Classical Conditioning Basics
After a fear response to loud noises is conditioned, the response disappears when the noise is repeatedly presented without anything scary happening. This is called what?
Extinction
A child hears the ice cream truck’s music for the first time, and it does not cause any excitement. After many afternoons of hearing the music just before receiving ice cream, the child begins to feel happy when the music plays.
What is the neutral stimulus (NS) in this scenario?
Ice cream truck's music
A student believes wearing the same socks on test days causes good grades, even though there is no real connection. This is an example of what?
Superstitious behavior
A teacher notices that students who consistently turn in all assignments by the deadline begin receiving homework passes. Over the next few weeks, on-time submission rates increase.
What type of operant conditioning is being used in this scenario?
Positive Reinforcement
A child learns how to act in class by watching older students get praised or punished. This is an example of what theory?
Social Learning Theory
A dog learns that the sound of a can opener predicts food. This type of learning occurs by forming connections between events.
Associative Learning
A student experiences a sharp pain when a dentist drills a tooth. Over time, the sound of the drill alone begins to cause anxiety before the procedure starts.
What is the unconditioned stimulus (US) in this scenario?
Pain from dental procedure
After repeated failures, a student stops trying altogether—even when success is possible. This is called what?
Learned helplessness
Every time a driver gets into their car, a loud, irritating alarm sounds. Once the driver fastens their seatbelt, the alarm immediately shuts off. Over time, the driver buckles up more quickly.
What type of operant conditioning is occurring in this scenario?
A dog is rewarded for getting closer and closer to the correct behavior, one step at a time. This is an example of...
Shaping
After a fear response has been extinguished, it suddenly reappears weeks later without retraining. This is considered...?
Spontaneous Recovery
A loud thunderclap naturally causes a child to jump and feel fear. After repeated storms, the child begins to feel fear as soon as dark clouds roll in, even before any thunder occurs.
What is the unconditioned response (UR) in this scenario?
Startling from thunder
What law states that behaviors followed by satisfying outcomes are more likely to be repeated?
Law of Effect
A teenager stays out past curfew and, as a result, their parents take away phone privileges for a week. After this happens several times, the teenager begins coming home on time more often.
What type of operant conditioning is being used in this scenario?
Negative punishment
A chimp suddenly stacks boxes to reach bananas without trial-and-error learning. This is considered...
A child who was bitten by a German shepherd becomes afraid of all large dogs but not small dogs like Chihuahuas. This is an example of what concept?
Stimulus Generalization
A particular ringtone is repeatedly followed by stressful work messages. Eventually, the ringtone alone causes the person to feel anxious.
What is the conditioned stimulus (CS) in this scenario?
Ringtone
A student studies harder after earning praise and extra credit for high quiz scores. The praise is considered what?
Conditioned Reinforcer
In a laboratory experiment, a rat learns that every time it presses a lever a specific number of times, food appears. The rat begins pressing the lever rapidly and consistently.
What type of reinforcement schedule is being used in this scenario?
Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule
A student becomes afraid of public speaking after watching a classmate embarrass themselves. This is an example of what?
Vicarious conditioning
A student stops noticing the ticking of the classroom clock after about 10 minutes, even though the sound never stopped. What concept is this describing?
Habituation
A student originally feels stressed only during pop quizzes. After several pop quizzes are announced by a specific phrase from the teacher, the student begins to feel stressed as soon as the teacher says the phrase—even when no quiz follows.
What is the conditioned response (CR) in this scenario?
Stress/anxiety
A raccoon trained to deposit coins begins rubbing them together instead, reverting to natural behaviors.
Instinctual Drift
A student checks their email throughout the day. Sometimes a reply arrives after a few minutes, other times after several hours, and occasionally not at all. Because the student never knows when a response will come, they continue checking repeatedly.
What type of reinforcement schedule is being used in this scenario?
Variable Interval (VI) Schedule
Rats form a mental map of a maze but only demonstrate it when a reward is introduced. This unintentional, passive, form of learning is called what?
Latent Learning