PSYCH 111 FINAL EXAM VIU QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Who is Edward Thorndike? - Answers - He wrote animal intelligence and used puzzle
boxes to study cats and concluded that learning and problem solving were processes of
trial and error - he thought that unsuccessful behaviors were gradually eliminated in
favour of behaviors that work
Thorndike's Puzzle Box - Answers - In Thorndike's original experiments, food was
placed just outside the door of the puzzle box, where the cat could see it. If the cat
triggered the appropriate lever, it would open the door and let the cat out.
He recorded the behaviour and the amount of time it took to escape.
What was Thorndike's philosophy? - Answers - Psychologists should be asking how
particular mental processes (learning) help us with the variability and uncertainty that
we encounter in daily life.
Eg. how does our mental processes for learning help us survive and thrive?
What did Thorndike propose? - Answers - If new environmental situations had some
elements in common with a previously solved situation, then a knowledge transfer
would occur
Eg. noticed that some cats that had learned to escape from one box type took less time
to learn how to escape a different box type with a similar escape mechanism
Why did Thorndike conclude that his cats did NOT solve his task by an understanding
or insight? - Answers - The cats improved their escape times gradually and irregularly -
cats showed no evidence of combining what they learned from the other box types into
a more complex sequence of behaviors to escape box K
What is Thorndike's Law of Effect? - Answers - responses that produce a satisfying
effect (productive) in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that
situation, and responses that produce a discomforting (not productive) effect become
less likely to occur again in that situation
What is Thorndike's Law of Exercise? - Answers - A connection between a stimulus and
a successful response will strengthen with frequent exposure to a stimuli, and with
behavioural practice
What did contemporary critics say about Thorndike's work? - Answers - His work was
too artificial in terms of the environment he used in his experiments, cats were not
behaving as they would naturally in the real world
, What was the main procedural problem with Thorndike's research? - Answers -
According to the gestaltists, the problem was that the cats couldn't perceive the entire
field during the experiment, they were unable to see how the individual components of
the whole apparatus related to each other in an overall configuration
What is Gestalt psychology? - Answers - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,
learning is a process that requires an understanding of the whole
Who is Ivan Pavlov? - Answers - Russian physiologist who discovered classical
conditioning through his work on digestion in dogs
What was Ivan Pavlov known for? - Answers - Developing surgical procedures that
allowed the digestive processes of live animals to be studied
What was Pavlov's dog experiment? - Answers - Whenever Pavlov brought his dog
food, he rang a bell. The food caused the dog to salivate. After a while, the dog began
to associate the bell ringing with the food, and the dog would salivate when the bell was
rung.
What is classical conditioning? - Answers - a type of learning in which one learns to link
two or more stimuli and anticipated events
What is acquisition? - Answers - In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one
links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus (US) so that the neutral stimulus
begins triggering the conditioned response (CR). In operant conditioning, the
strengthening of a reinforced response.
What is extinction? - Answers - when conditioned stimulus (CS) no longer elicits a
conditioned response (CR)
What is generalization? - Answers - ability of a stimulus to elicit the same response as
the conditioned stimulus because it is SIMILAR
Eg. the variety of tones on a tuning fork
What is differentiation? - Answers - Conditioning strategy using many pairings so that
the conditioned response occurs
Eg. occurs for only one tone on a tuning fork and not any others
What is experimental neurosis? - Answers - The breakdown of the ability to differentiate
stimuli
Eg. tones that are not different enough in frequency to differentiate well - Pavlov's dogs
went wild or became withdrawn depending on the temperament of the individual dog
ANSWERS
Who is Edward Thorndike? - Answers - He wrote animal intelligence and used puzzle
boxes to study cats and concluded that learning and problem solving were processes of
trial and error - he thought that unsuccessful behaviors were gradually eliminated in
favour of behaviors that work
Thorndike's Puzzle Box - Answers - In Thorndike's original experiments, food was
placed just outside the door of the puzzle box, where the cat could see it. If the cat
triggered the appropriate lever, it would open the door and let the cat out.
He recorded the behaviour and the amount of time it took to escape.
What was Thorndike's philosophy? - Answers - Psychologists should be asking how
particular mental processes (learning) help us with the variability and uncertainty that
we encounter in daily life.
Eg. how does our mental processes for learning help us survive and thrive?
What did Thorndike propose? - Answers - If new environmental situations had some
elements in common with a previously solved situation, then a knowledge transfer
would occur
Eg. noticed that some cats that had learned to escape from one box type took less time
to learn how to escape a different box type with a similar escape mechanism
Why did Thorndike conclude that his cats did NOT solve his task by an understanding
or insight? - Answers - The cats improved their escape times gradually and irregularly -
cats showed no evidence of combining what they learned from the other box types into
a more complex sequence of behaviors to escape box K
What is Thorndike's Law of Effect? - Answers - responses that produce a satisfying
effect (productive) in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that
situation, and responses that produce a discomforting (not productive) effect become
less likely to occur again in that situation
What is Thorndike's Law of Exercise? - Answers - A connection between a stimulus and
a successful response will strengthen with frequent exposure to a stimuli, and with
behavioural practice
What did contemporary critics say about Thorndike's work? - Answers - His work was
too artificial in terms of the environment he used in his experiments, cats were not
behaving as they would naturally in the real world
, What was the main procedural problem with Thorndike's research? - Answers -
According to the gestaltists, the problem was that the cats couldn't perceive the entire
field during the experiment, they were unable to see how the individual components of
the whole apparatus related to each other in an overall configuration
What is Gestalt psychology? - Answers - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,
learning is a process that requires an understanding of the whole
Who is Ivan Pavlov? - Answers - Russian physiologist who discovered classical
conditioning through his work on digestion in dogs
What was Ivan Pavlov known for? - Answers - Developing surgical procedures that
allowed the digestive processes of live animals to be studied
What was Pavlov's dog experiment? - Answers - Whenever Pavlov brought his dog
food, he rang a bell. The food caused the dog to salivate. After a while, the dog began
to associate the bell ringing with the food, and the dog would salivate when the bell was
rung.
What is classical conditioning? - Answers - a type of learning in which one learns to link
two or more stimuli and anticipated events
What is acquisition? - Answers - In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one
links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus (US) so that the neutral stimulus
begins triggering the conditioned response (CR). In operant conditioning, the
strengthening of a reinforced response.
What is extinction? - Answers - when conditioned stimulus (CS) no longer elicits a
conditioned response (CR)
What is generalization? - Answers - ability of a stimulus to elicit the same response as
the conditioned stimulus because it is SIMILAR
Eg. the variety of tones on a tuning fork
What is differentiation? - Answers - Conditioning strategy using many pairings so that
the conditioned response occurs
Eg. occurs for only one tone on a tuning fork and not any others
What is experimental neurosis? - Answers - The breakdown of the ability to differentiate
stimuli
Eg. tones that are not different enough in frequency to differentiate well - Pavlov's dogs
went wild or became withdrawn depending on the temperament of the individual dog
