Consider a Study in Which Two Different Groups of Rats

question 87

Multiple Choice

Consider a study in which two different groups of rats are being exposed to exactly the same amount of painful shock. One group is able to stop the shock by pressing a bar, while the other group can do nothing to stop the shock. What would you expect to happen to their stress response?

• A) The rats that have control will have a larger stress response.
• B) The rats that have control will have a smaller stress response.
• C) There will be no difference in stress response because the shock is equally painful for both groups.
• D) The painful electric shock will prevent the rats from being able to learn to press the bar.

---

Definitions:

Cerebral Hemisphere

One of the two halves of the brain (left or right) in vertebrates, responsible for control over the opposite side of the body and different functions such as language and logic (left hemisphere) or spatial and creative tasks (right hemisphere).

Plasticity

The brain's ability to change and adapt as a result of experience or injury.

Surgical Removal

The process of excising or taking out tissue, an organ, or a tumor from the body during an operation.

Broca's Area

A region in the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere of the brain with functions linked to speech production.