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






2. How to avoid something undesirable






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






4. Type of forward conditioning; CS begins before UCS - lasts until the UCS is presented






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






6. Thorndike - precursor of operant conditioning - Cause-and-effect chain of behaviour; continue what rewards - stop what doesn'T






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






8. Natural reinforcement - without requirement of learning; food and water






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






10. Promotes extinction of undesirable behaviour - negative stimulus presented after behaviour to decrease likelihood of reoccurrence - Skinner thinks it is not effective in long run






11. Watson - everything can be explained by stimulus-response chains - chains are developed by conditioning; only objective and observable elements important






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






13. By having an apparatus (e.g. lever) - an animal controls its reinforcements (e.g. food) through behaviours (e.g. pressing) - shaping its own behaviour






14. Differential reinforcement of successive approximations; 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)






15. Applied expectancy-value theory to individual behaviour in large organizations (e.g. those lowest on totem pole have least motivation since little incentives)






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






17. 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






18. 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






19. Teach to performance a desired behaviour to get away from a negative stimulus






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






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


22. later proved experimentally - Classical conditioning






23. What a person learns in one state is best recalled in that state






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






25. Born with certain physiological needs - will be tension if not satisfied; when it is - return to state of homeostasis and relaxation






26. 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






27. Reappearance of an extinguished response - even without further conditioning - after the child'S tantrum behaviour has been extinguished - the child may suddenly throw a tantrum again






28. 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






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






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






31. Simultaneous - higher-order/second-order - delayed forward - trace forward - backward






32. Attitude change - based on balance of 'Sentiment' or liking relationships - if the net affect valence multiplies out to a positive result


33. 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?






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






35. Students working on a project in small groups






36. Rewards after a certain period of time rather than number of behaviours; can be argued that it does little to motivate an animal'S behaviour






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






38. Medium amount of arousal best for performance






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






40. Individuals are motivated by what brings most pleasure and least pain






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






42. 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)






43. The failure to generalize a stimulus






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






45. Experiment shows that there is electrical stimulation of pleasure centers in the brain used as positive reinforcement - this is evidence against drive-reduction theory






46. Theory of association






47. Learning and behaving by imitation; Albert Bandura'S Bobo doll (children watching adults with blow up dolls)






48. 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)






49. Lewin - grouping based on co-occurence in time and space; associate certain behaviours with certain rewards and cues






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