Psychology 387 - Learning (Athabasca) - Final Study Guide (1) COMPLETE
EXAM Questions and Answers (Verified Answers) (Latest Update 2026)
UPDATE!!
E. L. Thorndike's studies of learning started as an attempt to understand _______.
a. operant conditioning
b. the psychic reflex
c. animal intelligence
d. maze learning - (ANSWER)animal intelligence
In one of Thorndike's puzzle boxes, a door would fall open when a cat stepped on a treadle, thus
allowing the cat to reach food outside the box. Eventually the cat would step on the treadle as soon as it
was put into the box. Thorndike concluded that ________.
a. the reasoning ability of cats is quite remarkable
b. treadle stepping increased because it had a "satisfying effect"
c. the treadle is a CS for stepping
d. learning meant connecting the treadle with freedom and food - (ANSWER)treadle stepping increased
because it had a "satisfying effect"
Operant learning is sometimes called ________ learning.
a. free
b. higher-order
c. instrumental
d. reward - (ANSWER)Instrumental
Operant learning may also be referred to as _______.
a. trial-and-error learning
b. effects learning
c. non-Pavlovian conditioning
d. instrumental learning - (ANSWER)Instrumental learning
,Psychology 387 - Learning (Athabasca) - Final Study Guide (1) COMPLETE
EXAM Questions and Answers (Verified Answers) (Latest Update 2026)
UPDATE!!
Mary's grandmother, Pearl, is from the Old Country. Although she knows some English, she continues to
speak her native tongue. Pearl can't go anywhere without a member of the family because she can't
communicate with people about prices, directions, bus routes, etc. Pearl's resistance to learning English
is most likely the result of ______.
a. a lack of intelligence
b. age. Studies show that after the age of 60 learning a second language is nearly impossible.
c. the length of time she has spent speaking her native language
d. the benefits she receives for not speaking English - (ANSWER)the benefits she receives for not
speaking English
Mary decides to try to modify Pearl's behavior (see above item). She and the rest of the family refuse to
respond to any comment or request by Pearl that they know she is capable of expressing in English. For
example, if during dinner she says, "Pass the potatoes" in English, she gets potatoes; if she says it in her
native language she gets ignored. The procedure being used to change Pearl's behavior is ______.
a. positive reinforcement
b. negative reinforcement
c. adventitious reinforcement
d. punishment - (ANSWER)positive reinforcement
. The number of operant procedures indicated in the contingency square is ______.
a. two
b. four
c. six
d. nine - (ANSWER)four
,Psychology 387 - Learning (Athabasca) - Final Study Guide (1) COMPLETE
EXAM Questions and Answers (Verified Answers) (Latest Update 2026)
UPDATE!!
Positive reinforcement is sometimes called _______.
a. escape training
b. positive training
c. satisfier training
d. reward learning - (ANSWER)reward learning
Negative reinforcement is also called _______.
a. punishment
b. aversive training
c. escape-avoidance training
d. reward training - (ANSWER)escape-avoidance training
. The author of your text calls Skinner the ______.
a. Newton of psychology
b. Thorndike of free operant work
c. discoverer of reinforcement
d. Darwin of behavior science - (ANSWER)Darwin of behavior science
The opposite of a conditioned reinforcer is a ______.
a. tertiary reinforcer
b. secondary reinforcer
c. primary reinforcer
d. generalized reinforcer - (ANSWER)primary reinforcer
, Psychology 387 - Learning (Athabasca) - Final Study Guide (1) COMPLETE
EXAM Questions and Answers (Verified Answers) (Latest Update 2026)
UPDATE!!
All of the following are recognized kinds of reinforcers except ______.
a. primary
b.contrived
c. secondary
d. classical - (ANSWER)classical
Donald Zimmerman found that a buzzer became a positive reinforcer after it was repeatedly paired with
______.
a. food
b. water
c. escape from shock
d. morphine - (ANSWER)water
The level of deprivation is less important when the reinforcer used is a(n) _________reinforcer.
a. primary
b. secondary
c. unexpected
d. intrinsic - (ANSWER)secondary
Secondary reinforcers are also called _______ reinforcers.
a. transient
b. conditioned
c. second-order
d. acquired - (ANSWER)conditioned
EXAM Questions and Answers (Verified Answers) (Latest Update 2026)
UPDATE!!
E. L. Thorndike's studies of learning started as an attempt to understand _______.
a. operant conditioning
b. the psychic reflex
c. animal intelligence
d. maze learning - (ANSWER)animal intelligence
In one of Thorndike's puzzle boxes, a door would fall open when a cat stepped on a treadle, thus
allowing the cat to reach food outside the box. Eventually the cat would step on the treadle as soon as it
was put into the box. Thorndike concluded that ________.
a. the reasoning ability of cats is quite remarkable
b. treadle stepping increased because it had a "satisfying effect"
c. the treadle is a CS for stepping
d. learning meant connecting the treadle with freedom and food - (ANSWER)treadle stepping increased
because it had a "satisfying effect"
Operant learning is sometimes called ________ learning.
a. free
b. higher-order
c. instrumental
d. reward - (ANSWER)Instrumental
Operant learning may also be referred to as _______.
a. trial-and-error learning
b. effects learning
c. non-Pavlovian conditioning
d. instrumental learning - (ANSWER)Instrumental learning
,Psychology 387 - Learning (Athabasca) - Final Study Guide (1) COMPLETE
EXAM Questions and Answers (Verified Answers) (Latest Update 2026)
UPDATE!!
Mary's grandmother, Pearl, is from the Old Country. Although she knows some English, she continues to
speak her native tongue. Pearl can't go anywhere without a member of the family because she can't
communicate with people about prices, directions, bus routes, etc. Pearl's resistance to learning English
is most likely the result of ______.
a. a lack of intelligence
b. age. Studies show that after the age of 60 learning a second language is nearly impossible.
c. the length of time she has spent speaking her native language
d. the benefits she receives for not speaking English - (ANSWER)the benefits she receives for not
speaking English
Mary decides to try to modify Pearl's behavior (see above item). She and the rest of the family refuse to
respond to any comment or request by Pearl that they know she is capable of expressing in English. For
example, if during dinner she says, "Pass the potatoes" in English, she gets potatoes; if she says it in her
native language she gets ignored. The procedure being used to change Pearl's behavior is ______.
a. positive reinforcement
b. negative reinforcement
c. adventitious reinforcement
d. punishment - (ANSWER)positive reinforcement
. The number of operant procedures indicated in the contingency square is ______.
a. two
b. four
c. six
d. nine - (ANSWER)four
,Psychology 387 - Learning (Athabasca) - Final Study Guide (1) COMPLETE
EXAM Questions and Answers (Verified Answers) (Latest Update 2026)
UPDATE!!
Positive reinforcement is sometimes called _______.
a. escape training
b. positive training
c. satisfier training
d. reward learning - (ANSWER)reward learning
Negative reinforcement is also called _______.
a. punishment
b. aversive training
c. escape-avoidance training
d. reward training - (ANSWER)escape-avoidance training
. The author of your text calls Skinner the ______.
a. Newton of psychology
b. Thorndike of free operant work
c. discoverer of reinforcement
d. Darwin of behavior science - (ANSWER)Darwin of behavior science
The opposite of a conditioned reinforcer is a ______.
a. tertiary reinforcer
b. secondary reinforcer
c. primary reinforcer
d. generalized reinforcer - (ANSWER)primary reinforcer
, Psychology 387 - Learning (Athabasca) - Final Study Guide (1) COMPLETE
EXAM Questions and Answers (Verified Answers) (Latest Update 2026)
UPDATE!!
All of the following are recognized kinds of reinforcers except ______.
a. primary
b.contrived
c. secondary
d. classical - (ANSWER)classical
Donald Zimmerman found that a buzzer became a positive reinforcer after it was repeatedly paired with
______.
a. food
b. water
c. escape from shock
d. morphine - (ANSWER)water
The level of deprivation is less important when the reinforcer used is a(n) _________reinforcer.
a. primary
b. secondary
c. unexpected
d. intrinsic - (ANSWER)secondary
Secondary reinforcers are also called _______ reinforcers.
a. transient
b. conditioned
c. second-order
d. acquired - (ANSWER)conditioned
