Student Resources

Learning Objectives

Chapter 1

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. describe the early theories of memory proposed by the Associationists and the early memory studies of Hermann Ebbinghaus
2. explain the behavioral and cognitive approaches to studying learning and how they differ
3. explain the advantages and disadvantages of using animals in psychological research
4. discuss intervening variabless, and the debate over whether they should be used in psychology
5. explain how our sensory receptors respond to “simple sensations” and how feature detectors in the visual system respond to more complex patterns
6. list three main types of changes that can take place in the brain as a result of a learning experience, and present evidence for each type

Chapter 2

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. describe the major concepts of control systems theory, and apply the concepts to both living and nonliving examples of goal-directed behavior
2. describe four different types of innate behavior patterns, and explain how they differ
3. describe some human abilities and predispositions that may be inborn
4. define habituation, and list the general principles of habituation that are found in all animal species
5. discuss what is known about the physiological mechanisms of habituation
6. describe opponent-process theory, and diagram the typical pattern of an emotional response to a new stimulus and to a stimulus that has been repeated many times

Chapter 3

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. describe the procedure of classical conditioning and some of the most common ways it is studied in the laboratory
2. explain Pavlov’s stimulus substitution theory, and describe its strengths and weaknesses
3. describe the basic principles of classical conditioning, including acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, conditioned inhibition, generalization, and discrimination
4. explain how the timing of the stimuli in a classical conditioning procedure affects the results
5. give examples of classical conditioning that are found in everyday life
6. describe some of the main behavior therapies that are based on classical conditioning, and evaluate their effectiveness

Chapter 4

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. explain the blocking effect and why it is important
2. describe the basic concepts of the Rescorla–Wagner model and how it accounts for conditioning phenomena such as acquisition, extinction, blocking, and conditioned inhibition
3. describe the different types of associations that can form during classical conditioning
4. explain how heredity can influence what animals and people learn through classical conditioning
5. discuss the role that classical conditioning plays in drug tolerance and addiction
6. describe research on the physiological mechanisms of classical conditioning in primitive animals, mammals, and humans

Chapter 5

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. describe Thorndike’s Law of Effect and experiments on animals in the puzzle box
2. discuss how the principle of reinforcement can account for superstitious behaviors
3. describe the procedure of shaping and explain how it can be used in behavior modification
4. explain B. F. Skinner’s free-operant procedure, three-term contingency, and the basic principles of operant conditioning
5. define instinctive drift, and explain why some psychologists believed that it posed problems for the principle of reinforcement
6. define autoshaping and discuss different theories about why it occurs

Chapter 6

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. identify different procedures for increasing or decreasing behavior
2. describe three theories of avoidance and explain their strengths and weaknesses
3. discuss the phenomenon of learned helplessness as it occurs in animals and in people
4. describe factors that determine whether punishment will be effective
5. explain the disadvantages of using punishment as a method of controlling behavior
6. describe different types of behavior decelerators and how they are used in behavior therapy

Chapter 7

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. describe the four simple reinforcement schedules and the types of behavior they produce during reinforcement and extinction
2. give examples of reinforcement schedules from everyday life
3. explain the difference between contingency-shaped and rule-governed behavior
4. describe different theories about why there is a postreinforcement pause on fixed-ratio schedules, and explain which theory is best
5. discuss explanations of why responding is faster on variable-ratio schedules than on variable-interval schedules
6. give examples of how the principles of operant conditioning have been used in behavior modification with children and adults

Chapter 8

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. discuss whether performing a response and receiving a reinforcer are essential in the learning and in the performance of a new behavior
2. describe studies on how reinforcement can be used to control visceral responses, and explain how these techniques have been used in biofeedback
3. list five different theories about how we can predict what will serve as a reinforcer, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the different theories
4. explain how a functional analysis of reinforcers can be used to determine the causes of unusual or puzzling behaviors
5. give examples of how the field of behavioral economics has been applied to animal and human behaviors

Chapter 9

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. discuss the debate over whether generalization gradients are innate or learned, and evaluate the evidence for each position
2. discuss the debate over whether stimulus control is absolute or relational, and evaluate the evidence for each position
3. define behavioral contrast and discuss different theories of why it occurs
4. define errorless discrimination learning and give examples of its use in behavior modification
5. explain what is known about the structure of natural concepts, and describe the research on natural concept learning by animals
6. describe some of the ways that stimulus control techniques are used in behavior modification

Chapter 10

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. describe how short-term memory and rehearsal have been studied with animals
2. describe how long-term memory has been studied with animals
3. explain what is known about animals’ abilities to measure time, to count, and to learn serial patterns
4. discuss different attempts to teach language to animals and evaluate their success
5. describe research on animals’ abilities in the areas of object permanence, analogies, and metacognition

Chapter 11

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. describe several different theories of imitation and discuss their strengths and weaknesses
2. explain what is known about observational learning by animals
3. explain Bandura’s theory about the four factors necessary for successful imitation
4. give examples of how observational learning and operant conditioning can interact to determine an individual’s behavior
5. give some specific examples of the variety of behaviors that can be learned through observation
6. describe several ways in which modeling has been used in behavior therapy

Chapter 12

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. discuss the roles of reinforcement, knowledge of results, and knowledge of performance in motor-skill learning
2. describe how the distribution of practice, observational learning, and transfer from previous training can affect motor-skill learning and performance
3. explain Adams’s two-stage theory and the evidence that supports it
4. explain Schmidt’s schema theory and show how it differs from Adams’s theory
5. compare the response chain approach and the concept of motor programs, and present evidence for the existence of motor programs

Chapter 13

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. describe the matching law and explain how it has been applied to different choice situations
2. describe optimization theory and discuss studies that compare its predictions to those of the matching law
3. describe momentary maximization theory and explain how it differs from optimization theory
4. define the self-control choice situation, and give examples from the laboratory and from everyday life
5. discuss techniques people can use to improve their self-control
6. explain the phenomenon of the “tragedy of the commons” and discuss ways that it can be avoided

Interactive Quiz