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






2. Decreasing responsiveness to a stimulus due to increasing familiarity






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






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






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






6. School of behaviourism






7. 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






8. Previous learning helps learning of another task later






9. How to avoid something undesirable






10. Links together chains of stimuli and responses - learns what to do in response to particular triggers (leaving a building in response to fire alarm)






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






12. UCS and CS presented at the same time






13. Animals strongly and automatically connect nausea and food - especially strong in children; preparedness






14. Evoking responses of autonomic nervous system through training






15. Law of effect






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






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






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






19. Empty box (with a rat and a lever) - later proved the influence of reinforcement






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






21. Ebbinghaus - when learning something new - rate of learning usually changes over time; can be positively or negatively accelerated






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






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






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






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






26. Set of characteristics indicative of one'S ability to learn






27. Medium amount of arousal best for performance






28. Students working on a project in small groups






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






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






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






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






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






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






35. Need for achievement (nAch); need to pursue success or to avoid failure - goal is to feel successful






36. Theory of association






37. 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






38. Previous learning makes learning a new task more difficult






39. 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






40. Ability to discriminate between different but similar stimuli (door bell is different from phone ringing)






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






42. 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)






43. 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






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






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






46. Does not produce a specific response on its own (e.g. light or bell)






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






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. Increased sensitivity to environment after exposure to a strong stimulus - Rubbing arm after pain?






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