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GRE Psychology: Learning

Subjects : gre, psychology
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Naturally occurring response (e.g. salivation to food)






2. Motivation to reduce internal tension - once satisfied - back to homeostasis/ relaxation; against M.E. Olds electrical stimulation of pleasure centres






3. Teacher encourages independent learning - only provides assistance when needed






4. John Garcia - Certain associations are learned more easily than others - Nausea & food can be paired easily - but light and nausea cannot be paired






5. Pavlovian conditioning; teaching a response (relationship) to neutral stimulus by pairing with not-so-neutral stimulus






6. Not all correct responses met with reinforcement; slower but more resistant; fixed ratio - variable ratio - fixed interval - variable interval; variable is best because it is unexpected - ratio gives better response since based on # of correct behavi






7. Relatively permanent or stable change in behaviour as the result of experience






8. Type of forward conditioning; CS presented and terminated before UCS presentation






9. Approach-avoidance conflict; state felt when a goal has both pros and cons - typically focus on pros when far from goal - cons when close to goal






10. Opposite of stimulus discrimination; make same response to a group of similar stimuli (e.g. fire alarms may sound different but same response)






11. Not-so-neutral stimulus - elicits response without conditioning (e.g. salivation)






12. Reward or positive event that increases likelihood of a particular response






13. Continuous motions easier to learn - once started continues naturally - bike; discrete divided into parts and do not facilitate recall of each other - setting up chessboard






14. Removal of a negative event that increases likelihood of a particular response; while punishment introduces a negative event to decrease likelihood of a response






15. Learned reinforce - often through society; money - prestige - rewards






16. Reversal of conditioning - dissociating behaviour from a cue - Repeatedly withholding reinforcement or disassociating the behavior from a cue






17. Disassociate car from vet by taking dog on frequent car trip to the park






18. later proved experimentally - Classical conditioning






19. Previous learning makes learning a new task more difficult






20. Learning about something in general (history) for knowledge rather than learning-specific stimulus-response chains (e.g. Tolman'S experiments with animals forming cognitive maps of mazes rather than simple escape routes)






21. Those who set realistic goals with intermediate risk feel pride with accomplishment - and want to succeed more than they fear failure - however less likely to set unrealistic or risky goals or to persist when success is unlikely






22. Learn 3-20 - constant 20-50 - drops 50+






23. Performance = Drive x Habit; will do what has worked in the past to satisfy drive






24. Takes place without reinforcement - knowledge not immediately expressed - e.g. learning while watching chess






25. How people learn in educational settings such as student and teacher attributes






26. Linking a series of behaviours that result in reinforcement - one behaviour triggers the next (e.g. learning the alphabet)






27. Every correct response is met with reinforcement; quickest but most fragile learning - as soon as rewards stop coming - the animal stops performing






28. Higher arousal for simple tasks (motivation) - lower arousal for complex tasks (concentration); optimal arousal is an inverted U on a graph - Y-axis: performance - X-axis: arousal - Difficult task --> upside-down U shape - Simple task --> reaches pea






29. Associative or dissociative attitudes on 7pt scale toward objects


30. Motivated to do what they do not want to do by rewarding themselves afterwards with something they like to do - Eat dessert after eating unwanted vegetable






31. How to avoid something undesirable






32. Skinner - instrumental conditioning; behaviour primarily influenced by reinforcement strategies - do what rewards - not what doesn'T






33. Shaping; Skinner rewarded rats first for being near lever then for touching it - reward for behaviours that brought them closer to the desired one (e.g. pressing lever)






34. Credited with writing first educational textbook in 1903 to assess students and teaching






35. CS presented after UCS (e.g. food - then light); proven ineffective; accomplishes only inhibitory conditioning - harder time pairing CS with UCS later even with forward conditioning






36. Fritz Heider'S balance theory - Charles Osgood and Percy Tannenbaum'S congruity theory - Leon Festinger'S cognitive dissonance theory; what about individuals who often seek stimulation - novel experience - or self-destruction?






37. Reinforcement delivered after a consistent number of responses; vulnerable to extinction






38. Accidental learning - unrelated items grouped together; opposite of intentional learning (e.g. dog associates car with vet)






39. People learn through their culture. They learn acceptable and unacceptable behaviours through culture






40. Individuals in the environment are motivated by secondary reinforcers; e.g. tokens in prisons - rehab - etc. - cashed in for more primary reinforcers (e.g. candy - books - privileges)






41. Preparedness - that certain associations are learned more easily than others; animals programmed to make certain connections; Garcia effect - nausea associated with food






42. Previous learning helps learning of another task later






43. Previous CS now a UCS (e.g.*bell > [ light > food > ] salivation)






44. Drive to reduce cognitive dissonance - holding conflicting ideas simultaneously whether beliefs - attitudes - or actions


45. Part of motivation. One must be adequately aroused to learn or perform






46. Rewards delivered after differing time periods; second most effective strategy in maintaining behaviour






47. Performance = Expectation x Value; expectancy-value theory; goals they expect they can meet and how important goal is






48. 'learning' that a specific action causes an event - when in reality the two are unrelated






49. Response that CS elicits after conditioning; UCR and CR will be the same (e.g. salivation)






50. In classical conditioning - the inability to infer a relationship between a stimulus and response due to the presence of a more prominent stimulus