Educational Psychology MCQS

Studies with Kanzi show chimps can acquire some language skills, including rule use, but human linguistic capacities are significantly more advanced.

A variable ratio schedule delivers reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses, leading to high, steady rates of responding, like slot machine play. Other schedules produce different response patterns, such as pauses or less consistent rates.

Chomsky proposed that children learn language due to an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD), which facilitates the acquisition of universal grammar.

Both positive and negative reinforcement strengthen or increase the likelihood of a behavior. Positive reinforcement adds a desirable stimulus, while negative reinforcement removes an aversive one, both leading to increased responding.

The linguistic relativity hypothesis, also known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, proposes that one's language directly determines the nature of one's thought processes.

The two-process theory states that fear is initially acquired through classical conditioning and then maintained through operant conditioning, where avoidance behavior is negatively reinforced. Other options misrepresent this dual process.

Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of an animal to revert to innate, species-specific behaviors that interfere with a conditioned response. This phenomenon highlights the biological constraints on learning, making other options incorrect.

According to Rescorla, the strength of a conditioned response depends on the contingency, or predictive value, of the CS for the UCS. This means the percentage of trials where the CS reliably predicts the UCS is crucial.

Skinner believed reinforcement directly shapes behavior acquisition. Bandura, however, argued that reinforcement primarily influences the performance of a learned behavior, not necessarily its initial acquisition, which can occur through observation.

Phenotype refers to an organism's observable physical characteristics, like hair color, eye color, and height, resulting from genotype and environment. Genotype is genetic makeup, making option B correct.

Observational learning best explains the link between physical punishment and aggression, as individuals learn and imitate aggressive behaviors by observing others. Other options do not directly address the modeling of aggression.

Language is defined as a complex system of symbols used for communication, encompassing rules for combining them. Rule, image, and phonology are components or aspects, but not the overarching communication system itself.

Disagreement among psychologists about personality reflects the complexity of human behavior, allowing for diverse theoretical perspectives. It doesn't imply failure or incomprehensibility, but rather multiple valid viewpoints.

Phonology is the study of the sound system of a language, including how sounds are organized and used. Language is the broader concept, while morphology deals with word structure and syntax with sentence structure.

Multifactorial causation posits that behavior results from the interaction of multiple biological, psychological, and social factors, not single causes. It emphasizes complexity over simplistic or hierarchical explanations.

Morphology is the study of word structure and formation, focusing on the units of meaning (morphemes) involved in word creation. Semantics, pragmatics, and phonology deal with meaning, language use, and sound respectively, not word formation units.

Psychology generally adopts an interactionist perspective, recognizing that both genetic predispositions (born) and environmental influences (made) contribute significantly to human development and behavior. It's not exclusively one or the other.

Syntax refers to the rules governing how words are combined to form grammatically correct and acceptable sentences. Semantics deals with meaning, pragmatics with language use in context, and morphology with word structure.

The SQ3R method is effective because it promotes active learning by breaking down material into manageable segments and requiring comprehension before progressing. It's not about skimming, rote memorization, or passive rereading.

Semantics is the branch of linguistics concerned with the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences. The combination of words is syntax, units of meaning are morphology, and the use of language is pragmatics.

Critical thinking skills are not abstract or spontaneously developed; they require deliberate instruction. Standard content delivery often doesn't foster these higher-order thinking abilities, making explicit teaching essential for their development.

At two years old, children typically exhibit a rapid increase in vocabulary, begin using some prepositions, and start experimenting with past tense forms. Therefore, all listed characteristics are correct for this age.

An action potential is the brief electrical charge that travels down an axon, occurring when the neuron's charge becomes less negative or positive. A resting potential is the inactive state, not the impulse initiation.

The behaviorist approach emphasizes that behavior is primarily shaped by environmental training and experiences through conditioning. Cognitive, humanistic, and social learning approaches focus on internal mental processes, self-actualization, or observational learning, respectively.

Neurons convey information about stimulus strength by varying the rate at which they fire action potentials. Individual action potentials are all-or-none events, meaning their size and speed remain constant, unlike their frequency.