Free Learning and Motivation MCQs with Answers

• A. relief from anxiety
• B. defending the ego
• C. protecting one's self - image
• D. avoiding existential anxiety

Explanation: Relief from anxiety is negative reinforcement because removing an unpleasant state increases the likelihood of the behavior that produced…

• A. systematic desensitization
• B. psychoanalysis
• C. EMDR
• D. a token economy

Explanation: A token economy is a behaviourist technique in which rewards are given for target behaviours, prompting the criticism that behaviour is…

• A. B. F. Skinner
• B. Sigmund Freud
• C. Carl Rogers
• D. Ivan Pavlov

Explanation: Counterconditioning replaces an unwanted conditioned response with a more adaptive response, building on Pavlov's classical-conditioning…

• A. can not be stopped by the patient which is why he/she is seeking therapy
• B. are signs of an underlying emotional or cognitive problem
• C. can be modified directly, through the application of established principles of conditioning
• D. should be viewed as the expression of an unconscious sexual or aggressive conflict

Explanation: Behavior therapists explain pathological behavior in terms of learned conditioning and therefore target it directly through techniques…

• A. the number of trials in which the CS and UCS are paired
• B. the number of trials in which the CS is presented alone
• C. the percentage of trials in which the CS and UCS are paired
• D. resistance of extinction

Explanation: Rescorla argued that conditioning depends on the predictive relationship, or contingency, between the CS and UCS rather than merely the…

• A. negative reinforcement
• B. punishment
• C. positive reinforcement
• D. secondary reinforcement

Explanation: Both adding an aversive stimulus and removing a desirable stimulus are forms of punishment because each is intended to reduce a behavior.

• A. US
• B. CS
• C. UR
• D. CR

Explanation: The loud noise is the aversive unconditioned stimulus, while the previously neutral snake becomes a conditioned stimulus after being…

• A. the law effect
• B. stimulus generalization
• C. stimulus discrimination
• D. an overactive imagination

Explanation: Stimulus generalization occurs when a conditioned response spreads from the original stimulus to similar stimuli, such as stuffed white…

• A. unconditioned stimulus
• B. unconditioned response
• C. conditioned stimulus
• D. conditioned response

Explanation: The nightgown was originally neutral but became associated with sexual activity, so it functions as a conditioned stimulus that produces…

• A. a steep, unchanging slope
• B. a shallow, unchanging slope
• C. a progressively steeper slope
• D. a progressively shallower slope

Explanation: A cumulative record plots responses over time, so a high, steady response rate appears as a straight line with a steep, constant slope.

• A. Classical conditioning regulates reflexive, involuntary responses exclusively
• B. Operant conditioning regulates voluntary responses exclusively
• C. The distinction between the two types of conditioning is not absolute, with both types jointly and interactively governing some aspects of behavior
• D. Both a and b

Explanation: Classical and operant conditioning are useful distinctions, but behavior is not always governed by only one process.

• A. Fixed-ratio
• B. variable-ratio
• C. Fixed-interval
• D. variable-interval

Explanation: A slot machine pays after an unpredictable number of responses, which defines a variable-ratio schedule.

• A. classical; operant
• B. operant; classical
• C. classical; classical
• D. operant; operant

Explanation: Fear can be conditioned classically by associating a previously neutral cue with an aversive event.

• A. acquisition
• B. development
• C. performance
• D. generalization

Explanation: Skinner emphasized reinforcement in acquiring behavior through its consequences, whereas Bandura distinguished learning from its…

• A. animals learn only by operant conditioning
• B. operant conditioning involves learning in which antecedent events are associated with one another
• C. classical conditioning involves learning in which antecedent events are associated with one another
• D. operant conditioning occurs when a response is not affected by consequences

Explanation: Classical conditioning links antecedent events, such as a bell becoming associated with food, whereas operant conditioning links a…

• A. the onset of an unpleasant event
• B. the removal of a positive state of affairs
• C. any consequence that reduces the occurrence of behavior
• D. a positive reinforcer

Explanation: A punisher is defined by its effect: it is any consequence that decreases the future frequency of the behavior it follows.

• A. They occur before the response
• B. They occur after the response
• C. They occur simultaneously with the response
• D. they are unrelated to the response

Explanation: In operant conditioning, the response produces a consequence, such as reinforcement or punishment, so the critical event normally follows…

• A. Increases his capacities
• B. Increases his learning
• C. Determines his future line of action
• D. All of the above

Explanation: Insight involves restructuring a problem and recognizing a solution rather than merely repeating trial-and-error attempts.

• A. Solution of a problem through repeated errors
• B. Observation of the behavior of others
• C. Instantly solve a problem
• D. None of the above

Explanation: The defining feature of insight learning is a sudden grasp of the relationship needed to solve a problem, often described as an "aha"…

• A. Skills
• B. Observation
• C. Limitation
• D. Theories

Explanation: Learning by doing occurs through performing and developing skills in an activity.