Generalization, Discrimination, and Stimulus Control

Generalization, Discrimination, and Stimulus Control Multiple Choice 1. Howard studied hard for his math test and found that what he learned helped him on his physics test. Howard benefited from _______. a. generalization b. discrimination c. transposition d. stimulus control Ans: A 2. Generalization is sometimes called _________. a. transposition b. tropism c. transfer d. transliteration Ans: C 3. Response maintenance can be considered generalization across _________. a. time b. situations c. people d. behaviors Ans: A 4. The tendency of changes in one behavior to spread to other behaviors is called __________ generalization. a. incipient b. response c. transitional d. active Ans: B 5. You test Mary's drawing ability by having her draw fruit, animals, landscapes, and houses. Mary then takes a drawing class in which she learns to draw human figures. You decide to test Mary again to see if her drawing ability has improved. You predict that if she shows any improvement at all it will be at drawing _______. a. fruit b. animals c. landscapes d. houses Ans: B 6. The kind of generalization your text focuses on is ______. a. response generalization b. stimulus generalization c. reciprocal generalization d. discriminated generalization Ans: B 7. In a classic study, Guttman and Kalish trained pigeons to peck a disc of a particular color, and then gave them the opportunity to peck ________. a. discs of various colors b. discs of various shapes c. discs of various sizes d. objects other than discs Ans: A 8. Robert Eisenberger found that rewarding a high level of effort on one task increases the level of effort on other tasks. This illustrates _______. a. discrimination b. generalization c. motivational transfer d. a motivational paradox Ans: B 9. Honig and Slivka trained pigeons to peck discs of various colors. After this they began shocking the birds when they pecked a disc of a particular color. This __________. a. reduced pecking on that disc, but not discs of other colors b. reduced pecking discs of all colors, but especially those that resembled the punished color c. had no effect on the rate of pecking d. reduced pecking on discs of the punished color, but increased pecking on other discs Ans: B 10. The findings of Eisenberger and others concerning increasing effort is called _______. a. learned helplessness b. motivational transfer c. learned industriousness d. increased potentiation Ans: C 11. Dweck and Repucci had teachers give students unsolvable problems, and then problems that could be solved. The result was that the students __________. a. solved the second set of problems more easily than expected b. solved the second set of problems, but more slowly than expected c. failed to solve the problems in the second set d. decided to unionize Ans: C 12. In the Dweck and Repucci study, teachers asked students to work on unsolvable problems, and then on problems that could be solved. They failed to solve the second set of problems, but were able to solve similar problems when the problems were presented _______. a. orally b. by a different teacher c. the next day d. in a different room Ans: B 13. When six-month old Joey cries, his mother, Martha, can tell what he needs even before she goes to him. Martha's skill is an example of ______. a. generalization b. discrimination c. semantic generalization d. errorless discrimination training Ans: B 14. A dog learns to salivate at the sound of a soft buzzer, but not at the sound of a loud buzzer. After training, the dog is presented with buzzers of various volumes. You predict that the dog will salivate most in response to a buzzer that is _______. a. identical to the CS+ b. slightly softer than the CS+ c. slightly louder than the CS+ d. slightly louder than the CSAns: B 15. The figures below illustrate various generalization gradients. The greatest degree of generalization is depicted by Figure _______. a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 Ans: B 16. Look again at figures in the previous item. The one that shows the greatest degree of discrimination is Figure ______. a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 Ans: D 17. An SD is analogous to a ______. a. S∆ b. CS+ c. SP d. Sp Ans: B 18. Jill trains her dog, Boozer, to come to her when she snaps her fingers. She snaps her fingers, then gives the dog a bit of food when it approaches. Finger snapping is a(n) _________. a. SD b. S∆ c. transposed stimulus d. concept Ans: A 19. An ________ is a stimulus that indicates that a particular behavior will be reinforced. a. S∆ b. S0 c. S– d. SD Ans: D 20. In _______ discrimination training, the SD and S∆ are presented at the same time. a. synchronized b. randomized c. simultaneous d. identical Ans: C 21. In ______, the task is to select from two or more alternatives the stimulus that matches a standard. a. matching to sample b. stimulus selection c. mismatching d. discriminating Ans: A 22. In _______, the task is to select from two or more alternatives the stimulus that is different from a standard. a. matching to nonsample b. oddity matching c. error matching d. difference matching Ans: B 23. The person whose name is most associated with errorless discrimination training is _______. a. Carl Rogers b. Susan Terrance c. Herbert Terrace d. Robert Eisenberger Ans: C 24. In errorless discrimination training, _______. a. training continues until the animal or person makes no errors b. subjects look on as well-trained models perform the response to be learned c. generalization soon reappears d. the S∆ is introduced in very weak form and its strength is gradually increased Ans: D 25. Bill conducts an experiment in which he pairs the word psychologist with words such as nasty, evil, and corrupt. Later Bill asks his subjects to give their opinion of various professions by rating them on a scale from very positive to very negative. Of the following professions, _______ will probably receive the lowest rating. a. mathematician b. accountant c. biologist d. social worker Ans: D Note: This item is a measure of generalization of the student’s behavior since this kind of generalization [semantic generalization] is not specifically covered in the text. 26. Providing different consequences for different responses can enhance discrimination training. This finding is called the _______. a. differential outcomes effect b. differential reinforcement effect c. discriminated avoidance effect d. stimulus control effect Ans: A 27. When a behavior reliably occurs in the presence of an S D, but not in the presence of an S–, we can say the behavior is _______. a. under stimulus control b. fully discriminated c. respondent d. fully operant Ans: A 28. According to your text, mental rotation data are best viewed as evidence of ______. a. generalization b. discrimination c. cognitive processing d. peak shift Ans: A 29. Harriet gives a monkey a choice between two blocks of wood, one rough and the other smooth. If the animal selects the rough block, it receives a raisin; if it picks the smooth one, it receives nothing. When the animal regularly picks the rough block, Harriet gives the animal a choice between the rough block of wood and a new block of wood that is even rougher than the first. You predict that the monkey will _______. a. pick the new, very rough block b. pick the old, somewhat rough block c. show no preference between the blocks d. show signs of developing an experimental neurosis Ans: A 30. Judy gives a monkey a choice between a sphere and various other three-dimensional shapes. Each time the animal selects the sphere, it receives a grape; if it selects the other object, it receives nothing. Judy is engaged in _______. a. transposition training b. a peak shift experiment c. concept training d. generalization training Ans: C 31. Robert Allan trained pigeons to peck pictures containing human figures. He found that birds ______. a. refused to peck at a high rate b. pecked open areas free of human figures c. pecked the human figures d. pecked the pictures at random points Ans: C 32. If a person smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, in a year, cigarette smoking is reinforced ________. a. 730 times b. 7,300 times c. 73,000 times d. nearly a million times Ans: C 33. Steven, a drug abuser, is released from a clinic. He is free of drugs, and has sworn never to take drugs again. He returns to his old neighborhood. You predict that within six months, Steven will ______. a. have moved to a new neighborhood b. have new friends and be free of drugs c. be abusing drugs again d. have committed suicide Ans: C 34. Frederick believes that discrimination training produces inhibitory as well as excitatory gradients of generalization. Frederick is most likely an advocate of the theory of generalization and discrimination proposed by _______. a. Pavlov b. Spence c. Lashley and Wade d. Herrnstein Ans: B 35. Frederica believes that generalization occurs because of a lack of experience with stimuli that differ from the SD. Frederica is probably most comfortable with the theory of generalization and discrimination proposed by _______. a. Pavlov b. Spence c. Lashley and Wade d. Herrnstein Ans: C True/False 36. The effects of reinforcement generalize, but the effects of extinction and punishment do not. F (307) 37. With discrimination training, pigeons have learned to discriminate between paintings by Monet and Picasso, even when the pictures were ones they had never seen before. T (310) 38. In stimulus generalization, a behavior “travels” from one situation to another. T (315) 39. Generalization is a by-product of learning that nearly always occurs spontaneously. F (318) 40. Spence’s theory anticipated the discovery of the peak shift phenomenon. T (320) 41. The flatter the generalization curve, the greater the degree of generalization. T (321; Figure 11-3) 42. Concepts involve both generalization and discrimination. T (323) 43. Pigeons that have learned to peck a disc when two lights of the same color come on, and not when the lights differ, can be said to have learned a concept. T (323 ) 44. Herrnstein and others trained pigeons to respond to images of people. The researchers did this by pinpointing a single defining feature (such as hair) on which the birds could discriminate humans from other objects. F (323) Completion 45. Arthur Bachrach and colleagues demonstrated generalization of therapy in their treatment of a woman suffering from an eating disorder called ________. Ans: anorexia (305) 46. The CS+ of Pavlovian discrimination training is analogous to the ___ /___of operant discrimination training. Ans: SD / S+ (309) 47. In the ________discrimination training procedure, the discriminative stimuli alternate. Ans: successive (311) 48. In ________discrimination training an S∆ is introduced in a form so weak that the organism does not respond to it. Ans: errorless (312) 49. Oddity ________ is a form of MTS in which reinforcement is contingent on selecting a stimulus that is different from the sample. Ans: matching (312) Short Essay 50. Explain why a person who is red-green colorblind (that is, red and green objects look gray) is at a disadvantage compared to his or her peers. (inferred, but see especially p.316) This is review question 9. Answers should note that we discriminate objects partly on the basis of color. It is therefore harder for the colorblind person to make discriminations when the colors red or green are involved. A venomous black spider with red spots will be harder for the color blind person to identify. 51. How could a speech teacher encourage oratorical skills to generalize outside of the classroom? (318) Students might suggest making training situations similar to situations that will occur outside the classroom. Or they might propose conducting the class in real world settings. (E.g., have a party and ask members of the class to make impromptu remarks.) 52. Discuss the DOE and its implications for discrimination training. (325) Students should define the DOE. It implies that in certain situations trainers should provide different outcomes for different responses. 53. Discuss whether stimulus control is a good thing. (328) Answers should note that stimulus control is good or bad to the extent that the behavior involved is appropriate to the situation. 54. Some people argue that stimulus control suggests that people are robots controlled by environmental events. How could you argue against this position? (328) The point to be made is that the influence exerted by the environment gives control to the person, since it enables the person to predict events and act accordingly. We avoid collisions by stopping for red traffic lights.