Psychology · Unit 5

Learning and Habits

How we learn and form habits

Behaviourism dominated psychology for decades by refusing to speculate about the mind and studying only what could be observed, and its findings about learning still hold.

The unit covers how we learn, classical and operant conditioning, reward and punishment, and how habits form and can be changed.

This unit breaks down into 23 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 5. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 23
Questions: 120
Difficulty: 1-5

What this unit covers

How We Learn
Reward and Punishment
Operant Conditioning
Habits
Classical Conditioning

Where this fits

Follows Memory. Connects to Schools of Psychology.

Where people slip

Classical conditioning is about associating two stimuli; operant is about associating behaviour with consequence. The two are confused constantly and the difference is the mechanism.

How the unit is structured

Learning and Habits runs as 23 short steps that unlock in order. 17 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 5 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 23 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.

Classical Conditioning

Fill the blankLevel 1
1. In Pavlov's study, the dogs learned to ____ when they heard the bell.
- droolcorrect
- bark
- sleep
- run
The dogs drooled at the bell because their minds had linked the bell with food.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
2. Which scientist is famous for studying learning by experimenting with dogs?
- Ivan Pavlovcorrect
- B.F. Skinner
- Sigmund Freud
- Jean Piaget
Ivan Pavlov, a Russian scientist, discovered classical conditioning while studying how dogs drool.
True or falseLevel 1
3. Pavlov's dogs learned to drool at the sound of a bell that had been rung before feeding.
Answer: True
After the bell was rung many times just before food, the dogs began to drool at the bell alone.
Match the pairsLevel 2
4. Match each part of Pavlov's experiment to what it did.
Answer: Food = Made the dogs drool naturally; Bell before training = Meant nothing to the dogs; Bell after training = Made the dogs drool on its own
Food caused natural drooling, the bell meant nothing at first, and after training the bell caused drooling on its own.
Choose all that applyLevel 3
5. Which of these are everyday examples of classical conditioning? (Choose all that apply)
- Feeling hungry when you hear the lunch bellcorrect
- A cat running to the kitchen at the sound of a can openercorrect
- Feeling nervous at the smell of a hospitalcorrect
- Earning a sticker for tidying your room
Feeling hungry at a lunch bell, a cat running to a can opener, and nerves at a hospital smell are all learned links, while a sticker for tidying is operant conditioning.
Put in orderLevel 4
6. Put these stages of classical conditioning in the order they happen over time.
Answer: A neutral stimulus means nothing on its own -> The neutral stimulus is paired with the food -> Acquisition: the signal now causes the response -> Extinction: the response fades without the food -> Spontaneous recovery: the response briefly returns
A neutral signal is paired with the food until it triggers the response, then the response fades without food and can briefly return later.

Habits

Fill the blankLevel 1
7. Brushing your teeth every morning without really thinking about it is a ____.
- habitcorrect
- surprise
- mistake
- dream
It is a habit because you do it automatically and regularly.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
8. What is a habit?
- A behavior we do automatically, often without thinking
- Something we do only once
- A feeling we cannot control
- A rule made by other people
A habit is a behavior we do automatically, often without even thinking about it.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
9. Which of these help build a new good habit? (Choose all that apply)
- Doing it at the same time each daycorrect
- Linking it to a routine you already docorrect
- Starting with a very small versioncorrect
- Waiting until you feel perfectly motivated
Doing it at the same time, linking it to a routine you already have, and starting small all help, while waiting to feel motivated does not.
Odd one outLevel 2
10. Which of these is NOT a habit?
- A sudden clap of thundercorrect
- Brushing teeth every day
- Always locking the door when you leave
- Checking your phone each morning
A sudden clap of thunder is a one-time event, while the others are things done regularly and automatically.
Put in orderLevel 2
11. Put these steps of building a new habit in order, from first to last.
Answer: Choose a small action -> Repeat it every day -> It starts to feel automatic -> It becomes a habit
You choose a small action, repeat it every day, it starts to feel automatic, and then it becomes a habit.
Guess the numberLevel 3
12. How many parts make up the classic habit loop (cue, routine, and reward)?
Answer: 3 parts
The habit loop has three parts: the cue that triggers it, the routine you carry out, and the reward that reinforces it.

How We Learn

Fill the blankLevel 1
13. Getting better at a skill by doing it again and again is learning through ____.
- practicecorrect
- luck
- sleep
- height
Practice means repeating something so it slowly becomes easier and better.
Odd one outLevel 1
14. Which of these is NOT a way people learn new things?
- Getting tallercorrect
- Watching others
- Practicing
- Being rewarded
Getting taller is just physical growth, while watching, practicing, and being rewarded all lead to learning.
True or falseLevel 1
15. Learning can happen almost anywhere, not just in a classroom.
Answer: True
We learn from all kinds of everyday experiences, at home, at play, and out in the world, not only at school.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
16. Which of these are real ways that people learn? (Choose all that apply)
- By practicingcorrect
- By watching otherscorrect
- By being rewardedcorrect
- By growing taller
We learn by practicing, by watching others, and by being rewarded, but simply growing taller is not learning.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
17. Which of these is an example of something that is learned?
- Tying your shoelacescorrect
- Blinking when dust flies at your eye
- Feeling hungry
- Your heart beating
Tying shoelaces is a skill picked up through practice, while blinking, hunger, and a heartbeat happen without being taught.
Type the answerLevel 2
18. Learning by watching and copying other people is called ____ learning.
Answer: observational
Observational learning means we pick up new behaviors just by watching someone else do them.

Operant Conditioning

Multiple choiceLevel 1
19. Which scientist studied how rewards and consequences shape behavior using a special box?
- B.F. Skinnercorrect
- Ivan Pavlov
- Albert Bandura
- Wilhelm Wundt
B.F. Skinner used a box with a lever to study how animals learn from the results of their actions.
True or falseLevel 1
20. In operant conditioning, we learn from the results of our actions, such as rewards and consequences.
Answer: True
Operant conditioning is learning that depends on what happens after we act, like getting a reward or a consequence.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
21. Which of these are examples of operant conditioning? (Choose all that apply)
- A student studying harder after being praisedcorrect
- A dog sitting to earn a treatcorrect
- A worker arriving on time to keep a bonuscorrect
- Drooling when a bell rings
Studying harder after praise, a dog sitting for a treat, and arriving on time to keep a bonus are all learned from consequences, while drooling at a bell is classical.
Fill the blankLevel 2
22. Learning where the results of an action change how often we do it is called ____ conditioning.
- operantcorrect
- classical
- social
- deep
Operant conditioning shapes behavior through its consequences, like rewards and punishments.
Odd one outLevel 2
23. Which of these does NOT belong with operant conditioning (learning from consequences)?
- Drooling at the sound of a bellcorrect
- A gold star for finishing chores
- Losing screen time for breaking a rule
- A treat for a dog that sits
Drooling at a bell is classical conditioning, while stars, lost screen time, and treats are all consequences that shape behavior.
Type the answerLevel 2
24. The box Skinner used to study animals pressing a lever for food is often named the ____ box.
Answer: Skinner
The Skinner box let researchers control rewards and see how animals learn from consequences.

Reward and Punishment

Multiple choiceLevel 1
25. What does reinforcement do to a behavior?
- Makes it happen more oftencorrect
- Makes it happen less often
- Stops it forever
- Has no effect at all
Reinforcement strengthens a behavior so it happens more often.
True or falseLevel 1
26. A reward is meant to increase a behavior, while a punishment is meant to decrease it.
Answer: True
Rewards make behaviors more likely and punishments make them less likely.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
27. Which of these are rewards that could encourage a behavior? (Choose all that apply)
- Praisecorrect
- A gold starcorrect
- A tasty treatcorrect
- A time-out
Praise, a gold star, and a tasty treat are rewards, but a time-out is a consequence that reduces behavior.
Fill the blankLevel 2
28. Giving a child a sticker for cleaning up makes them more likely to clean up again, so the sticker acts as a ____.
- reinforcercorrect
- punishment
- warning
- rule
A reinforcer is anything that strengthens a behavior and makes it happen more often.
Sort into groupsLevel 2
29. Sort each action as a Reward or a Punishment.
Answer: Giving praise = Reward; A gold star = Reward; Taking away a toy = Punishment; A time-out = Punishment
Praise and a gold star encourage behavior, while taking away a toy or a time-out discourages it.
Match the pairsLevel 3
30. Match each description to the correct type of consequence.
Answer: Add a reward to increase behavior = Positive reinforcement; Remove something unpleasant to increase behavior = Negative reinforcement; Add something unpleasant to decrease behavior = Positive punishment; Remove something pleasant to decrease behavior = Negative punishment
Adding or removing something, combined with whether behavior goes up or down, defines each of the four types.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 10 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Choose all that apply
Fill the blank
Guess the number
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Put in order
Sort into groups
True or false
Type the answer

Practise Learning and Habits

120 questions across 23 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

Read about Learning and Habits

Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.

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See all 18 units in Psychology →