4.1.1 Classical conditioning and Pavlov's experiment Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 4

The 20 questions

1. In Pavlov's experiment, what was the unconditioned stimulus (UCS)?

   • The food placed in the dog's mouth, which automatically produced salivation without any prior learning or training
   • The bell, which was a neutral stimulus that began to produce salivation only after it had been paired with the food
   • The laboratory assistant, whose presence was the only stimulus that caused the dog to produce saliva during training
   • The salivation, which was the learned response that the dog produced after the bell had been paired with the food

2. In classical conditioning, what is the conditioned response (CR)?

   • The neutral stimulus that produces no response at any point in the conditioning process, before or after pairing
   • The response to a stimulus that is unpleasant, such as a loud noise, which causes the animal to escape in panic
   • The response to food that occurs naturally and automatically, without any need for learning from the environment
   • The learned response to the conditioned stimulus, such as salivating in response to the bell after conditioning

3. Before conditioning, a bell is best described as which type of stimulus?

   • A conditioned stimulus, because it produces salivation from the very beginning of the experiment without any training at all
   • A conditioned response, because it is a learned reaction that the dog shows to a previously unlinked event in the room
   • An unconditioned stimulus, because it automatically produces salivation in the dog without any previous pairing with food
   • A neutral stimulus, because it produces no salivation response in the dog until it has been paired with the food

4. What is extinction in classical conditioning?

   • The permanent loss of the UCR after a single pairing of the UCS and the NS, which removes the response from the animal forever
   • The return of a CR after a long delay, when the CS is presented again without the UCS being paired with it at all
   • The gradual weakening of the CR when the CS is repeatedly presented without the UCS, so the response stops occurring
   • The spread of the CR to a range of similar stimuli, so that the animal responds to tones of different pitch in the room

5. What is spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?

   • The reappearance of a CR after a rest period following extinction, even though the CS has not been paired with the UCS again
   • The immediate return of the CR after extinction, which happens within seconds when the CS is first presented again
   • The loss of the CS over time, which happens when the animal forgets the connection between the bell and the food permanently
   • The replacement of the CR with a new UCR, which happens when the animal is given a different type of food during training

6. What is stimulus generalisation in classical conditioning?

   • The learned response disappearing completely as soon as a new neutral stimulus is introduced into the experimental room
   • The learned response being produced by the UCS alone, without any pairing with the CS in the whole conditioning procedure
   • The learned response spreading to stimuli similar to the original CS, such as a bell with a slightly different pitch
   • The learned response being produced only to the exact original CS, and to no other stimulus in the environment at all

7. In Pavlov's 1927 study, the dogs were conditioned to salivate in response to a neutral stimulus. What was the main purpose of Pavlov's work?

   • To demonstrate that salivation is controlled by the id, which Freud had proposed as the source of all unconscious behaviour
   • To study digestion and the physiological responses of the dog, with learning as a key process that was discovered during the research
   • To prove that dogs cannot learn, so that psychologists could move on to studying the cognitive abilities of human beings instead
   • To show that dogs are more intelligent than humans, so that researchers could use them as experimental models of intellect

8. A dog that has been conditioned to salivate to a bell begins to salivate when a buzzer sounds. Which process does this best illustrate?

   • Spontaneous recovery, because the dog has recovered from a long period of rest, which brings back the original response
   • Stimulus generalisation, because the dog responds to a stimulus similar to the original conditioned stimulus, the bell
   • Operant conditioning, because the dog is rewarded for salivating to the buzzer, which increases the frequency of the behaviour
   • Extinction, because the dog has learned that the bell no longer predicts food, so the response to the buzzer is removed

9. A child is bitten by a dog and then develops a fear of all dogs. Which classical conditioning process best explains this generalisation?

   • Vicarious reinforcement, in which the child observes an adult showing fear of dogs and copies the fearful behaviour
   • Stimulus generalisation, in which the fear response spreads from the biting dog to other dogs that look similar to it
   • Operant conditioning of the child's fear through the removal of an unpleasant stimulus after the fear is shown in public
   • Spontaneous recovery, in which the child's fear returns after a rest period, even though no further bites have occurred at all

10. A conditioned dog stops salivating to the bell after the bell is repeatedly presented without food. What has happened?

    • Stimulus generalisation has occurred, so the dog now responds to a range of different sounds rather than just the bell
    • The bell has become an unconditioned stimulus, so the dog no longer needs food to produce salivation to it in the future
    • Spontaneous recovery has occurred, so the dog will keep salivating to the bell permanently regardless of the presence of food
    • Extinction has occurred, so the association between the bell and food has weakened because the bell no longer predicts food

11. A student says that classical conditioning explains all human learning. Which evaluation point is most accurate?

    • Classical conditioning explains all human learning, since every behaviour is a response to a stimulus that has been paired with food
    • Classical conditioning is only relevant to dogs, so it cannot be applied to human beings in any learning situation whatsoever
    • Classical conditioning explains no learning at all, since learning only occurs through conscious decisions made by the individual
    • Classical conditioning explains some learned responses well, but it cannot account for all learning, such as learning through consequences

12. Which feature of Pavlov's study is a strength in the evaluation of classical conditioning?

    • It used an unknown sample of animals, with no details of procedures, so the findings can be replicated by any researcher
    • It used controlled laboratory conditions, with a clear measure of response, which gives the study high internal validity
    • It used interviews with the dogs to find out what they thought about the bell, which provides rich qualitative data
    • It used a large number of human participants, so the findings can be generalised to all people in all cultures directly

13. Which limitation of classical conditioning research is most relevant to applying it to human behaviour?

    • Much of the evidence comes from human participants only, so it cannot be applied to animals or to any other species at all
    • Much of the evidence comes from animals, so generalising the findings to humans may not be entirely valid
    • Much of the evidence comes from brain scans, which cannot show any learning, so the findings are of no practical use
    • Much of the evidence is based on questionnaires, which are unreliable because people always lie in response to them

14. A patient is conditioned to feel nausea after drinking alcohol through pairing with a drug. Which term describes the nausea?

    • The neutral stimulus, because the nausea has no effect on the patient at any point during the conditioning procedure
    • The conditioned response, because the nausea is a learned response to the alcohol that occurs after the pairing
    • The unconditioned response, because the drug naturally causes nausea without any learning from the patient's experience
    • The conditioned stimulus, because the nausea is the stimulus that the patient learns to associate with the drink itself

15. In classical conditioning, why is the neutral stimulus paired with the unconditioned stimulus?

    • So that the neutral stimulus is removed from the environment, which allows the UCR to occur without any interference at all
    • So that the neutral stimulus produces an unconditioned response that is stronger than the response to the UCS alone
    • So that the neutral stimulus can be given a new name by the researcher, which allows the UCS to be identified more easily
    • So that the neutral stimulus comes to predict the UCS and eventually triggers the same response as the UCS when presented alone

16. A researcher wants to test whether a CR can occur without food. Which procedure would best test this?

    • Presenting the unconditioned stimulus alone, then measuring whether the unconditioned response occurs in the animal each time
    • Presenting the conditioned response alone without any stimulus, then measuring whether the response stops after a short time
    • Presenting the neutral stimulus alone before any conditioning, then measuring whether any response occurs in the animal
    • Presenting the conditioned stimulus alone after conditioning, then measuring whether the conditioned response still occurs

17. Which of these best describes the difference between an unconditioned response and a conditioned response?

    • The UCR occurs only in humans, while the CR occurs only in animals, so the two responses cannot be compared directly at all
    • The UCR is learned from experience, while the CR occurs naturally and automatically to a stimulus without any previous pairing
    • The UCR and CR are always identical in form and strength, so the difference lies only in the name given to each response
    • The UCR occurs naturally to the UCS, while the CR is a learned response to a CS that has been paired with the UCS

18. Which statement about classical conditioning is most accurate?

    • Classical conditioning involves conscious choices made by the learner, based on careful weighing of the costs and the benefits
    • Classical conditioning involves learning through observation of a model, without any direct pairing of stimuli in the process
    • Classical conditioning involves a voluntary behaviour that is strengthened by consequences such as rewards and punishments
    • Classical conditioning involves an involuntary response that becomes linked to a previously neutral stimulus through pairing

19. A psychologist uses classical conditioning to explain a phobia. Which feature of the explanation is most important?

    • The phobic stimulus was always present from birth, so it was never paired with any other event in the individual's life
    • The phobic stimulus was chosen by the individual through conscious decision making, without any pairing with fear
    • The phobic stimulus produces fear only in animals, so it cannot be learned by any human through classical conditioning
    • The phobic stimulus became associated with a frightening experience through pairing, so the fear response transferred to it

20. Which of these is the best example of a conditioned emotional response?

    • A child who shares toys because an adult modelled sharing behaviour and the child then imitated it in the playground
    • A child who eats sweets because a parent rewarded them with a treat each time they completed a homework task
    • A child who feels fear when a white rat appears, after a loud noise was paired with the rat in the past
    • A child who avoids the stove because it is hot, which is a natural reflex to heat that needs no prior pairing at all

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