A Pigeon Is Left Overnight in a Skinner Box

question 5

Multiple Choice

A pigeon is left overnight in a Skinner Box. The mechanism is set to give out a food pellet every five minutes, no matter what the animal does. In the morning the researcher finds the pigeon tucking its head under its wing and moving in a counter-clockwise circle. What has most likely happened?

• A) Spontaneous recovery has happened.
• B) Sequential learning took place during the night.
• C) The bird has developed superstitious behaviour.
• D) Classical conditioning has shaped the bird's behaviour.

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Definitions:

Detrital Food Web

A complex network of food chains based on the consumption of dead organic matter (detritus) by decomposers and detritivores.

Grazing Food Web

A community of organisms where the primary energy transfer is through consumption of plants (primary producers) by herbivores (grazers).

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

A greenhouse gas present in the Earth's atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming.

Carbonic Acid

A weak acid formed in solution when carbon dioxide dissolves in water, playing a crucial role in the carbon cycle and the acid-base balance in blood.