TEST BANK Learning & Behavior 8th Edition by James Mazur
Chapter 01. History, Background, and Basic Concepts
1. B. F. Skinner used white rats in his early experiments because
a. they exhibit only the simplest learning abilities
b. they had been frequently used in medical research
c. he felt it did not matter what species he studied
d. none of these
Answer: c
2. Aristotle’s rules of association included all of the following except
a. contiguity
b. recency
c. similarity
d. contrast
Answer: b
3. Nativism is
a. the view that all knowledge comes from experience
b. the view that no knowledge comes from experience
c. a position that has been shown to be incorrect
d. none of these
Answer: d
4. If a child learns the concept of house before the concept of floor, this learning
a. is evidence for Aristotle’s principle of contiguity
b. is evidence against Aristotle’s principle of contiguity
c. is evidence for James Mill’s theory of complex ideas
d. is evidence against James Mill’s theory of complex ideas
Answer: d
5. According to Thomas Brown’s secondary principles of association, learning is affected
by
a. the length of time two stimuli are presented together
b. the liveliness or vividness of the stimuli
c. how frequently two stimuli have been presented together
d. all of these
Answer: d
6. Ebbinghaus used nonsense syllables in his list-learning experiments primarily because
a. they were relatively free from prior associations
b. they were difficult to learn
c. they were all three letters long
d. he needed a supply of hundreds of different list items
Answer: a
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,7. If a person memorizes a list perfectly in 10 trials, and then takes 6 trials to relearn the list the
next day, the amount of savings is
a. 33.3%
b. 40%
c. 60%
d. 66.7%
Answer: b
8. Ebbinghaus discovered that continuing to study a list of nonsense syllables after he could
already recite the list perfectly
a. increased the savings on a later relearning test
b. did not change the savings on a later relearning test
c. actually decreased the savings on a later relearning test
d. increased the strength of backward associations
Answer: a
9. Ebbinghaus’s results suggest that studying a large number of names and dates immediately
before an exam
a. is a good strategy
b. is a poor strategy
c. will neither help nor hurt
d. will help only if this information has also been studied at some earlier time
Answer: a
10. If the savings in a serial learning experiment are 75% after a delay of 1 hour, the savings
after a delay of 2 hours will probably be
a. more than 75%
b. more than 50%
c. about 50%
d. less than 50%
Answer: b
11. Ebbinghaus’s experiments, in which a previously learned list was systematically rearranged
and the new list was learned, provided evidence supporting
a. the recency principle
b. the contiguity principle
c. the similarity principle
d. none of these
Answer: b
12. Ebbinghaus’s results suggest that continuing to recite a poem after you have learned it
perfectly
a. will improve your ability to remember it later
b. will harm your ability to remember it later
c. will have no effect on your ability to remember it later
d. will interfere with your ability to learn other poems
22
,Answer: a
13. One disadvantage of using animals in research on learning is that
a. they are more likely to display “subject effects” than humans
b. some complex learning abilities are unique to humans
c. it is difficult to control their environments
d. all of these
Answer: b
14. Laws in the United States require that research animals have
a. adequate food and water
b. a clean living environment
c. veterinary care
d. all of these
Answer: d
15. A psychologist develops a theory that failure produces frustration, and frustration frequently
leads to aggressive behavior. In this theory, frustration is
a. an independent variable
b. a dependent variable
c. an intervening variable
d. a confounding variable
Answer: b
16. Which of the following is an example of an intervening variable?
a. hunger
b. food
c. eating
d. not eating for 10 hours
Answer: a
17. Skinner has argued against the use of intervening variables in psychological theories
a. because they make the theories more complex
b. because he believed that the causes of many behaviors can be found in the environment,
not inside the individual
c. both of these
d. neither of these
Answer: c
18. To account for all the relations between two independent variables and three dependent
variables, a theory without intervening variables would have to describe
a. two relations
b. three relations
c. five relations
d. six relations
Answer: d
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, 19. Neal Miller argued that intervening variables are helpful when dealing with many
independent and dependent variables because they make a theory
a. simpler
b. more realistic
c. more testable
d. fruitful
Answer: a
20. A neuron’s transmitter is released from its
a. cell body
b. axon terminals
c. dendrites
d. nucleus
Answer: b
21. The __________ of a neuron receive(s) the transmitter released by other neurons.
a. cell body
b. axon terminals
c. dendrites
d. nucleus
Answer: c
22. The activity of a cone on the retina can provide other parts of the visual system with
information about
a. the color of a stimulus
b. the size of a stimulus
c. the shape of a stimulus
d. all of these
Answer: a
23. The “simple cells” discovered by Hubel and Wiesel, which respond to lines of particular
orientations, can be found in
a. the retina
b. the cornea
c. the visual cortex
d. the hippocampus
Answer: c
24. A particular cell in a cat’s visual system might respond most strongly to a line with an angle
that is 60 degrees from the horizontal. Available evidence suggests that a cat’s previous visual
experiences
a. have no effect on the characteristics of such angle detectors
b. have no effect except to keep the detectors from deteriorating because of a lack of use
c. can affect to some extent the best angle for a given cell
d. are totally responsible for determining the best angle for a given cell
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Chapter 01. History, Background, and Basic Concepts
1. B. F. Skinner used white rats in his early experiments because
a. they exhibit only the simplest learning abilities
b. they had been frequently used in medical research
c. he felt it did not matter what species he studied
d. none of these
Answer: c
2. Aristotle’s rules of association included all of the following except
a. contiguity
b. recency
c. similarity
d. contrast
Answer: b
3. Nativism is
a. the view that all knowledge comes from experience
b. the view that no knowledge comes from experience
c. a position that has been shown to be incorrect
d. none of these
Answer: d
4. If a child learns the concept of house before the concept of floor, this learning
a. is evidence for Aristotle’s principle of contiguity
b. is evidence against Aristotle’s principle of contiguity
c. is evidence for James Mill’s theory of complex ideas
d. is evidence against James Mill’s theory of complex ideas
Answer: d
5. According to Thomas Brown’s secondary principles of association, learning is affected
by
a. the length of time two stimuli are presented together
b. the liveliness or vividness of the stimuli
c. how frequently two stimuli have been presented together
d. all of these
Answer: d
6. Ebbinghaus used nonsense syllables in his list-learning experiments primarily because
a. they were relatively free from prior associations
b. they were difficult to learn
c. they were all three letters long
d. he needed a supply of hundreds of different list items
Answer: a
21
,7. If a person memorizes a list perfectly in 10 trials, and then takes 6 trials to relearn the list the
next day, the amount of savings is
a. 33.3%
b. 40%
c. 60%
d. 66.7%
Answer: b
8. Ebbinghaus discovered that continuing to study a list of nonsense syllables after he could
already recite the list perfectly
a. increased the savings on a later relearning test
b. did not change the savings on a later relearning test
c. actually decreased the savings on a later relearning test
d. increased the strength of backward associations
Answer: a
9. Ebbinghaus’s results suggest that studying a large number of names and dates immediately
before an exam
a. is a good strategy
b. is a poor strategy
c. will neither help nor hurt
d. will help only if this information has also been studied at some earlier time
Answer: a
10. If the savings in a serial learning experiment are 75% after a delay of 1 hour, the savings
after a delay of 2 hours will probably be
a. more than 75%
b. more than 50%
c. about 50%
d. less than 50%
Answer: b
11. Ebbinghaus’s experiments, in which a previously learned list was systematically rearranged
and the new list was learned, provided evidence supporting
a. the recency principle
b. the contiguity principle
c. the similarity principle
d. none of these
Answer: b
12. Ebbinghaus’s results suggest that continuing to recite a poem after you have learned it
perfectly
a. will improve your ability to remember it later
b. will harm your ability to remember it later
c. will have no effect on your ability to remember it later
d. will interfere with your ability to learn other poems
22
,Answer: a
13. One disadvantage of using animals in research on learning is that
a. they are more likely to display “subject effects” than humans
b. some complex learning abilities are unique to humans
c. it is difficult to control their environments
d. all of these
Answer: b
14. Laws in the United States require that research animals have
a. adequate food and water
b. a clean living environment
c. veterinary care
d. all of these
Answer: d
15. A psychologist develops a theory that failure produces frustration, and frustration frequently
leads to aggressive behavior. In this theory, frustration is
a. an independent variable
b. a dependent variable
c. an intervening variable
d. a confounding variable
Answer: b
16. Which of the following is an example of an intervening variable?
a. hunger
b. food
c. eating
d. not eating for 10 hours
Answer: a
17. Skinner has argued against the use of intervening variables in psychological theories
a. because they make the theories more complex
b. because he believed that the causes of many behaviors can be found in the environment,
not inside the individual
c. both of these
d. neither of these
Answer: c
18. To account for all the relations between two independent variables and three dependent
variables, a theory without intervening variables would have to describe
a. two relations
b. three relations
c. five relations
d. six relations
Answer: d
23
, 19. Neal Miller argued that intervening variables are helpful when dealing with many
independent and dependent variables because they make a theory
a. simpler
b. more realistic
c. more testable
d. fruitful
Answer: a
20. A neuron’s transmitter is released from its
a. cell body
b. axon terminals
c. dendrites
d. nucleus
Answer: b
21. The __________ of a neuron receive(s) the transmitter released by other neurons.
a. cell body
b. axon terminals
c. dendrites
d. nucleus
Answer: c
22. The activity of a cone on the retina can provide other parts of the visual system with
information about
a. the color of a stimulus
b. the size of a stimulus
c. the shape of a stimulus
d. all of these
Answer: a
23. The “simple cells” discovered by Hubel and Wiesel, which respond to lines of particular
orientations, can be found in
a. the retina
b. the cornea
c. the visual cortex
d. the hippocampus
Answer: c
24. A particular cell in a cat’s visual system might respond most strongly to a line with an angle
that is 60 degrees from the horizontal. Available evidence suggests that a cat’s previous visual
experiences
a. have no effect on the characteristics of such angle detectors
b. have no effect except to keep the detectors from deteriorating because of a lack of use
c. can affect to some extent the best angle for a given cell
d. are totally responsible for determining the best angle for a given cell
24
