Which one of the following examples best illustrates social cognitive theorists' concept of personal agency in learning and behavior?
a. After once being bitten by a German shepherd, Seth becomes extremely anxious every time he sees a large dog.
b. Norah sits quietly in her history class, hoping that her teacher's lecture will somehow sink in and stick in her brain.
c. In order to enhance his roller skating skills, Marvin enrolls in a roller skating class.
d. Linda gets increasingly frustrated when she can't solve a complex math problem.
Ques. 2Trudy makes an obscene gesture in class, and the teacher punishes her severely. Other students in class observe both the gesture and the punishment. Based on social cognitive theory, what can we guess about what those other students have learned and how they are likely to behave in the future?
a. They don't know how to make the gesture, but they know that the teacher will punish them severely for inappropriate behavior.
b. They know how to make the gesture, but they are likely to forget it within a few days.
c. They know how to make the gesture and are likely to make it in class in the future.
d. They know how to make the gesture, but they are unlikely to make it in class.
Ques. 3An early theory of imitation, one proposed by Miller and Dollard in 1941, suggested that individuals:
a. Form mental images of the behaviors they observe
b. Are reinforced for imitative behavior
c. Encode imitated behaviors verbally (i.e., by describing to themselves what they have observed)
d. Find imitation to be an intrinsically reinforcing activity
Ques. 4Which one of the following best illustrates cognitive modeling?
a. A science teacher thinks aloud, How can I determine what makes this pendulum swing fast or slowly? Hmm, I'll change the amount of weight on the bottom, but I need to keep the length the same so I'll know that any change in speed isn't due to length.
b. A dance teacher carefully describes every movement that students should make when doing a country line dance to the Boot Scootin' Boogie.
c. A Spanish teacher has students practice rolling their Rs by asking them to repeat this tongue twister over and over: Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril. Rpido corren los carros del ferrocarril.
d. After showing his students how to use a jigsaw correctly and safely, an industrial arts teacher has them practice using the saw by constructing pig-shaped cutting boards they can bring home as gifts for Mother's Day.
Ques. 5Which one of the following is an example of vicarious reinforcement?
a. Alice notices that her friend Ellen gets extra attention from the teacher when she acts helpless. Alice begins to act helpless as well.
b. Bill knows that he will get a higher grade if he turns in a research paper that is typed rather than handwritten, but he turns in a handwritten paper anyway.
c. Connie sees her friend Maria scolded for chewing gum in class. She quickly takes her own gum out of her mouth.
d. David sees how Justin gets good grades when he works hard on his mathematics homework, but David doesn't want to work that hard.
Ques. 6Which one of the following instances of learning can be explained more easily by social cognitive theory than by behaviorist views of learning?
a. Playing the role of a German soldier in the school play, Andy says his lines using a German accent similar to one he's heard in the movies a few times.
b. Brad discovers that to get his teacher's approval, he must turn in his writing assignments without a single error in grammar, spelling, or punctuation.
c. Craig finds that he gets one special girl's attention when he shows off on the playground.
d. Darren has stopped trying in school, because he seems to get low grades no matter what he does.
Ques. 7Which one of the following is an example of vicarious punishment?
a. Johnny's teacher smiles at him when he turns in his homework on time. He now always turns his homework in one time.
b. Betty notices that her sister gets to watch TV after she finished her chores. Betty begins to finish her chores as well.
c. Jane sees her friend Olivia scolded by the teacher for talking out of turn in class. Jane stops talking out of turn in class.
d. Lauren notices Emily get in trouble by the teacher for not cleaning her desk, but Lauren doesn't want to clean out her desk.
Ques. 8A problem with trying to explain modeling solely from a strictly behaviorist perspective is that:
a. Events that are reinforcing for some people are not reinforcing for others.
b. People sometimes don't imitate a behavior until many days after observing it.
c. Vicariously punished behaviors usually increase, rather than decrease, in frequency.
d. Not all behaviors are imitated.
Ques. 9A guest speaker is coming to Mr. Fisk's third-grade classroom, and he wants his students to treat the speaker with courtesy and respect. He decides to give his students 15 minutes of free time if they show appropriate behavior during the guest's visit. From the perspective of social cognitive theory, Mr. Fisk's reinforcement is likely to work only if his students:
a. Also experience intrinsic reinforcement for good behavior
b. Expect that this consequence will follow their good behavior
c. Have previously been directly reinforced for such behavior
d. Have previously been vicariously reinforced for such behavior
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