating total suppression of the conditioned response. 5. At picnics you are stung by mosquitoes but not by butterflies. You are likely to demonstrate____ conditioning to mosquitoes and ____ conditioning to butterflies. a. excitatory; inhibitory b. inhibitory; excitatory c. appetitive; excitatory d. appetitive; aversive Answer: a. excitatory; inhibitory Rationale: Excitatory conditioning refers to the association of a stimulus with a positive outcome, while inhibitory conditioning refers to the association of a stimulus with the absence of a negative outcome. Since you are stung by mosquitoes (negative outcome), the conditioning to mosquitoes is likely excitatory. On the other hand, since you are not stung by butterflies (absence of negative outcome), the conditioning to butterflies is likely inhibitory. 6. The strengthening of a CR through repeated pairings of a CS and US is known as a. attainment. b. procurement. c. acquisition. d. elicitation. Answer: c. acquisition. Rationale: Acquisition in classical conditioning refers to the process of learning the association between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US), leading to the strengthening of the conditioned response (CR). It occurs through repeated pairings of the CS and the US. 7. The strength of conditioning varies directly with the strength of the a. US. b. CS. c. both a and b d. neither a nor b Answer: c. both a and b Rationale: The strength of conditioning depends on both the strength of the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the conditioned stimulus (CS). A stronger US or CS typically leads to stronger conditioning. 8. You repeatedly pair a tone with food until the dog salivates to the sound of the tone. You then present the tone several times without the food until the dog no longer salivates when he hears it. Presenting the tone several times without food is an example of a. the procedure of extinction. b. the procedure of inhibition c. the procedure of disinhibition. d. the procedure of sensitization. Answer: a. the procedure of extinction. Rationale: Extinction in classical conditioning involves the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response (CR) when the conditioned stimulus (CS) is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus (US). In this scenario, presenting the tone several times without the food leads to the extinction of the conditioned response (salivation). 9. Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a ____ following a rest period after ____. a. CS; extinction b. CR; extinction c. CS; disinhibition d. CR; disinhibition Answer: b. CR; extinction Rationale: Spontaneous recovery refers to the sudden reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response (CR) after a rest period following extinction. This indicates that extinction does not erase the learned association entirely, but rather suppresses the conditioned response temporarily. 10. The term ____ refers to the sudden recovery of a response during an extinction procedure when a ____ stimulus is introduced. a. dishabituation; familiar b. disinhibition; novel c. dishabituation; novel d. disinhibition; familiar Answer: b. disinhibition; novel Rationale: Disinhibition refers to the sudden recovery of a previously extinguished response (CR) during an extinction procedure when a novel stimulus is introduced. This novel stimulus disrupts the inhibitory processes involved in extinction, leading to the reappearance of the conditioned response. 11. Stimulus discrimination in classical conditioning is the tendency for a CR a. to suddenly recover following extinction. b. to decrease in strength across repeated presentations of the CS. c. to become more differentiated from other responses. d. to be elicited by one stimulus and not another. Answer: d. to be elicited by one stimulus and not another. Rationale: Stimulus discrimination refers to the ability to differentiate between similar stimuli and respond only to the specific conditioned stimulus (CS) that predicts the unconditioned stimulus (US). Option d correctly identifies this characteristic by stating that the conditioned response (CR) is elicited by one stimulus (the CS) and not another, demonstrating the principle of discrimination. 12. In higher-order conditioning, a(n) ____ is used in place of a(n) ____ to condition another stimulus. a. US; CS b. CS; US c. NS; CS d. US; NS Answer: b. CS; US Rationale: Higher-order conditioning involves using a previously conditioned stimulus (CS) to serve as the unconditioned stimulus (US) to condition a new stimulus. Option b correctly identifies this process by stating that the CS is used to condition another stimulus (the new CS), demonstrating the concept of higher-order conditioning. 13. A sensory preconditioning experiment begins with the pairing of a. two NSs. b. two USs. c. an NS and a US. d. an NS and a CS. Answer: a. two NSs. Rationale: In sensory preconditioning, two neutral stimuli (NSs) are paired together before any conditioning with an unconditioned stimulus (US) occurs. Option a correctly identifies this initial pairing of neutral stimuli, which is fundamental to the sensory preconditioning procedure. 14. If a rat always receives a shock following the presentation of an 800 Hz tone, it will show a stronger fear response to the presentation of a ____ tone than a ____ tone. a. 900 Hz; 1000 Hz b. 1000 Hz; 900 Hz c. 600 Hz; 700 Hz d. both b and c Answer: a. 900 Hz; 1000 Hz Rationale: This question relates to stimulus generalization, where the rat demonstrates a stronger fear response to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus (800 Hz tone). Option a correctly identifies the stimulus similar to the original CS (900 Hz) as eliciting a stronger response compared to a less similar stimulus (1000 Hz). 15. Feeling hungry at the same time each day is best described as an example of a. pseudoconditioning. b. temporal conditioning. c. temporal preconditioning. d. occasion setting. Answer: b. temporal conditioning. Rationale: Temporal conditioning involves associating a conditioned response with the passage of time. Feeling hungry at the same time each day reflects this temporal association between hunger and a specific time, making option b the most appropriate choice. Test Bank for Adaptive Learning and the Human Condition Jeffrey C. Levy 9780205950775
