GRE Psychology UPDATED ACTUAL
Questions and CORRECT Answers
E.L. Thorndike - CORRECT ANSWER - suggested the law of effect - behavior revolving
around reinforcement
Kurt Lewin - CORRECT ANSWER - developed the theory of association - grouping
things together based on the fact that they occur together in time and space
Ivan Pavlov - CORRECT ANSWER - uncovered the concept of classical conditioning -
involves teaching an organism to respond to a neutral stimulus by pairing the NS with a not-so-
neutral stimulus
John B. Watson - CORRECT ANSWER - founded the school of behaviorism - everything
could be explained by stimulus-response chains and that conditioning was the key factor in
developing these chains
B.F. Skinner - CORRECT ANSWER - operant conditioning - behavior being influenced
primarily by reinforcement
skinner box - proved that animals are influenced by reinforcement
Neutral Stimulus (NS) - CORRECT ANSWER - a stimulus that does not produce a
specific response on its own
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) - CORRECT ANSWER - the not-so-neutral stimulus (in
Pavlov's experiments, the UCS is food)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - CORRECT ANSWER - the CS has no naturally occurring
response but it is conditioned through pairings with a UCS
,Unconditioned Response (UCR) - CORRECT ANSWER - the naturally occurring
response to the UCS
Conditioned Response (CR) - CORRECT ANSWER - the response that the CS elicits after
conditioning
Simultaneous Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the UCS and CS are presented at the
same time
High-Order Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - a conditioning technique in which a
previous CS now acts as a UCS
Forward Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - pairing of the CS and the UCS in which
the CS is presented before the UCS
Delayed Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the presentation of the CS begins before
that of the UCS and lasts until the UCS is present
Trace Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the CS stimulus is presented and terminated
before the UCS is presented
Backward Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the CS is presented after the UCS is
presented
Operant Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the idea that we do what reaps rewards
and don't do things that don't reap rewards
Shaping - CORRECT ANSWER - in the skinner box, the experimenter rewarded the rats
(with food pellets) for even being near the lever and then rewarded them again for touching the
lever
,also called differential reinforcement of successive approximation
Primary Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER - something that is reinforcing on its own
without the requirement of learning
Secondary Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER - a learned reinforcer (money)
Positive Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER - a type of reward or positive event acting
as a stimulus that increases the likelihood of a particular response
Negative Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER - reinforcement through the removal of a
negative event; positive reinforcement works by giving someone something that they like while
negative reinforcement works by taking away something someone dislikes
Partial Reinforcement Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - not all correct responses are met
with reinforcement
Fixed Ratio Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - a reinforcement is delivered after a
consistent number of responses
Variable Ratio Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - different from a fixed ratio schedule in
that reinforcements are delivered after different numbers of correct responses; the ratio cannot be
predicted
Fixed Interval Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - rewards come after the passage of a
certain period of time rather than the number of behavior
Variable Interval Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - rewards are delivered after differing
time periods; the length of time varies so one never knows when the reinforcement is just around
the corner
, Token Economy - CORRECT ANSWER - usually found in prisons, rehab centers or
mental hospitals; individuals in the environment are motivated by secondary reinforcers, tokens
in this case
Clark Hull - CORRECT ANSWER - proposed that performance = drive x habit; this
means that individuals are first motivated by drive and then they act according to old successful
habits
Edward Tolman - CORRECT ANSWER - proposed that performance = expectation x
value (expectancy value theory); people are motivated by goals that they think they might
actually meet
Henry Murray and David McClelland - CORRECT ANSWER - studied the possibility that
people are motivated by a need for achievement (nAch); a need to pursue success or a need to
avoid failure
John Atkinson - CORRECT ANSWER - suggested a theory of motivation in which people
who set realistic goals with intermediate risk sets feel pride with accomplishment and want to
succeed more than they fear failure
Neil Miller - CORRECT ANSWER - proposed the approach-avoidance conflict - refers to
the state one feels when a certain goal has both pros and cons
Hedonism - CORRECT ANSWER - the theory that individuals are motivated by what
brings the most pleasure and the least pain
The Premack Principle - CORRECT ANSWER - the idea that people are motivated to do
what they do not want to do by rewarding themselves afterward with something they like to do
Donald Hebb - CORRECT ANSWER - postulated that a medium amount of arousal is best
for performance; too little or too much arousal could hamper performance tasks
Questions and CORRECT Answers
E.L. Thorndike - CORRECT ANSWER - suggested the law of effect - behavior revolving
around reinforcement
Kurt Lewin - CORRECT ANSWER - developed the theory of association - grouping
things together based on the fact that they occur together in time and space
Ivan Pavlov - CORRECT ANSWER - uncovered the concept of classical conditioning -
involves teaching an organism to respond to a neutral stimulus by pairing the NS with a not-so-
neutral stimulus
John B. Watson - CORRECT ANSWER - founded the school of behaviorism - everything
could be explained by stimulus-response chains and that conditioning was the key factor in
developing these chains
B.F. Skinner - CORRECT ANSWER - operant conditioning - behavior being influenced
primarily by reinforcement
skinner box - proved that animals are influenced by reinforcement
Neutral Stimulus (NS) - CORRECT ANSWER - a stimulus that does not produce a
specific response on its own
Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) - CORRECT ANSWER - the not-so-neutral stimulus (in
Pavlov's experiments, the UCS is food)
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - CORRECT ANSWER - the CS has no naturally occurring
response but it is conditioned through pairings with a UCS
,Unconditioned Response (UCR) - CORRECT ANSWER - the naturally occurring
response to the UCS
Conditioned Response (CR) - CORRECT ANSWER - the response that the CS elicits after
conditioning
Simultaneous Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the UCS and CS are presented at the
same time
High-Order Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - a conditioning technique in which a
previous CS now acts as a UCS
Forward Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - pairing of the CS and the UCS in which
the CS is presented before the UCS
Delayed Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the presentation of the CS begins before
that of the UCS and lasts until the UCS is present
Trace Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the CS stimulus is presented and terminated
before the UCS is presented
Backward Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the CS is presented after the UCS is
presented
Operant Conditioning - CORRECT ANSWER - the idea that we do what reaps rewards
and don't do things that don't reap rewards
Shaping - CORRECT ANSWER - in the skinner box, the experimenter rewarded the rats
(with food pellets) for even being near the lever and then rewarded them again for touching the
lever
,also called differential reinforcement of successive approximation
Primary Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER - something that is reinforcing on its own
without the requirement of learning
Secondary Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER - a learned reinforcer (money)
Positive Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER - a type of reward or positive event acting
as a stimulus that increases the likelihood of a particular response
Negative Reinforcement - CORRECT ANSWER - reinforcement through the removal of a
negative event; positive reinforcement works by giving someone something that they like while
negative reinforcement works by taking away something someone dislikes
Partial Reinforcement Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - not all correct responses are met
with reinforcement
Fixed Ratio Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - a reinforcement is delivered after a
consistent number of responses
Variable Ratio Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - different from a fixed ratio schedule in
that reinforcements are delivered after different numbers of correct responses; the ratio cannot be
predicted
Fixed Interval Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - rewards come after the passage of a
certain period of time rather than the number of behavior
Variable Interval Schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - rewards are delivered after differing
time periods; the length of time varies so one never knows when the reinforcement is just around
the corner
, Token Economy - CORRECT ANSWER - usually found in prisons, rehab centers or
mental hospitals; individuals in the environment are motivated by secondary reinforcers, tokens
in this case
Clark Hull - CORRECT ANSWER - proposed that performance = drive x habit; this
means that individuals are first motivated by drive and then they act according to old successful
habits
Edward Tolman - CORRECT ANSWER - proposed that performance = expectation x
value (expectancy value theory); people are motivated by goals that they think they might
actually meet
Henry Murray and David McClelland - CORRECT ANSWER - studied the possibility that
people are motivated by a need for achievement (nAch); a need to pursue success or a need to
avoid failure
John Atkinson - CORRECT ANSWER - suggested a theory of motivation in which people
who set realistic goals with intermediate risk sets feel pride with accomplishment and want to
succeed more than they fear failure
Neil Miller - CORRECT ANSWER - proposed the approach-avoidance conflict - refers to
the state one feels when a certain goal has both pros and cons
Hedonism - CORRECT ANSWER - the theory that individuals are motivated by what
brings the most pleasure and the least pain
The Premack Principle - CORRECT ANSWER - the idea that people are motivated to do
what they do not want to do by rewarding themselves afterward with something they like to do
Donald Hebb - CORRECT ANSWER - postulated that a medium amount of arousal is best
for performance; too little or too much arousal could hamper performance tasks
