Learning Theories & Psychology Flashcards

A GED instructor notices that students who study in the same room where they will be tested consistently outperform students who study elsewhere. Which memory phenomenon best explains this finding?

Answer: Encoding specificity principle

The encoding specificity principle (Tulving & Thomson, 1973) holds that memory retrieval is enhanced when the context at retrieval matches the context at encoding. Studying in the test room recreates environmental cues present during learning, boosting recall. Proactive interference refers to old learning disrupting new learning, massed practice concerns spacing of study sessions, and semantic encoding superiority describes depth of processing — none capture the context-matching effect.

According to Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, which instructional scenario MOST precisely targets a learner's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?

Answer: Pairing a GED student with a peer who models strategies for tasks the student cannot yet complete independently

The ZPD is the gap between what a learner can do independently and what they can accomplish with appropriate guidance. Peer modeling with scaffolding directly targets this zone. Reviewing mastered content operates below the ZPD; content two grade levels above is likely beyond the ZPD; and fully self-directed work with no input removes the social mediation central to Vygotsky's model.

A GED teacher uses frequent low-stakes quizzes instead of a single high-stakes unit exam. This practice is PRIMARILY supported by which learning science finding?

Answer: Testing effect (retrieval practice)

The testing effect (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006) demonstrates that the act of retrieving information from memory — not merely re-reading or re-studying — produces durable long-term retention. Frequent low-stakes quizzes force retrieval practice. While the spacing effect concerns intervals between study sessions and desirable difficulties is a broader umbrella concept, the direct mechanism of using testing itself as a learning tool is specifically the testing effect. Cognitive load theory addresses working memory management, not retrieval-based learning.

In classical conditioning, a dog salivates to a bell that was paired with food. The experimenter then presents the bell repeatedly WITHOUT food, and the salivation response gradually disappears. Six weeks later, the bell is presented again and the dog salivates strongly. This resurgence is called:

Answer: Spontaneous recovery

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period, without additional conditioning trials. It demonstrates that extinction suppresses the conditioned response rather than erasing it. Reconditioning requires re-pairing the CS and UCS. Stimulus generalization refers to responding to stimuli similar to the original CS. Second-order conditioning involves a neutral stimulus becoming conditioned by association with an already-established CS.

A GED instructor wants adult learners to transfer algebraic reasoning skills to novel word problems they have never seen. According to transfer-appropriate processing theory, which study condition BEST promotes this transfer?

Answer: Practicing with varied, unfamiliar problem structures that require generating solutions rather than recognizing them

Transfer-appropriate processing theory (Morris, Bransford & Franks, 1977) holds that retention and transfer are maximized when the cognitive processes used during learning match those required at retrieval. Solving novel, varied problems during study engages the same generative, problem-solving processes required on a transfer test. Passive re-reading, flashcard memorization, and observation all engage different (shallower or recognition-based) processes than producing novel solutions, so they produce weaker transfer.

Carol Dweck's research on implicit theories of intelligence found that students with a fixed mindset respond to failure differently than those with a growth mindset. Which pattern is MOST characteristic of a fixed-mindset GED student after receiving a low score?

Answer: Interpreting the low score as evidence of limited ability and reducing effort on future tasks

Fixed-mindset individuals believe intelligence is a stable, innate trait. Failure therefore becomes diagnostic of inherent ability rather than a signal to adjust strategy. The characteristic response is to withdraw effort — continued effort would risk further 'proof' of limited ability. Growth-mindset responses involve seeking challenge, attributing outcomes to effort, and requesting actionable feedback — all of which reflect the belief that ability is malleable through practice.