AP Psychology : Attitude Change and Social Learning

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

What is the name of the experiment that serves as the empirical demonstration of Albert Bandura's social learning theory?

Possible Answers:

Voodoo doll experiment

Rag doll experiment

Clark doll experiment

Bobo doll experiment

Goo goo doll experiment

Correct answer:

Bobo doll experiment

Explanation:

The Bobo doll experiment serves as a groundbreaking study on aggression and demonstrates that children are able to learn by behavioral observation. 

Example Question #2 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

The type of learning observed by Albert Bandura in the "Bobo Doll Experiment," in which individuals learn and pick up behavior through watching and understanding others, may also be referred to as __________.

Possible Answers:

Pavlov's method

observational learning

classical conditioning

operant conditioning

observational conditioning

Correct answer:

observational learning

Explanation:

In the Bobo doll experiment, children who observed an adult acting agressively towards a blow up "Bobo doll" toy would emulate and mimic that behavior. This supports the social learning theory developed by Bandura.

Example Question #3 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

What are Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences?

Possible Answers:

Analytic, creative/experimental, visual, intrapersonal, interpersonal, emotional, and practical/contextual 

Linguistic, spatial, musical, physical, analytic, abstract, and practical

Linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist

Emotional, logical, and spatial 

Sensory, bodily, creative, logical, argumentative, social, and spiritual

Correct answer:

Linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist

Explanation:

Gardner claimed that a person's intelligence could be measured along these eight parameters: linguistic, logic-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. These eight different abilities correspond to three overarching categories of intelligence: the ability to create things of cultural value, problem solving, and the ability to gather knowledge. He informally considers there to be two additional intelligences: existential and pedagogical. 

Many criticize Gardner for his lack of evidence to support his theory, as well as potentially confusing the difference between "intelligence" and "ability." Yet he has inspired many to think about intelligence from a less rigid and more holistic point of view.  

Example Question #2 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

Johnny is suffering from learned helplessness. Because of this, which of the following must Johnny also possess?

Possible Answers:

An external locus of control

A damaged superego

Unmet survival needs

A maladaptive corpus collosum

A dsyfunctional cerebral cortex

Correct answer:

An external locus of control

Explanation:

Learned helplessness occurs when a person believes that they have no power to change their life for the better. Thus, Johnny will also have an external locus of control, defined as believing that fate is controlled by external forces (e.g., luck, other people).

Example Question #1 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

IQ increases by 3 to 4 points every 10 years. This is referred to as what?

Possible Answers:

The Strange Situation Test

The Flynn Effect

Asch's Experiment 

Stanford-Binet Scale

Intelligence Quotient

Correct answer:

The Flynn Effect

Explanation:

The Flynn Effect refers to an increasing IQ average (by about three to four points) every ten years years. The Flynn Effect is a result of today’s advanced healthcare and improved living conditions. Also, increased emphasis on the importance of education in today’s culture has impacted this rising number.  

Example Question #4 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

Jen struggles with a problem during her math test. After the test, Jen looks up how to do the problem. Later, Jen feels stupid for not remembering how to do such an easy problem during the test.

Jen is experiencing __________.

Possible Answers:

Survivor's guilt

Cognitive dissonance

Hindsight bias

An availability heuristic

Delusions of grandeur

Correct answer:

Hindsight bias

Explanation:

Hindsight bias refers to a person's tendency to overestimate one's past abilities after gaining new information that the person did not have at the time of acting. Jen gets mad at herself after looking up how to solve the math problem because she now knows how to do it and it seems easy to her in that moment, despite the fact that she did not have this information while taking the test.

Example Question #3 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

Which of the following is best exemplified by Albert Bandura's Bobo Doll experiment?

Possible Answers:

Classical Conditioning

Observational Learning

Operant Conditioning

Reinforcement Schedules

Latent Learning

Correct answer:

Observational Learning

Explanation:

Bandura's Bobo doll experiment involved children viewing adults act aggressively toward the Bobo doll. When left alone with the Bobo doll, the children acted in the same manner toward the doll as they had observed the adults doing. This supported the idea of children observing, then imitating, a certain behavior, which are two key factors in observational learning.

Example Question #4 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

Martin Seligman's shock studies with dogs examined the development of __________.

Possible Answers:

Resilience

Habituation

Learned helplessness

In-Group Biases

Phobias

Correct answer:

Learned helplessness

Explanation:

Seligman's work on learned helplessness began as a traditional classical conditioning study pairing the ringing of a bell with an electric shock. What surprised Seligman and his team was what occurred in the later part of the study, when the team changed the dogs' environment to give them a chance to escape the area administering the shock: because the dogs had been conditioned to understand that a shock would always follow the bell's ringing, they did not even try to exit the dangerous area. That is to say, they had learned helplessness.

Example Question #2 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

Which of the following can be defined as the process by which we learn through witnessing the behaviors and consequences of others?

Possible Answers:

Social cognitive

Punishment

Observational

Reinforcement

Correct answer:

Observational

Explanation:

Evolving the theory of behaviorism to include a social component, Albert Bandura introduced the concept of observational learning. He declared that humans are quite capable of learning by observing the sequence of behaviors and consequences in others. For example, if a young lad watches his older brother receive a reprimand from his mother for picking flowers from the flowerbed, he will learn that the same consequences would apply to him if he were to do the same.

Example Question #3 : Attitude Change And Social Learning

Which of the following can best be defined as the belief in one’s capacity or ability to organize and execute the courses of action required to reach a certain goal?

Possible Answers:

Reciprocal determinism

Self-knowledge

Self-efficacy

Personal determinism

Correct answer:

Self-efficacy

Explanation:

Self-efficacy is a concept introduced by Albert Bandura as part of his theory on observational learning. While much of his theory focused on social learning, he also described aspects of learning that involved just the individual. Personal determination and self-knowledge are not Bandurian terms. Reciprocal determinism is a term introduced by Bandura but is associated with the interaction between the individual and the social environment.

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