Name: ____________________________________
Practice Test Unit 8. Learning and Memory
1. Mr. Zandee has stopped smoking because he
wants to model healthy behavior patterns for his
children. Mr. Zandee is apparently aware of the
importance of ________ in his children's development.
A) shaping
B) observational learning
C) generalization
D) delayed reinforcement
E) spontaneous recovery
2. Bandura's experiments indicate that ________ is
important in the process of learning.
A) shaping
B) generalization
C) modeling
D) respondent behavior
E) secondary reinforcement
3. The manager of a manufacturing plant wishes to
use positive reinforcement to increase the
productivity of workers. Which of the following
procedures would probably be the most effective?
A) Deserving employees are given a general merit
bonus at the end of each fiscal year.
B) A productivity goal that seems attainable, yet is
unrealistic, is set for each employee.
C) Employees are given immediate bonuses for
specific behaviors related to productivity.
D) Employees who fail to meet standards of
productivity receive pay cuts.
4. A learned association between a response and a
stimulus is to ________ as a learned association
between two stimuli is to ________.
A) latent learning; observation learning
B) generalization; discrimination
C) operant conditioning; classical conditioning
D) secondary reinforcement; primary reinforcement
E) acquisition; extinction
5. Compared with apartment dwellers whose
landlords pay their electricity costs, those apartment
dwellers who pay their own electric bills use less
electricity. This most clearly illustrates that
consumer electricity usage is influenced by:
A) operant conditioning.
B) classical conditioning.
C) observational learning.
D) spontaneous recovery.
E) latent learning.
6. Two years ago, the de Castellane Manufacturing
Company included its employees in a profit-sharing
plan in which workers receive semi-annual bonuses
based on the company's profits. Since this plan was
initiated, worker productivity at de Castellane has
nearly doubled. This productivity increase is best
explained in terms of:
A) observational learning.
B) latent learning.
C) operant conditioning.
D) classical conditioning.
E) spontaneous recovery.
7. Golf instruction that reinforces short putts before
attempting to reinforce long putts best illustrates the
process of:
A) generalization.
B) shaping.
C) modeling.
D) discrimination.
E) delayed reinforcement.
8. According to B. F. Skinner, human behavior is
controlled primarily by:
A) biological predispositions.
B) external influences.
C) emotions.
D) unconscious motives.
E) conscious thoughts.
9. It's easier to train a pigeon to peck a disk for a
food reward than to flap its wings for a food reward.
This illustrates the importance of ________ in
learning.
A) primary reinforcers
B) generalization
C) spontaneous recovery
D) biological predispositions
E) shaping
10. Using rewards to bribe people to engage in an
activity they already enjoy is most likely to inhibit:
A) respondent behavior.
B) continuous reinforcement.
C) latent learning.
D) spontaneous recovery.
E) intrinsic motivation.
11. Children who are promised a payoff for playing
with an interesting toy have later been observed to
play with the toy less than those who are not
promised the reward. This provides enhancement for
the role of ________ in operant behavior.
A) spontaneous recovery
B) primary reinforcers
C) cognitive processes
D) negative reinforcers
12. If rats are allowed to wander through a
complicated maze, they will subsequently run the
maze with few errors when a food reward is placed at
the end. Their good performance demonstrates:
A) shaping.
B) latent learning.
C) delayed reinforcement.
D) spontaneous recovery.
E) modeling.
13. The introduction of an unpleasant stimulus is to
________ as the withdrawal of an unpleasant
stimulus is to ________.
A) acquisition; extinction
B) negative reinforcer; positive reinforcer
C) primary reinforcer; secondary reinforcer
D) punishment; reinforcement
E) partial reinforcement; continuous reinforcement
14. Which of the following is true of negative
reinforcement and punishment?
A) Negative reinforcers increase the rate of operant
responding; punishments decrease the rate of operant
responding.
B) Negative reinforcers decrease the rate of operant
responding; punishments increase the rate of operant
responding.
C) Negative reinforcers decrease the rate of operant
responding; punishments decrease the rate of operant
responding.
D) Negative reinforcers have no effect on the rate of
operant responding; punishments decrease the rate of
operant responding.
E) Negative reinforcers decrease the rate of operant
responding; punishments have no effect on the rate of
operant responding.
15. An event that decreases the behavior that
precedes it is a:
A) negative reinforcer.
B) punishment.
C) conditioned stimulus.
D) delayed reinforcer.
E) secondary reinforcer.
16. A trainer wants to train a chicken to peck a key
to obtain food. If she wants the chicken to learn this
trick quickly and the behavior to be resistant to
extinction, she should use ________ reinforcement
until the response is mastered and then follow with a
period of ________ reinforcement.
A) positive; negative
B) negative; positive
C) primary; secondary
D) partial; continuous
E) continuous; partial
17. Which of the following is true of positive and
negative reinforcers?
A) Positive reinforcers decrease the rate of operant
responding; negative reinforcers increase the rate of
operant responding.
B) Positive reinforcers increase the rate of operant
responding; negative reinforcers decrease the rate of
operant responding.
C) Positive reinforcers increase the rate of operant
responding; negative reinforcers increase the rate of
operant responding.
D) Positive reinforcers have no effect on the rate of
operant responding; negative reinforcers decrease the
rate of operant responding.
E) Positive reinforcers increase the rate of operant
responding; negative reinforcers have no effect on the
rate of operant responding.
18. Receiving delicious food is to escaping electric
shock as ________ is to ________.
A) positive reinforcer; negative reinforcer
B) primary reinforcer; secondary reinforcer
C) immediate reinforcer; delayed reinforcer
D) reinforcement; punishment
E) partial reinforcement; continuous reinforcement
19. In order to teach an animal to perform a complex
sequence of behaviors, animal trainers are most
likely to use a procedure known as:
A) classical conditioning.
B) delayed reinforcement.
C) latent learning.
D) generalization.
E) shaping.
20. Because Mr. Baron demonstrates appreciation
only for very good classroom answers, his students
have stopped participating in class. Mr. Baron most
clearly needs to be informed of the value of:
A) generalization.
B) modeling.
C) shaping.
D) latent learning.
E) spontaneous recovery.
21. You repeatedly hear a tone just before having a
puff of air directed to your eye. Blinking to the tone
presented without an air puff is a(n):
A) UR.
B) US.
C) CR.
D) CS.
22. During a typical morning, Colin checks the clock
frequently before being reinforced with confirmation
that the time for his regularly scheduled lunch break
has arrived. In this case, Colin's behavior is
reinforced on a ________ schedule.
A) fixed-interval
B) variable-interval
C) fixed-ratio
D) variable-ratio
23. In Pavlov's original experiment with dogs, the
meat served as a(n):
A) CS.
B) CR.
C) US.
D) UR.
24. You always rattle the box of dog biscuits before
giving your dog a treat. As you do so, your dog
salivates. Rattling the box is a(n) ________; your dog's
salivation is a(n) ________.
A) CS; CR
B) CS; UR
C) US; CR
D) US; UR
25. During extinction, the ________ is omitted; as a
result, the ________ seems to disappear.
A) US; UR
B) CS; CR
C) US; CR
D) CS; UR
26. The highest rate of response is produced by a
________ schedule. This schedule also tends to
contribute to worker fatigue.
A) fixed-ratio
B) variable-ratio
C) fixed-interval
D) variable-interval
27. From a casino owner's viewpoint, which of the
following jackpot payout schedules would be the most
desirable for reinforcing long-term customer use of a
slot machine?
A) variable-ratio
B) fixed-ratio
C) variable-interval
D) fixed-interval
28. Lars, a shoe salesman, is paid every two weeks,
whereas Tom receives a commission for each pair of
shoes he sells. Evidently, Lars is paid on a ________
schedule of reinforcement, and Tom on a ________
schedule of reinforcement.
A) fixed-ratio; fixed-interval
B) continuous; intermittent
C) fixed-interval; fixed-ratio
D) variable-interval; variable-ratio
29. To reduce the personally harmful behavior of
some self-destructive children, therapists have
squirted water in their faces whenever they bite
themselves. The squirt of water is a:
A) positive punishment.
B) negative reinforcer.
C) conditioned reinforcer.
D) negative punishment.
30. Leon's psychology instructor has scheduled an
exam every third week of the term. Leon will
probably study the most just before an exam and the
least just after an exam. This is because the schedule
of exams is reinforcing studying according to which
schedule?
A) fixed-ratio
B) variable-ratio
C) fixed-interval
D) variable-interval
31. The process of getting information out of memory
is called:
A) priming.
B) encoding.
C) relearning.
D) retrieval.
E) rehearsal.
32. Your consciously activated but limited-capacity
memory is called ________ memory.
A) short-term
B) implicit
C) mood-congruent
D) explicit
E) automatic
33. A flashbulb memory would typically be stored in
________ memory.
A) iconic
B) implicit
C) echoic
D) long-term
E) short-term
34. After looking up his friend's phone number, Alex
was able to remember it only long enough to dial it
correctly. In this case, the telephone number was
clearly stored in his ________ memory.
A) echoic
B) short-term
C) flashbulb
D) long-term
E) implicit
35. During her psychology test, Kelsey could not
remember the meaning of the term “proactive
interference.” Surprisingly, however, she accurately
remembered that the term appeared on the fourth
line of a left-hand page in her textbook. Her memory
of this incidental information is best explained in
terms of:
A) automatic processing.
B) the serial position effect.
C) the spacing effect.
D) the method of loci.
E) the next-in-line effect.
36. In an effort to remember how to spell
“rhinoceros,” Samantha spells the word aloud 30
times. She is using a technique known as:
A) priming.
B) rehearsal.
C) the “peg-word” system.
D) chunking.
E) the method of loci.
37. Jamille performs better on foreign language
vocabulary tests if she studies the material 15
minutes every day for 8 days than if she crams for 2
hours the night before the test. This illustrates what
is known as:
A) the spacing effect.
B) the serial position effect.
C) mood-congruent memory.
D) chunking.
E) automatic processing.
38. Students who restudy course material at the end
of a semester in order to pass a comprehensive final
are especially likely to demonstrate long-term
retention of the course material. This best illustrates
the value of:
A) implicit memory.
B) the serial position effect.
C) the method of loci.
D) the spacing effect.
E) chunking.
39. The day after Kirsten was introduced to 13
people at a business luncheon, she could recall the
names of only the first 4 people to whom she had
been introduced. Her effective recall of these
particular names best illustrates the benefits of:
A) automatic processing.
B) the next-in-line effect.
C) the serial position effect.
D) flashbulb memory.
E) the method of loci.
40. Semantic encoding is to visual encoding as
________ is to ________.
A) implicit memory; explicit memory
B) effortful processing; automatic processing
C) the serial position effect; the spacing effect
D) iconic memory; flashbulb memory
E) meaning; imagery
41. The self-reference effect best illustrates the value
of:
A) semantic encoding.
B) source amnesia.
C) iconic memory.
D) flashbulb memory.
E) repression.
42. A mnemonic device is a:
A) sensory memory.
B) test or measure of memory.
C) technique for automatic processing.
D) memory aid.
E) word, event, or place that triggers a memory of
the past.
43. In order to remember a list of the school supplies
she needs, Marcy mentally visualizes each item at a
certain location in her house. Marcy's tactic best
illustrates the use of:
A) iconic memory.
B) state-dependent memory.
C) the serial position effect.
D) the method of loci.
E) the spacing effect.
44. The organization of information into meaningful
units is called:
A) automatic processing.
B) the spacing effect.
C) chunking.
D) the method of loci.
E) the “peg-word” system.
50. Cerebellum is to ________ memory as
hippocampus is to ________ memory.
A) short-term; long-term
B) long-term; short-term
C) implicit; explicit
D) explicit; implicit
E) iconic; echoic
45. Tim, a third-grader, learns the sentence “George
Eats Old Gray Rats And Paints Houses Yellow” to
help him remember the spelling of “geography.” Tim
is using:
A) a mnemonic device.
B) the “peg-word” system.
C) the spacing effect.
D) the method of loci.
E) the next-in-line effect.
51. The smell of freshly baked bread awakened in
Mr. Hutz vivid memories of his early childhood. The
aroma apparently acted as a powerful:
A) echoic memory.
B) retrieval cue.
C) implicit memory.
D) spacing effect.
E) mnemonic.
46. The address for obtaining tickets to a popular
quiz show flashes on the TV screen, but the image
disappears before Sergei has had a chance to write
down the complete address. To his surprise, however,
he has retained a momentary mental image of the
five-digit zip code. His experience best illustrates
________ memory.
A) iconic
B) flashbulb
C) implicit
D) echoic
E) statedependent
47. Our immediate short-term memory for new
material is limited to roughly ________ bits of
information.
A) 3
B) 7
C) 12
D) 24
E) 50
48. The increase in synaptic firing potential that
contributes to memory formation is known as:
A) chunking.
B) the next-in-line effect.
C) automatic processing.
D) long-term potentiation.
E) proactive interference.
49. A retention of skills and dispositions without
conscious recollection is known as ________ memory.
A) state-dependent
B) flashbulb
C) short-term
D) sensory
E) implicit
52. Reading a romantic novel caused Consuela to
recall some old experiences with a high school
boyfriend. The effect of the novel on Consuela's
memory retrieval is an illustration of:
A) priming.
B) chunking.
C) source amnesia.
D) automatic processing.
E) the spacing effect.
53. Memories are primed by:
A) repression.
B) retrieval cues.
C) retroactive interference.
D) the serial position effect.
E) source amnesia.
54. After learning that kicking would move a crib
mobile, infants showed that they recalled this
learning best if they were tested in the same crib.
This best illustrates the impact of ________ on recall.
A) the serial position effect
B) retrieval cues
C) state-dependent memory
D) the spacing effect
E) the method of loci
55. Whenever he feels sexually jealous, David is
flooded with painful recollections of the rare occasions
in which he had observed his girlfriend flirting with
other men. David's experience best illustrates:
A) source misattribution.
B) retroactive interference.
C) mood-congruent memory.
D) the misinformation effect.
E) repression.
56. Arnold so easily remembers his old girlfriend's
telephone number that he finds it difficult to recall
his new girlfriend's number. Arnold's difficulty best
illustrates:
A) retroactive interference.
B) the next-in-line effect.
C) source amnesia.
D) proactive interference.
E) repression.
57. After learning the combination for his new locker
at school, Milton is unable to remember the
combination for his year-old bicycle lock. Milton is
experiencing the effects of:
A) encoding failure.
B) source amnesia.
C) retroactive interference.
D) proactive interference.
E) automatic processing.
58. After reading a newspaper report suggesting that
drunken driving might have contributed to a recent
auto accident, several people who actually witnessed
the accident began to remember the driver involved
as traveling more recklessly than was actually the
case. This provides an example of:
A) proactive interference.
B) the serial position effect.
C) state-dependent memory.
D) the self-reference effect.
E) the misinformation effect.
59. When Hailey told her roommate about the
chemistry exam she had just completed, she
knowingly exaggerated its difficulty. Subsequently,
her memory of the exam was that it was as difficult
as she had reported it to be. This best illustrates:
A) flashbulb memory.
B) the misinformation effect.
C) mood-congruent memory.
D) the self-reference effect.
E) proactive interference.
60. Jason Bourne could not remember anything about
his past life, although he could remember a few
fighting moves. The doctor said that his problem was:
A) retroactive interference
B) cerebellum damage
C) retrograde amnesia
D) anterograde amnesia
E) none of these
1.