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Human Relations for Career & Personal Success, 11e (DuBrin)
Chapter 15 Learning Strategies, Perception, and Life Span Changes
1) Cedrick is hired as an ambulance driver which requires driving a vehicle wider than
customary for him. On his first two trips, Cedrick hears and feels strong vibrations near the tire
because he has driven on the shoulder. Cedrick quickly makes the appropriate adjustments, and
no longer encounters the vibrations. His learning was the result of ________.
A) classical conditioning
B) operant conditioning
C) positive reinforcement
D) modeling
2) Store manager Pam is most likely displaying a habit when she ________.
A) asks her manager for a salary increase
B) deals with a difficult customer
C) locks the door and sets the security alarm upon leaving
3) Patty disrupted everyone’s work with her constant talking and telling jokes in the office, so
coworkers finally began just ignoring her and the behavior stopped. This is an example of
________.
A) positive reinforcement
B) negative reinforcement
C) punishment
D) extinction
4) Business owner Robert should use ________ schedules or reinforcement to keep his
employees mentally alert and interested.
A) regular
B) formal
C) continuous
D) intermittent
5) Jessica is an apprentice who learns her jewelry making skills by observing others. This type of
learning is called ________.
A) informal learning
B) implicit learning
C) modeling
D) formal learning
6) It is possible for a company to arrange for informal learning by ________.
A) setting up formal classrooms
B) organizing the work area
C) providing lesson plans
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7) A major contributor to informal learning in a medical setting would be workers ________.
A) sharing information with each other
B) downloading apps about safety regulations distributed by hospital administration
C) watching reality shows on TV about hospitals
D) carefully studying the labels on medical containers
8) A study about learning and different sized fonts suggested that ________.
A) people learn best with material written in their favorite font
B) people learn the fonts better than the facts
C) larger fonts, within limits, lead to better remembering
D) harder concentration leads to better remembering
9) A major force behind the growth of e-learning is that ________.
A) most workers dislike interacting with coworkers and instructors
B) so many employees are geographically dispersed
C) so many workers fear interaction with others in a classroom
D) cheating on exams is widely accepted
10) The students who benefit the most from e-learning tend to be those who are ________.
A) self-disciplined enough to void distractions
B) afraid to interact with other students in a classroom
C) willing to study after midnight
D) learn more through classical than operant conditioning
11) In general e-learning is most effective in delivering ________, whereas classroom training is
more effective for learning ________.
A) formal learning; informally
B) informal learning; formally
C) conceptual subject matter; interpersonal skills
D) interpersonal skills; conceptual subject matter
12) The three features of group learning are ________.
A) positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment
B) brainstorming, groupthink, and committee formation
C) forming, storming, and norming
D) sharing, storage, and retrieval
14) Biff is 6’3″ tall, and the first few times he enters or exits a commuter airplane, he bangs his
head on the ceiling. Biff now crouches when entering or exiting a commuter airplane, attesting to
the usefulness of classical conditioning.
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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.
15) Several studies suggest that close to 45 percent of what we do every day is based on habits.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: Moderate
LO: 15-1: Understand the Basic Learning Processes, Three Advanced Learning Processes, and
e-learning.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Skill: Application
16) A study with students found that increasing font size, within limits, tended to greatly enhance
memory of the material presented.
17) Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are used mostly so learners can gather together in
18) To be a good e-learner, you need a lot of self-motivation and self-discipline.
19) An education professor cited in the human relations text believes that information technology
is used more effectively to enhance, rather than replace classroom learning.
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20) When group learning is successful, members of the group are ready to act in the same
manner in response to a problem.
21) Jason has a passive learning style so he will most likely acquire new information best by
________.
A) physical demonstrations of learning material
B) studying written material
C) interacting with other people
D) being stimulated with bright lights and loud noises
22) Hotel manager Pearl wants her staff to improve their customer service. Which one of the
following approaches is the most likely to lead to improvements?
A) Conducting small discussion groups about the importance of good customer service
B) Requiring that the staff access the same app about good customer service
C) Requiring that the staff all read the same article about good customer service
D) Suggesting that the staff access the same YouTube video about terrible customer service
23) When applying the Golden Personality Type Profiler to learning, ________ individuals
prefer to concentrate on logical analysis, whereas ________ individuals prefer to focus on
understanding and harmony.
A) introverted; extroverted
B) sensing; intuiting
C) thinking; feeling
D) judging; perceiving
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24) Peer (or cooperative) learning tends to increase satisfaction yet is not so effective for
bringing about changes in behavior.
25) According to the Golden Personality Type Profiler, an important influence on your learning
26) An important learning advantage of sleep is that it leads to stronger memory and better
attention spans.
27) Lower mental ability and personality traits that detract from concentration tend to enhance
how much people learn.
28) Brian receives an e-mail message explaining how he can earn hundreds of extra dollars per
month by selling food supplements that prolong life. Brian engages in selective attention when
he ________.
A) carefully thinks through who is sending this message
B) overlooks the clause that he will have to purchase $500 of the supplements so he will have the
necessary inventory
C) is happy to know that he might be able to earn extra money
D) deletes the message immediately
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29) Jade is a store manager at a Kmart. She engages in stereotyping when she says, ________
A) “I am going to hire a Mexican-American as our grounds supervisor because Mexicans are
such hard workers.”
B) “I am going to conduct a background investigation of anybody I would like to hire as our
grounds supervisor.”
C) “I am going to hire a woman as a grounds supervisor because I believe in equal opportunity.”
D) “I am going to hire a senior for the grounds supervisor position because about one-half of our
30) Bert is the metal recycling supervisor at a recycling center. Tammy, one of his recycling
technicians, is frequently late for work. Which one of the following explanations for Tammy’s
tardiness, most closely fits attribution theory? “Tammy is usually late because she ________
A) is a single parent without much support.”
B) lacks reliable transportation.”
C) has to cope with our over-crowded highway system.”
D) is irresponsible.”
31) A person can often capitalize on the halo effect by denying to others that he or she has any
work-related problems.
32) Terry has a long history of cheating on his expense accounts. As a result he engages in
projection by checking extra carefully to see if any of his subordinates are cheating on their
33) An example of a work-related stereotype would be that people under age 25 become anxious
34) An example of perceptual congruence would be if the members of a work group and the
group leader have a different perception of the group’s mission.
35) One finding of the attribution theory is that people tend to attribute their achievements to
good inner qualities, whereas they attribute their failures to adverse factors within the
36) According to Erikson’s eight stages of development, ________ is the first stage.
A) autonomy versus shame
B) initiative versus guilt
C) trust versus mistrust
D) industry versus inferiority
37) According to the eight stages of human development formulated by Erikson, a person has to
learn to resolve a crisis at each stage before successfully negotiating the next stage of life.
38) Cecelia has a teenage brain, so she is likely to be easily influenced by her environment and
prone to ________.
A) impulsive behavior
B) careful reflection before acting
C) allowing reason to conquer her emotion
D) being extra thoughtful about the welfare of others
39) If Jeremy, who is 86 years old, regularly engages in mental workouts so he has a good
chance of preserving his ________.
A) job satisfaction
B) physical fitness
C) cognitive fitness
D) e-learning
40) According to Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, people resolve moral dilemmas by
applying principles of equality and justice at the pre-conventional level.
41) An important consequence of having a teenage brain is that the person carefully evaluates
42) You know you are part of the sandwich generation when you are juggling taking care of
your own children and parents.
43) Middle age is typically a period of substantial decline in verbal abilities and abstract
reasoning.
44) According to a study of 698 senior adults, it appears that the executive function of the brain
remains so strong up until the end of life, and that commercial airlines should allow pilots to fly
45) One of the first steps in making a career change should be to ________.
A) find all of the jobs that pay more than your current job
B) make the change quickly so you don’t lose any benefits
C) take a sabbatical
D) assess your likes and dislikes
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46) Professional football player Deon is released from his team, and cannot find a new job as a
player or coach. Which one of the following might be a realistic career change for Deon?
A) Attempt to become a professional wrestler or prize fighter
B) Become a Hollywood screen writer
C) Purchase a franchise with some of the money he has saved from his playing days
D) Use his personal brand to become a standup comedian
47) One of the major reasons that many employees consider a new career is that they crave more
independence.
48) Kristen, a paralegal supervisor, is switching employers, getting married, relocating, and
getting a knee replacement all within the next 60 days. It would be helpful for Kristen if she
could ________.
A) search for a fifth change
B) recognize that change is inevitable
C) be angry about all the changes imposed on her
D) recognize that she is in over her head, and fight the changes
49) A job is least likely to be outsourced when it involves ________.
A) personal connections with people
B) a heavy Internet component
C) considerable analytical work
D) relatively high compensation
50) Matilda is employing a useful tactic for coping with a major change in her work life when
she looks for the personal value that could be embedded in the change.