In Psychologist Robert Rescorla's Classical Conditioning Experiment, One Group of Rats

question 86

Multiple Choice

In psychologist Robert Rescorla's classical conditioning experiment, one group of rats experienced a tone just beforeeach of 20 shocks. A second group of rats experienced the same number of tone-shock pairings plus an additional 20shocks with no tone. Rescorla found that the rats in the first group showed a much stronger conditioned fear response than the rats in the second group. How did Rescorla explain this finding?

• A)It was an example of the partial reinforcement effect.
• B)Spontaneous recovery had occurred in the second group of rats.
• C)The tone was a more reliable predictor of the shock for the first group of rats.
• D)The interval between the tone and the shock was too great for the second group of rats to acquire a strong conditioned response (CR).

---

Definitions:

Nature-Nurture Issue

The debate over the relative contributions of genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) to human development.

Free Will

The concept that humans have the ability to make choices that are not predetermined by past events or natural laws.

Clinical Psychology

A branch of psychology focused on diagnosing and treating mental illness, emotional disturbances, and dysfunctional behavior.

Basic Laws of Behavior

Fundamental principles that describe predictable ways in which organisms learn and behave based on their interactions with the environment.