4.4.1 Key question: learning theory in society Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 4

The 20 questions

1. Which key question is discussed in section 4.4 of learning theories?

   • Whether hormone levels can be measured accurately in adolescents, and whether this affects their academic results
   • Whether the influence of role models and celebrities causes anorexia, and what this means for society
   • Whether the id is stronger in adults than in children, and how this affects the design of school curricula
   • Whether brain scans should be used to replace all forms of talking therapy in every clinical setting in society

2. According to social learning theory, how might celebrities influence eating behaviour?

   • By providing primary reinforcers, such as food, which automatically cause viewers to eat more in every situation they meet
   • By providing unconscious id drives, which cause viewers to repress their desire to eat when they see celebrities on screen
   • By providing unconditioned stimuli that cause an unconditioned response of hunger in every viewer watching the programme
   • By providing models whose thin body ideals and eating behaviours may be observed and imitated by viewers, especially the young

3. Why might vicarious reinforcement be relevant to the influence of celebrities on anorexia?

   • Because viewers may see celebrities praised for thinness, which could make them more likely to imitate the behaviour
   • Because viewers are always punished for thinness, which makes them less likely to imitate any thin celebrity they see
   • Because vicarious reinforcement only occurs in primates, so it cannot influence the eating behaviour of human viewers
   • Because celebrities are never rewarded for any behaviour, so viewers have no reason to imitate them in any way at all

4. A critic argues that celebrity influence causes anorexia in all viewers. What is the best evaluation of this argument?

   • It is irrelevant, since eating disorders are caused only by the id, which is unaffected by any form of media or celebrity
   • It is incorrect, since learning theory has shown that observing models never affects any aspect of eating behaviour at all
   • It overstates the evidence, since media influence is one factor among many, and individual vulnerability varies
   • It is fully supported, since every viewer who sees a celebrity develops anorexia, regardless of their personality or family

5. Would it be a good idea for airline companies to offer treatment programmes for fear of flying? Which learning-based argument supports this?

   • Fear of flying is caused by the id, so treatment must target unconscious drives that airlines are not qualified to address at all
   • Fear of flying is caused by hormones alone, so airlines should offer hormone injections instead of any psychological programme
   • Fear of flying can be treated with systematic desensitisation, which may reduce the fear and help passengers fly more comfortably
   • Fear of flying cannot be changed by any treatment, so airlines should not offer programmes because they are always ineffective

6. What is an advantage of airline treatment programmes for fear of flying?

   • They could reduce distress for passengers and may improve the uptake of flights for those who avoid travel because of fear
   • They would remove the need for any aircraft safety measures, since passengers would no longer be afraid of flying at all
   • They would eliminate all costs for the airline, since treatment programmes are always free for every organisation that runs them
   • They would ensure that no passenger ever feels nervous, which means that the airline can stop all other services at once

7. What is a disadvantage of airline-run treatment programmes for fear of flying?

   • Passengers may not trust the airline to provide unbiased therapy, and programmes raise cost and questions about who should provide them
   • Passengers will be forced to fly against their will, which is a benefit because it removes any choice about travel in any case
   • Passengers will never be able to fly again, since treatment programmes always end in permanent avoidance of all air travel
   • Passengers will always be cured in one session, so there is no cost involved for the airline or the individual in any case

8. Which ethical issue arises if an airline encourages passengers to take part in a fear-of-flying programme?

   • The need to test the programme on animals before humans, which is required by aviation law in every country in the world
   • The need to keep the passengers' fears secret from the public, so that the airline's image is not damaged in the press
   • The need to avoid all forms of exposure, since any exposure to the feared object is always unethical in every setting
   • The need for voluntary informed consent, so that passengers are not pressured into treatment against their wishes

9. A government considers using learning theory to reduce aggression among young people by changing the media they see. Which concern is most relevant?

   • Gender, since media changes affect only boys, so girls must be excluded from any policy designed to reduce aggression
   • Reductionism, since changing the media reduces the number of participants in the study to a single number in a survey
   • Social control, since changing what people see to shape their behaviour may raise questions about power and individual freedom
   • Freud's superego, since changing the media always increases the strength of the superego in every child who watches it

10. Which contribution of learning theory to society is best illustrated by the use of systematic desensitisation for phobias?

    • Providing practical, evidence-based treatments that people can use to reduce distressing fears in daily life
    • Providing evidence that all behaviour is inherited, so that treatment becomes unnecessary for every individual in society
    • Providing a complete explanation of human consciousness, which removes the need for any further research in psychology
    • Providing a reason to abolish all forms of psychological treatment, since learning theory shows they are always harmful

11. Which factor is most important when assessing whether celebrity influence is responsible for anorexia in a population?

    • Whether the viewers have the same favourite colour, since colour preferences are the most reliable predictor of anorexia
    • Whether the celebrity is a man or a woman, since the gender of the celebrity alone determines whether anorexia develops
    • Whether the celebrity has a large number of followers, since the number of followers alone determines the cause of anorexia
    • Whether the association holds when other factors such as family, peers and personality are taken into account

12. Which approach would best examine whether celebrity models influence anorexia risk over time?

    • A laboratory experiment that shows a celebrity to participants for five minutes, with no follow-up of any participant afterwards
    • A one-off survey of celebrities' opinions about dieting, with no measurement of the attitudes or behaviour of any viewers
    • A longitudinal study that tracks media exposure and eating attitudes in the same individuals across several years
    • A single case study of one celebrity's diet, which describes the celebrity's eating habits in great detail with no follow-up

13. Which evaluation point about using learning theory to address social issues is most accurate?

    • Learning theory can inform policy and treatment, but its findings must be weighed against ethical and practical considerations
    • Learning theory has no ethical implications, since the application of any learning principle is always morally neutral
    • Learning theory can solve every social issue on its own, so no other discipline or policy input is ever needed in society
    • Learning theory cannot inform any policy, since its findings are always limited to animals in laboratory settings only

14. Which is an example of how learning theory might inform prevention of eating disorders in society?

    • Using hormone injections on all children at birth, which would prevent any future learning of eating attitudes in childhood
    • Using punishment for every young person who looks at a celebrity, so that all imitation of celebrities is removed from society
    • Using media literacy programmes that help young people critically evaluate the body ideals they see modelled in the media
    • Using brain surgery on all young people to remove any ability to imitate models, which would prevent any eating disorder

15. Why is a key question about society considered a discussion of contemporary issues rather than an academic argument?

    • Because it asks what the research means for real people, institutions and policy decisions in the present day
    • Because it asks only about the mathematics of statistical tests, which have no relevance to any social issue at all
    • Because it asks only about the history of psychology, with no connection to any issue that affects people today
    • Because it asks only about the id, which is a concept that has no influence on the decisions made by society

16. A fear-of-flying programme reports that most participants stop avoiding flights afterwards. Which conclusion is best supported?

    • The programme has shown that flying is safer than all other forms of travel, which is the main reason passengers stop avoiding it
    • The programme has proven that all fears are cured for ever, since any reduction in avoidance is always permanent in every case
    • The programme has shown that participants were never afraid, so no change in behaviour could have occurred at all during the study
    • The programme appears effective for many participants, though follow-up and comparison with a control group would strengthen the claim

17. Which concept best explains how a society's celebrity culture could affect the eating attitudes of its young people?

    • Classical conditioning of the id, since young people's unconscious drives are changed by any celebrity they encounter
    • Spontaneous recovery, since eating attitudes return after a rest period, regardless of any celebrity the young people see
    • Observational learning, since young people may watch and copy the eating attitudes of celebrities they admire
    • Individual differences in hormones, since the celebrity culture has no influence on the eating attitudes of any young person

18. Which statement best reflects the key question's aim to discuss the issue as a contemporary matter for society?

    • It asks only for a description of Pavlov's dogs, which is the main contemporary issue for society in the modern era
    • It asks only for a list of statistical tests, with no link to any decision that society must make about individuals
    • It asks how learning theory applies to real decisions about media, treatment and wellbeing that affect people now
    • It asks only which theorist first proposed each learning principle, with no reference to contemporary social problems

19. A researcher wants to test whether a celebrity image affects young viewers' body satisfaction. Which design is most appropriate?

    • A survey of how many celebrity magazines were sold in one year, with no measurement of individual viewers' attitudes
    • A case study of one viewer who is asked to recall a favourite celebrity, with no comparison group of any kind in the study
    • A personal diary kept by a celebrity about their daily eating, with no measure of any viewer's attitudes at any point
    • A controlled experiment that randomly assigns viewers to a celebrity image or a neutral image, then measures body satisfaction

20. What is a reason a fear-of-flying treatment might be less accessible to some people?

    • Cost and the limited availability of trained therapists may prevent some passengers from getting the help they need
    • Passengers are always given a free flight as part of the treatment, so the programme is inaccessible to the wealthy
    • Passengers are always forced to abandon air travel, which means the treatment is only open to those who never fly
    • Passengers are always required to fly in an aircraft simulator, which is banned in every country in the world today

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