PSYC 387 Exam Questions and Answers
Graded A+
Answer this fill in the blank
A reflex is a ____________ between a ___________
and a simple ____________. - Correct answer-A reflex is a relation/relationship
between a specific event/stimulus
and a simple behaviour/response
1. Who originally said that change is the only constant? Explain why the author
endorses this view? - Correct answer-Charles Darwin
The author takes this viewpoint as any individual or species must be able to cope
with change if it is to survive
Change is not the exception to the rule, it is the rule. Throughout nature, the
struggle to survive is an effort to cope with change
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,The world in which we live is not a stagnant place. It is constantly changing.
Mountains rise and fall, forests become deserts, new diseases appear, countries rise
and fall, famine is followed by abundance and visa versa. The history of humanity,
and your own personal history, is about coping with change. One way species cope
with change is through natural selection.
Describe the research used in attempting to teach chimpanzees to talk. Why were
the efforts unsuccessful? (pp. 377-378) - Correct answer-There was multiple
attempts to teach chimpanzees to talk and these were unsuccessful
When the switch to sign language was made for the teaching language with Allen
and Beatrice Gardner
not that chimps and other animals are as adept as humans at learning language
(they clearly are not) but rather that their difficulty in learning to speak is due at
least partly to inadequate anatomical structures. People would also have a difficult
time learning to speak if they had the kind of vocal equipment that other animals
have.
Describe inherited learning abilities as a limitation on learning. Provide and
recognize original examples of such inheritance. Describe the research showing
that learning abilities can be inherited in animals and in humans. (pp. 379-380) -
©COPYRIGHT 2025, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
,Correct answer-If we inherited learned behavior that was no longer adaptive, learn-
ing might be more of a hindrance than a help. Yet we must admit that the
nonheritability of learning limits what any individual can learn in a lifetime.
It is also clear that there are differences in learning abilities within a given species,
and these differences are also partly due to heredity
To say that heredity plays a role in learning ability does not mean, of course, that it
is the sole determinant. In the case of both rats (e.g., Cooper & Zubek, 1958) and
people (e.g., Cassidy, Roche, & Hayes, 2011; Hart & Risley, 1995; Turkheimer et
al., 2003), learning history has a powerful effect on learning ability (see Recipe for
Genius). The point is that there are biological limits on what we or any other
species can learn.
Describe the research of Brown and Jenkins (1968). What is autoshaping? (p. 386)
- Correct answer-Paul Brown and Herbert Jenkins (1968). These researchers put
pigeons into experimental chambers rigged so that periodically a disc would be
illuminated. The disc remained lit for a few seconds, and when the light went off a
food tray provided the pigeon with grain. The birds did not have to do anything to
©COPYRIGHT 2025, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
, receive food, yet all the birds began pecking the disc. The researchers called the
procedure autoshaping since the behavior was "shaped" without reinforcement
What is Seligman's continuum of preparedness? Describe the evidence for
Seligman's theory. (pp. 387-388) - Correct answer-Martin Seligman (1970)
proposed that such tendencies can be characterized as a continuum of
preparedness: An animal comes to a learning situation genetically prepared to learn
(in which case learning proceeds quickly), unprepared (in which case learning
proceeds steadily but more slowly), or contraprepared (in which case the course of
learning is slow and irregular;
proposed that humans are also prepared to acquire certain fears. He points out that
people are far more likely to fear sharks, spiders, snakes, and dogs than they are
lambs, trees, houses, and cars
Describe the evidence that people have an innate disposition to fear certain kinds
of stimuli. (pp. 388-389) - Correct answer-Seligman and Joanne Hager (1972) tell
the story of a 7-year-old girl who saw a snake while playing in the park. Sometime
later, the girl accidentally slammed a car door on her hand, after which she
developed a fear of snakes. Obviously, the snake did not hurt her hand. The
©COPYRIGHT 2025, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 4
Graded A+
Answer this fill in the blank
A reflex is a ____________ between a ___________
and a simple ____________. - Correct answer-A reflex is a relation/relationship
between a specific event/stimulus
and a simple behaviour/response
1. Who originally said that change is the only constant? Explain why the author
endorses this view? - Correct answer-Charles Darwin
The author takes this viewpoint as any individual or species must be able to cope
with change if it is to survive
Change is not the exception to the rule, it is the rule. Throughout nature, the
struggle to survive is an effort to cope with change
©COPYRIGHT 2025, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1
,The world in which we live is not a stagnant place. It is constantly changing.
Mountains rise and fall, forests become deserts, new diseases appear, countries rise
and fall, famine is followed by abundance and visa versa. The history of humanity,
and your own personal history, is about coping with change. One way species cope
with change is through natural selection.
Describe the research used in attempting to teach chimpanzees to talk. Why were
the efforts unsuccessful? (pp. 377-378) - Correct answer-There was multiple
attempts to teach chimpanzees to talk and these were unsuccessful
When the switch to sign language was made for the teaching language with Allen
and Beatrice Gardner
not that chimps and other animals are as adept as humans at learning language
(they clearly are not) but rather that their difficulty in learning to speak is due at
least partly to inadequate anatomical structures. People would also have a difficult
time learning to speak if they had the kind of vocal equipment that other animals
have.
Describe inherited learning abilities as a limitation on learning. Provide and
recognize original examples of such inheritance. Describe the research showing
that learning abilities can be inherited in animals and in humans. (pp. 379-380) -
©COPYRIGHT 2025, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2
,Correct answer-If we inherited learned behavior that was no longer adaptive, learn-
ing might be more of a hindrance than a help. Yet we must admit that the
nonheritability of learning limits what any individual can learn in a lifetime.
It is also clear that there are differences in learning abilities within a given species,
and these differences are also partly due to heredity
To say that heredity plays a role in learning ability does not mean, of course, that it
is the sole determinant. In the case of both rats (e.g., Cooper & Zubek, 1958) and
people (e.g., Cassidy, Roche, & Hayes, 2011; Hart & Risley, 1995; Turkheimer et
al., 2003), learning history has a powerful effect on learning ability (see Recipe for
Genius). The point is that there are biological limits on what we or any other
species can learn.
Describe the research of Brown and Jenkins (1968). What is autoshaping? (p. 386)
- Correct answer-Paul Brown and Herbert Jenkins (1968). These researchers put
pigeons into experimental chambers rigged so that periodically a disc would be
illuminated. The disc remained lit for a few seconds, and when the light went off a
food tray provided the pigeon with grain. The birds did not have to do anything to
©COPYRIGHT 2025, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3
, receive food, yet all the birds began pecking the disc. The researchers called the
procedure autoshaping since the behavior was "shaped" without reinforcement
What is Seligman's continuum of preparedness? Describe the evidence for
Seligman's theory. (pp. 387-388) - Correct answer-Martin Seligman (1970)
proposed that such tendencies can be characterized as a continuum of
preparedness: An animal comes to a learning situation genetically prepared to learn
(in which case learning proceeds quickly), unprepared (in which case learning
proceeds steadily but more slowly), or contraprepared (in which case the course of
learning is slow and irregular;
proposed that humans are also prepared to acquire certain fears. He points out that
people are far more likely to fear sharks, spiders, snakes, and dogs than they are
lambs, trees, houses, and cars
Describe the evidence that people have an innate disposition to fear certain kinds
of stimuli. (pp. 388-389) - Correct answer-Seligman and Joanne Hager (1972) tell
the story of a 7-year-old girl who saw a snake while playing in the park. Sometime
later, the girl accidentally slammed a car door on her hand, after which she
developed a fear of snakes. Obviously, the snake did not hurt her hand. The
©COPYRIGHT 2025, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 4
