Module 5

Question 1

What is classical conditioning?

Answer 1

Learning where a neutral stimulus (CS) elicits a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS).

Question 2

Who first studied classical conditioning?

Answer 2

Ivan Pavlov, with his dog salivation experiments.

Question 3

What is the difference between UCS and CS?

Answer 3

UCS naturally elicits a response; CS becomes associated with UCS and elicits the response after learning.

Question 4

What is acquisition in classical conditioning?

Answer 4

The process of learning the association between CS and UCS through repeated pairings.

Question 5

When is conditioning most effective?

Answer 5

When the CS precedes the UCS by a short interval (forward pairing).

Question 6

What is extinction in classical conditioning?

Answer 6

The CR weakens when the CS is presented without the UCS.

Question 7

What is spontaneous recovery?

Answer 7

The reappearance of a previously extinguished CR after a rest period.

Question 8

What is generalisation in classical conditioning?

Answer 8

The tendency to produce a CR to stimuli similar to the CS.

Question 9

What is discrimination in classical conditioning?

Answer 9

Learning to respond only to a specific CS and not similar stimuli.

Question 10

How is classical conditioning applied to advertising?

Answer 10

Products are paired with positive UCSs (e.g., attractive people, pleasant music).

Question 11

What was demonstrated in the Little Albert experiment?

Answer 11

Fear could be classically conditioned and generalised to similar stimuli.

Question 12

What therapy uses classical conditioning principles?

Answer 12

Systematic desensitisation and exposure therapy for phobias.

Question 13

What is taste aversion learning?

Answer 13

A strong one-trial learning where a flavour is associated with illness, even with long delays.

Question 14

What is operant conditioning?

Answer 14

Learning where behaviour is modified by its consequences (reinforcement or punishment).

Question 15

What is positive reinforcement?

Answer 15

Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase a behaviour.

Question 16

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 16

Removing an aversive stimulus to increase a behaviour.

Question 17

What is punishment?

Answer 17

Adding or removing a stimulus to decrease a behaviour’s likelihood.

Question 18

Why is punishment less effective than reinforcement?

Answer 18

It suppresses behaviour temporarily and provides little information about correct behaviour.

Question 19

What is extinction in operant conditioning?

Answer 19

When a behaviour stops because reinforcement is no longer given.

Question 20

What is a reinforcement schedule?

Answer 20

The pattern that defines how often a behaviour is reinforced.

Question 21

What is continuous reinforcement?

Answer 21

Reinforcing the behaviour every time it occurs; fast learning but fast extinction.

Question 22

What is partial reinforcement?

Answer 22

Reinforcing only some responses; slower learning but more resistant to extinction.

Question 23

What is Humphrey’s Paradox?

Answer 23

Partial reinforcement leads to greater resistance to extinction.

Question 24

What is shaping?

Answer 24

Reinforcing successive approximations toward a desired behaviour.

Question 25

What is negative reinforcement in phobia maintenance?

Answer 25

Avoidance behaviour removes anxiety (aversive stimulus), strengthening the phobia.

Question 26

What is superstitious behaviour?

Answer 26

Behaviour maintained by accidental reinforcement.

Question 27

What are the three stages of the Multi-Store Model?

Answer 27

Sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM).

Question 28

What is sensory memory?

Answer 28

Brief storage of sensory information (250 ms) with large capacity.

Question 29

Who demonstrated sensory memory experimentally?

Answer 29

George Sperling (1960) using the partial-report method.

Question 30

What is STM capacity according to Miller (1956)?

Answer 30

7 ± 2 items.

Question 31

What is STM capacity according to Cowan (2001)?

Answer 31

4 ± 1 items.

Question 32

How long does information typically last in STM?

Answer 32

Approximately 20–30 seconds without rehearsal.

Question 33

What process transfers information from STM to LTM?

Answer 33

Rehearsal.

Question 34

What are two causes of forgetting?

Answer 34

Decay over time and interference from new information.

Question 35

How large is long-term memory capacity?

Answer 35

Essentially unlimited.

Question 36

How long can LTM last?

Answer 36

Decades or even a lifetime.

Question 37

What did Brady et al. (2008) find about visual memory?

Answer 37

Participants recognised over 90% of 2,500 images after viewing them once.

Question 38

What did Bahrick et al. (1975) show about memory retention?

Answer 38

People retained name-face associations for up to 50 years.

Question 39

What is cue-based retrieval?

Answer 39

Using cues or mnemonics to trigger recall (e.g., method of loci, pegword).

Question 40

What is chunking?

Answer 40

Grouping information into meaningful units to expand STM capacity.

Question 41

What did Chase & Ericsson (1982) demonstrate about chunking?

Answer 41

A participant increased digit recall to 82 by grouping digits into meaningful sequences.

Question 42

What are schemas?

Answer 42

Knowledge frameworks that organise information and fill in memory gaps (Bartlett, 1932).

Question 43

What is the misinformation effect?

Answer 43

Memory distortion due to misleading information after an event (Loftus & Palmer, 1974).

Question 44

What is a false memory?

Answer 44

A recollection of an event that never occurred (Loftus & Pickrell, 1995).

Question 45

What does reconstructive memory mean?

Answer 45

Memory is not a perfect record but an active reconstruction based on knowledge and context.

Question 46

What are the main types of long-term memory?

Answer 46

Declarative (explicit) and procedural (implicit).

Question 47

What are declarative memory subtypes?

Answer 47

Episodic (events) and semantic (facts).

Question 48

What is procedural memory?

Answer 48

Unconscious memory for skills and habits (e.g., riding a bike).

Question 49

What is a concept?

Answer 49

A mental representation that groups objects, events, or ideas based on shared features.

Question 50

What is the classical view of concepts?

Answer 50

Categories defined by necessary and sufficient features.

Question 51

Why is the classical view inadequate?

Answer 51

Few categories have strict defining features (e.g., 'games').

Question 52

What is family resemblance theory?

Answer 52

Category members share overlapping features without a single defining one (Rosch & Mervis, 1975).

Question 53

What is prototype theory?

Answer 53

Concepts are represented by an idealised average example (Posner & Keele, 1968).

Question 54

What is exemplar theory?

Answer 54

Concepts are represented by stored examples; classification is based on similarity to exemplars.

Question 55

What are ad hoc categories?

Answer 55

Goal-derived categories created for a specific purpose (Barsalou, 1983).

Question 56

What is Tversky’s (1977) finding on similarity?

Answer 56

Similarity depends on context; psychological distance violates triangle inequality.

Question 57

What are the three category levels?

Answer 57

Superordinate (broad), basic (common), and subordinate (specific).

Question 58

Which category level is used most frequently?

Answer 58

The basic level (e.g., 'dog' vs 'animal' or 'border collie').

Question 59

How do experts differ in categorisation?

Answer 59

Experts use subordinate categories more precisely (Medin et al., 1997).

Question 60

What are heuristics?

Answer 60

Cognitive shortcuts used for quick decision-making.

Question 61

What is the recognition heuristic?

Answer 61

Choose the recognised option when comparing two items (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 2002).

Question 62

What is the representativeness heuristic?

Answer 62

Judging probability by similarity to a prototype, leading to base-rate neglect.

Question 63

What is the conjunction fallacy?

Answer 63

Believing combined events are more likely than single ones (e.g., the Linda problem).

Question 64

What is the availability heuristic?

Answer 64

Estimating likelihood based on ease of recall (e.g., overestimating rare but vivid events).

Question 65

What is the anchoring effect?

Answer 65

Initial information biases subsequent judgments.

Question 66

What are framing effects?

Answer 66

Decision outcomes depend on whether options are presented as gains or losses.

Question 67

When are people risk-averse vs risk-seeking?

Answer 67

Risk-averse for gains, risk-seeking for losses.

Question 68

What is the overall advantage and risk of heuristics?

Answer 68

They speed up decision-making but can lead to systematic biases.