After being mildly bitten by one of her lab rats, June became slightly fearful of them. Then one day at home, she accidentally jabbed a needle right through her finger, after which she became much more fearful of rats. This is an example of a conditioning phenomenon known as
A) sensory preconditioning.
B) US revaluation.
C) occasion setting.
D) latent disinhibition.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

US revaluation occurs when the emotional or motivational significance of a stimulus (in this case, the pain from the needle jab) changes, which can subsequently alter the strength of a conditioned response (fear of rats). After the painful incident, June's fear of rats increased, indicating that the value of the unconditioned stimulus (pain) was re-evaluated, thereby intensifying her conditioned response.

After Being Mildly Bitten by One of Her Lab Rats