Motivation Tutorial Quiz

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Questions and Answers

Which of the following best describes the concept of delayed reward discounting?

The process of evaluating the risks associated with future rewards
Choosing a larger, delayed reward over a smaller, immediate reward
The ability to delay gratification for a more significant future benefit
Preferring a smaller, immediate reward over a larger delayed reward (correct)

When nesting, geese will return a dislodged egg to safety by gently guiding it along the ground with their beak, rolling the egg back to the nest. Geese will sometimes do this to other egg-sized objects and have been known to continue the same behaviour back to the nest even when a researcher removes the egg from under their beak. This type of behaviour was labelled by ethologists as:

an innate drive
an unconditioned response
a sign stimulus
a fixed action pattern (correct)

Imagine that packs of feral dogs in a particular region of rural Australia have begun breaking into homes and stealing food. They have somehow learned how to open and raid refridgerators! The knowledge seems to be spreading within a particular location and an increasing number of feral animals are reproducing the behaviour. Which of the following is a possible explanation of this phenomenon in terms of goal enhancement?

The first dog who learned how to steal from a refrigerator left it open with food scraps still inside, which other dogs in the same pack consequently discover (correct)
Dogs in the same pack observe and mimic the actions of the first dog who discovered how to steal from a refrigerator. Although they do not initially understand the purpose of the actions, the responses are reinforced when they are copied accurately
Dogs in the same pack observe the actions of the first dog and observe the rewards that the dog receives as a consequence. As a consequence of wanting to obtain the same goals, they then perform the same actions
When dogs travel in social groups, they display a more diverse range of exploration behaviours than when they are alone, meaning they are more likely to chance across a way of obtaining a goal

Which finding from Susan Mineka's work on observational conditioning suggests that monkeys have an innate preparedness to learn certain fear relationships through observation?

Laboratory-reared monkeys observing the reactions of a demonstrator can acquire a fear of snakes but not a fear of flowers (A) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is generally true of innate behaviours but NOT learned responses

They are performed in a similar way by a large subset of the species (e.g. all males) (A) Signup and view all the answers

During mating season, the brolga (an Australia native bird) displays a ritual courting "dance". Apart from being renowned for its intricacy and beauty, this courting dance is an example of an FAP. Which of the following statements is therefore most likely to be FALSE?

Each brolga's courting dance is highly original. changing dramatically from brolga to brolga (C) Signup and view all the answers

J. B. Watson's infamous demonstration of fear conditioning and generalisation involved which of the following?

A child was shown a white rat and was exposed to an extremely loud and unexpected noise when he reached for it. Later, the child became distressed in the presence of the rat and also showed the same fear to a rabbit and a fur coat (B) Signup and view all the answers

During mating season, male Stickleback fish develops red underbellies. Once this has occured, they will attack virtually any other object with red colouring. In this case, the red colouring is acting as:

a sign stimulus (C) Signup and view all the answers

A chimpanzee in the wild has learned to collect honey from a bee hive. The chimp selects a long stick, pokes it gently into the hive, draws it out slowly and licks the honey off the stick. One day, a young chimpanzee from the same troop observes this behaviour intently. In terms of social learning, which of the following would be best described as an example of emulation in the younger chimp?

The young chimp selects a long stick, which he then uses to beat the hive until it splits open, spewing out honey (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following do innate behaviours and habits share in common?

They are typically performed without the subject's intention to achieve a specific goal (B) Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Delayed Reward Discounting

The tendency for an individual to value a reward less as the time until they receive the reward increases.

Ethological Behaviour

Geese exhibiting a fixed action pattern (FAP) where they roll egg-sized objects back to the nest, regardless of the presence of an actual egg.

Goal Enhancement

The spread of a behaviour among feral dogs can be explained by goal enhancement, where individuals learn to associate a particular behavior with a desired outcome (stealing food from refrigerators).

Observational Conditioning - Fear

Susan Mineka found that monkeys displayed an innate preparedness to learn fear of snakes through observation, suggesting a biological predisposition for specific fear relationships.

Innate Behaviours vs Learned Responses

Innate behaviours are usually inflexible and stereotyped, whereas learned responses are more flexible and adaptable.

Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)

The brolga's complex courting dance is an example of a FAP, with a characteristic sequence of behaviors triggered by a specific stimulus (mating season).

Fear Conditioning

J.B. Watson's study demonstrated fear conditioning and generalization by conditioning a baby (Little Albert) to be afraid of a white rat after pairing it with a loud noise, then observing the generalization of fear to other white furry objects.

Sign Stimulus

The red colouring on the male stickleback's belly acts as a sign stimulus triggering an aggressive FAP in the fish.

The younger chimp's successful retrieval of honey by using a long stick, demonstrating an understanding of the goal (obtaining honey) but not necessarily the full process (how the stick was used).

Innate Behaviours and Habits in Common

Both are repeated behaviors, but innate behaviors are genetically programmed, while habits arise from learning and repetition.

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