Personality 150 midterm 2 Exam Questions and Answers Already Passed Latest Update 2025-
2026
Behaviorist structcure - Answersexternal regularities in reward
behaviorist key concepts - Answersreinforcement
conditioning
learning
extinction
behaviorist methods - Answersexperimental analysis of animal learning
behaviorist theorist - Answersskinner
dollard/miller
pavlov
watson
hull
sears
behaviorist strengths - AnswersCan force a more scientific analysis of the learning experiences
that shape personality;
requires rigorous empirical study; looks for general laws that apply to all organisms;
forces attention to the environmental influences on behavior
behaviorist limits - AnswersMay dehumanize unique human potentials through comparisons to
rats and pigeons;
may ignore advances from cognitive and social psychology;
Explains all differences between individuals as a consequence of their reinforcement histories;
,Views humans as objects to be trained
Partial reinforcement - Answersa reward that occurs after some, but not all, occurrences of a
behavior
Ian Pavlov - AnswersLaid the foundation for modern learning approaches; he provides a basis
for explaining emotional aspects of personality
-Studied the salivation of dogs and bell sounds
------Food → unconditioned stimulus
------Salivation → unconditioned/automatic response
------Bell → Neutral stimulus
Classical Conditioning and who? - Answersthe concept that after the repeated pairing of an
unconditioned stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response and a neutral stimulus, the
previously neutral stimulus can come to elicit the same response as the unconditioned stimulus
-Conditioning can be used to explain emotional aspects of personality
---e.g., neurotic behavior, phobias, superstitious behavior, etc.
pavlov
Generalization and who? - Answersthe tendency for similar stimuli to evoke the same response
--Conditioned responses can occur in response to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus
(Indian Reservations look like Las Vegas strip)
pavlov
Discrimination and who - Answersthe concept that a conditioned response will not occur for all
possible stimuli, indicating than an animal can learn to tell the difference between different
stimuli
• Learning to tell the difference between different stimuli, responding only to the conditioned
stimulus and not to similar stimuli
,pavlov
Extinction and who - Answersthe process by which the frequency of the organism's producing a
response gradually deceases when the response behavior is no longer followed by the
reinforcement
pavlov
John b watson - AnswersFather of behaviorism
Thoughts and feelings elicited through introspection are unobservable and unscientific.
He had a dislike of using human subjects; he much preferred using animals
• Founded behaviorism
• Applied conditioning principles to humans
• Rejection of introspection
Behaviorism - Answersthe learning approach to psychology introduced by John B. Watson that
emphasizes the study of observable behavior.
Little Albert - Answersa study in which Watson got a little boy to fear a rat or anything that
resembled a rat (santa claus) through conditioning. (loud noise) then they got him not afraid of
it through systematic desensitization.
Systematic desensitization - AnswersGradually extinguishing a phobia by causing the feared
stimulus to become dissociated from the fear response.
Bf Skinner - AnswersEmphasized that personality was clearly the result of reinforcement history
of a child; life and personality are determined and controlled by environmental events.
[IDIOGRAPHIC APPROACH]
Studied animals and generalized to humans
Reinforcement - Answersan event that strengthens a behavior and increases the likelihood of
repeating the behavior in the future.
Law and Effect - AnswersEdward Thorndike's concept that the consequence of a behavior will
, either strengthen or weaken the behavior; that is, when a response follows a stimulus and
results in satisfaction for the organism, this strengthens the connection between stimulus and
response; however, if the response results in discomfort or pain, the connection is weakened.
• Learning initially comes through trial and error. We learn to do those actions that bring us
rewards or help us to avoid pain.
Operant conditioning - Answersthe changing of a behavior by manipulating its consequences.
Shaping - Answersthe process in which undifferentiated operant behaviors are gradually
changed or shaped into a desired behavior pattern by the reinforcement of successive
approximations, so that the behavior more and more resembles the target behavior.
Skinners theory of operant conditioning - Answersemphasized the study of overt, observable
behavior, environmental conditions, and the process by which environmental events and
circumstances determine behavior.
The theory places its emphasis on the function of behavior (what it does) rather than the
structure of personality. it is also a DETERMINISTIC theory, in which there is NO free will.
Skinner box - Answersan enclosure in which an experimenter can shape the behavior of an
animal by controlling reinforcement and accurately measuring the responses of the animal.
(lever)
Negative reinforcement - AnswersAn adverse event that ends if a behavior is performed, making
it more likely for that behavior to be performed in the future.
Radical determination - Answersthe belief that all human behavior is caused and that humans
have no free will
Walden two - Answers(skinners Utopia)
• Applied the principles of operant conditioning to design a society
• Sets up a controlling environment by using positive reinforcement
• Several communities were founded on behaviorist principles (twin oaks community)
Modifying Type A personality - AnswersBy using operant conditioning people are able to learn to
reduce their negative behaviors
Modifying gambling - Answersby altering the reinforcement schedule; or by extinction
Modify drinking & drug abuse - Answers-by conditioning
• (e.g. Disulfiram (Antabuse) produces a sensitivity to alcohol which results in a highly
2026
Behaviorist structcure - Answersexternal regularities in reward
behaviorist key concepts - Answersreinforcement
conditioning
learning
extinction
behaviorist methods - Answersexperimental analysis of animal learning
behaviorist theorist - Answersskinner
dollard/miller
pavlov
watson
hull
sears
behaviorist strengths - AnswersCan force a more scientific analysis of the learning experiences
that shape personality;
requires rigorous empirical study; looks for general laws that apply to all organisms;
forces attention to the environmental influences on behavior
behaviorist limits - AnswersMay dehumanize unique human potentials through comparisons to
rats and pigeons;
may ignore advances from cognitive and social psychology;
Explains all differences between individuals as a consequence of their reinforcement histories;
,Views humans as objects to be trained
Partial reinforcement - Answersa reward that occurs after some, but not all, occurrences of a
behavior
Ian Pavlov - AnswersLaid the foundation for modern learning approaches; he provides a basis
for explaining emotional aspects of personality
-Studied the salivation of dogs and bell sounds
------Food → unconditioned stimulus
------Salivation → unconditioned/automatic response
------Bell → Neutral stimulus
Classical Conditioning and who? - Answersthe concept that after the repeated pairing of an
unconditioned stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response and a neutral stimulus, the
previously neutral stimulus can come to elicit the same response as the unconditioned stimulus
-Conditioning can be used to explain emotional aspects of personality
---e.g., neurotic behavior, phobias, superstitious behavior, etc.
pavlov
Generalization and who? - Answersthe tendency for similar stimuli to evoke the same response
--Conditioned responses can occur in response to stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus
(Indian Reservations look like Las Vegas strip)
pavlov
Discrimination and who - Answersthe concept that a conditioned response will not occur for all
possible stimuli, indicating than an animal can learn to tell the difference between different
stimuli
• Learning to tell the difference between different stimuli, responding only to the conditioned
stimulus and not to similar stimuli
,pavlov
Extinction and who - Answersthe process by which the frequency of the organism's producing a
response gradually deceases when the response behavior is no longer followed by the
reinforcement
pavlov
John b watson - AnswersFather of behaviorism
Thoughts and feelings elicited through introspection are unobservable and unscientific.
He had a dislike of using human subjects; he much preferred using animals
• Founded behaviorism
• Applied conditioning principles to humans
• Rejection of introspection
Behaviorism - Answersthe learning approach to psychology introduced by John B. Watson that
emphasizes the study of observable behavior.
Little Albert - Answersa study in which Watson got a little boy to fear a rat or anything that
resembled a rat (santa claus) through conditioning. (loud noise) then they got him not afraid of
it through systematic desensitization.
Systematic desensitization - AnswersGradually extinguishing a phobia by causing the feared
stimulus to become dissociated from the fear response.
Bf Skinner - AnswersEmphasized that personality was clearly the result of reinforcement history
of a child; life and personality are determined and controlled by environmental events.
[IDIOGRAPHIC APPROACH]
Studied animals and generalized to humans
Reinforcement - Answersan event that strengthens a behavior and increases the likelihood of
repeating the behavior in the future.
Law and Effect - AnswersEdward Thorndike's concept that the consequence of a behavior will
, either strengthen or weaken the behavior; that is, when a response follows a stimulus and
results in satisfaction for the organism, this strengthens the connection between stimulus and
response; however, if the response results in discomfort or pain, the connection is weakened.
• Learning initially comes through trial and error. We learn to do those actions that bring us
rewards or help us to avoid pain.
Operant conditioning - Answersthe changing of a behavior by manipulating its consequences.
Shaping - Answersthe process in which undifferentiated operant behaviors are gradually
changed or shaped into a desired behavior pattern by the reinforcement of successive
approximations, so that the behavior more and more resembles the target behavior.
Skinners theory of operant conditioning - Answersemphasized the study of overt, observable
behavior, environmental conditions, and the process by which environmental events and
circumstances determine behavior.
The theory places its emphasis on the function of behavior (what it does) rather than the
structure of personality. it is also a DETERMINISTIC theory, in which there is NO free will.
Skinner box - Answersan enclosure in which an experimenter can shape the behavior of an
animal by controlling reinforcement and accurately measuring the responses of the animal.
(lever)
Negative reinforcement - AnswersAn adverse event that ends if a behavior is performed, making
it more likely for that behavior to be performed in the future.
Radical determination - Answersthe belief that all human behavior is caused and that humans
have no free will
Walden two - Answers(skinners Utopia)
• Applied the principles of operant conditioning to design a society
• Sets up a controlling environment by using positive reinforcement
• Several communities were founded on behaviorist principles (twin oaks community)
Modifying Type A personality - AnswersBy using operant conditioning people are able to learn to
reduce their negative behaviors
Modifying gambling - Answersby altering the reinforcement schedule; or by extinction
Modify drinking & drug abuse - Answers-by conditioning
• (e.g. Disulfiram (Antabuse) produces a sensitivity to alcohol which results in a highly
