Chapter 11: Generalization, Discrimination, & Stimulus Control

Howard studied hard for his math test and found that what he learned helped him on his physics test.
Howard benefited from _.
a. generalization
b. discrimination
c. transposition

generalization

Generalization is sometimes called _.
a. transposition
b. tropism
c. transfer
d. transliteration

transfer

Response maintenance can be considered generalization across _.
a. time
b. situations
c. people
d. behaviors

time

The tendency of changes in one behavior to spread to other behaviors is called __ generalization.
a. incipient
b. response
c. transitional
d. active

response

You test Mary's drawing ability by having her draw fruit, animals, landscapes, and houses. Mary then takes a drawing class in which she learns to draw human figures. You decide to test Mary again to see if her drawing ability has improved. You predict that if she shows any improvement at all it will be at drawing _.
a. fruit
b. animals
c. landscapes
d. houses

animals

The kind of generalization your text focuses on is .
a. response generalization
b. stimulus generalization
c. reciprocal generalization
d. discriminated generalization

stimulus generalization

In a classic study, Guttman and Kalish trained pigeons to peck a disc of a particular color, and then gave them the opportunity to peck .
a. discs of various colors
b. discs of various shapes
c. discs of various sizes
d. objects other than discs

discs of various colors

Robert Eisenberger found that rewarding a high level of effort on one task increases the level of effort on other tasks. This illustrates _.
a. discrimination
b. generalization
c. motivational transfer
d. a motivational paradox

generalization

Honig and Slivka trained pigeons to peck discs of various colors. After this they began shocking the
birds when they pecked a disc of a particular color. This __.
a. reduced pecking on that disc, but not discs of other colors
b. reduced pecking discs of all colors, but especially those that resembled the punished color
c. had no effect on the rate of pecking
d. reduced pecking on discs of the punished color, but increased pecking on other discs

reduced pecking discs of all colors, but especially those that resembled the punished color

The findings of Eisenberger and others concerning increasing effort is called _.
a. learned helplessness
b. motivational transfer
c. learned industriousness
d. increased potentiation

learned industriousness

Dweck and Repucci had teachers give students unsolvable problems, and then problems that could be solved. The result was that the students __.
a. solved the second set of problems more easily than expected
b. solved the second set of problems, but more slowly than expected
c. failed to solve the problems in the second set
d. decided to unionize

failed to solve the problems in the second set

In the Dweck and Repucci study, teachers asked students to work on unsolvable problems, and then on problems that could be solved. They failed to solve the second set of problems, but were able to solve similar problems when the problems were presented _.
a. orally
b. by a different teacher
c. the next day
d. in a different room

by a different teacher

When six

month old Joey cries, his mother, Martha, can tell what he needs even before she goes to
him. Martha's skill is an example of .
a. generalization
b. discrimination
c. semantic generalization
d. errorless discrimination training

A dog learns to salivate at the sound of a soft buzzer, but not at the sound of a loud buzzer. After
training, the dog is presented with buzzers of various volumes. You predict that the dog will salivate
most in response to a buzzer that is _.
a. identical to the CS+
b. slightly softer than the CS+
c. slightly louder than the CS+
d. slightly louder than the CS

The figures below illustrate various generalization gradients. The greatest degree of generalization is
depicted by Figure _.
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

2 (small bell shaped curve)

Look again at figures in the previous item. The one that shows the greatest degree of discrimination is Figure .
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

4 (tall skinny bell shaped curve)

An SD is analogous to a .
a. S∆
b. CS+
c. SP
d. Sp

CS+

Jill trains her dog, Boozer, to come to her when she snaps her fingers. She snaps her fingers, then gives the dog a bit of food when it approaches. Finger snapping is a(n) _.
a. SD
b. S∆
c. transposed stimulus
d. concept

SD

An is a stimulus that indicates that a particular behavior will be reinforced.
a. S∆
b. S0
c. S

d. SD

In _ discrimination training, the SD and S∆ are presented at the same time.
a. synchronized
b. randomized
c. simultaneous
d. identical

simultaneous

In , the task is to select from two or more alternatives the stimulus that matches a standard.
a. matching to sample
b. stimulus selection
c. mismatching
d. discriminating

matching to sample

In _, the task is to select from two or more alternatives the stimulus that is different from a
standard.
a. matching to nonsample
b. oddity matching
c. error matching
d. difference matching

oddity matching

The person whose name is most associated with errorless discrimination training is _.
a. Carl Rogers
b. Susan Terrance
c. Herbert Terrace
d. Robert Eisenberger

Herbert Terrace

In errorless discrimination training, _.
a. training continues until the animal or person makes no errors
b. subjects look on as well

trained models perform the response to be learned
c. generalization soon reappears
d. the S∆ is introduced in very weak form and its strength is gradually increased

Bill conducts an experiment in which he pairs the word psychologist with words such as nasty, evil,
and corrupt. Later Bill asks his subjects to give their opinion of various professions by rating them on
a scale from very positive to very negative. Of the following professions, _ will probably receive the lowest rating.
a. mathematician
b. accountant
c. biologist
d. social worker

social worker

Providing different consequences for different responses can enhance discrimination training. This
finding is called the _.
a. differential outcomes effect
b. differential reinforcement effect
c. discriminated avoidance effect
d. stimulus control effect

differential outcomes effect

When a behavior reliably occurs in the presence of an SD, but not in the presence of an S

, we can say the behavior is _.
a. under stimulus control
b. fully discriminated
c. respondent
d. fully operant

According to your text, mental rotation data are best viewed as evidence of .
a. generalization
b. discrimination
c. cognitive processing
d. peak shift

generalization

Harriet gives a monkey a choice between two blocks of wood, one rough and the other smooth. If the animal selects the rough block, it receives a raisin; if it picks the smooth one, it receives nothing.
When the animal regularly picks the rough block, Harriet gives the animal a choice between the rough block of wood and a new block of wood that is even rougher than the first. You predict that the
monkey will _.
a. pick the new, very rough block
b. pick the old, somewhat rough block
c. show no preference between the blocks
d. show signs of developing an experimental neurosis

pick the new, very rough block

Judy gives a monkey a choice between a sphere and various other three

dimensional shapes. Each time the animal selects the sphere, it receives a grape; if it selects the other object, it receives nothing. Judy is engaged in _.
a. transposition training
b. a peak shift experiment
c. concept training
d. generalization training

Robert Allan trained pigeons to peck pictures containing human figures. He found that birds .
a. refused to peck at a high rate
b. pecked open areas free of human figures
c. pecked the human figures
d. pecked the pictures at random points

pecked the human figures

If a person smokes a pack of cigarettes a day, in a year, cigarette smoking is reinforced .
a. 730 times
b. 7,300 times
c. 73,000 times
d. nearly a million times

73,000 times

Steven, a drug abuser, is released from a clinic. He is free of drugs, and has sworn never to take drugs
again. He returns to his old neighborhood. You predict that within six months, Steven will .
a. have moved to a new neighborhood
b. have new friends and be free of drugs
c. be abusing drugs again
d. have committed suicide

be abusing drugs again

Frederick believes that discrimination training produces inhibitory as well as excitatory gradients of generalization. Frederick is most likely an advocate of the theory of generalization and discrimination proposed by _.
a. Pavlov
b. Spence
c. Lashley and Wade
d. Herrnstein

Spence

Frederica believes that generalization occurs because of a lack of experience with stimuli that differ from the SD. Frederica is probably most comfortable with the theory of generalization and discrimination proposed by _.
a. Pavlov
b. Spence
c. Lashley and Wade
d. Herrnstein

Lashley and Wade

The effects of reinforcement generalize, but the effects of extinction and punishment do not.

False

With discrimination training, pigeons have learned to discriminate between paintings by Monet and
Picasso, even when the pictures were ones they had never seen before

True

In stimulus generalization, a behavior "travels" from one situation to another

True

Generalization is a by

product of learning that nearly always occurs spontaneously.

Spence's theory anticipated the discovery of the peak shift phenomenon.

True

The flatter the generalization curve, the greater the degree of generalization.

True

Concepts involve both generalization and discrimination.

true

Pigeons that have learned to peck a disc when two lights of the same color come on, and not when the lights differ, can be said to have learned a concept

True

Herrnstein and others trained pigeons to respond to images of people. The researchers did this by
pinpointing a single defining feature (such as hair) on which the birds could discriminate humans
from other objects.

False

Arthur Bachrach and colleagues demonstrated generalization of therapy in their treatment of a woman suffering from an eating disorder called .

Anorexia

The CS+ of Pavlovian discrimination training is analogous to the _ /_of operant discrimination
training.

SD/S+

In the discrimination training procedure, the discriminative stimuli alternate.

Successive

In discrimination training an S∆ is introduced in a form so weak that the organism does not
respond to it

Errorless

Oddity is a form of MTS in which reinforcement is contingent on selecting a stimulus that is different from the sample.

Matching