CHAPTER QUESTIONS – 5TH EDITION

ORMROD – HUMAN LEARNING

NAME _________________________________

Chapter 3 - Behaviorism and Classical Conditioning – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 03, 2009

DIRECTIONS: Submit to Assignment Dropbox, MS Word 2003 .doc document attachment

of responses to Chapter 3 Questions.

List the answers to Chapter 3 activity below after your responses to the chapter questions.

1. Behaviorist theories tend to share a number of common underlying assumptions. In five

short paragraphs describe five of these assumptions.

2. On several occasions, Edward is severely beaten by his alcoholic father. Before long,
Edward begins to shake whenever his father approaches.
a. Explain this situation in terms of classical conditioning, identifying the NS,
UCS, UCR, CS, and CR.
b. Edward soon shows signs of fear of other men in addition to his father, even
though they have never beaten him. Identify/list and describe the classical
conditioning process that accounts for Edward's fear of men.
c. Explain how you might eliminate Edward's fear of men through a process of
counterconditioning.

3. Last week, Gretel was accidentally hurt in her physical education class last week when
a much larger student ran into her and knocked her to the floor. Gretel is now afraid to go
to physical education. Explain this situation in terms of classical conditioning, identifying
the NS, UCS, UCR, CS, and CR.

4. The textbook describes Guthrie’s three methods for breaking habits. Describe these
three methods, and illustrate each with a concrete example.
 Chapter 3 Activity Name ________________________________________________

________ 1. A small child touches an oven burner to see if it is hot. The child quickly
withdraws his hand from the hot burner. Next time, the child notes that a red light is on, and
he avoids the oven burner altogether. The UCS is: (A) the red light, (B) the burn, (C) the
withdrawal, (D) the avoidance of the burner.

________ 2. The UCR in #1 is: (A) the red light, (B) the burn, (C) the withdrawal of the
hand, (D) the avoidance of the burner.

________ 3. The CS in #1 is: (A) the red light, (B) the burn, (C) the withdrawal of the hand,
(D) the avoidance of the burner.

________ 4. When the sound of your electric can opener makes your cat come running into
the kitchen, the sound of the can opener is the: (A) UCS, (B) UCR, (C) CS, (D) CR.

________ 5. A child is frightened by a loud noise while playing with your cat. If the child
learns to fear the cat, the cat was the: (A) UCS, (B) UCR, (C) CS, (D) CR.

________ 6. At a party, a friend of yours keeps popping balloons with a lighted cigarette.
After 4 pops, you squint and tense your muscles each time the cigarette nears the balloon.
The: (A) cigarette is an UCS, (B) squinting is a reinforcer, (C) the initial pops are UCSs, (D)
none of the above.

________ 7. Several years ago, Grace was seriously injured when her ferry rammed the
ferry terminal. To this day, she becomes anxious whenever she sees the large green and white
ferry boats. The UCR is: (A) her fear at the sight of ferry boats, (B) the accident itself, (C) the
fear she had at the time of the accident, (D) the original ferry boat.

________ 8. Grace's continuing fear at the sight of green and white ferry boats is the: (A)
CR, (B) UCR, (C) CS, (D) UCS.

________ 9. A small child who is frightened by thunder covers her ears at the first sight of
lightning. The lightning has become a(n): (A) UCR, (B) UCS, (C) CS, (D) CR.

_______ 10. Martin hates red-haired women because his red-haired first-grade teacher
slapped his knuckles with a ruler. When he initially started first grade, the red-haired teacher
was a(n): (A) CS, (B) NS, (C) UCS, (D) UCR.

_______ 11. You get a shock from static electricity each time you kiss your significant other
(SO) in the winter. You have a twinge of fear before kissing your SO as a result. Your SO is
now a(n): (A) CS, (B) UCS, (C) CR, (D) UCR.