On even-numbered days, a rat receives morphine injections in a room with striped walls, low illumination, and a musty scent. On odd-numbered days, the rat receives saline injections in a room with light yellow walls, bright illumination, and a cinnamon scent. Over a period of three weeks, the morphine dosage, administered in the striped room, is increased incrementally. At the end of three weeks, the highest dose of morphine administered is administered on an odd-numbered day in the yellow room. While the rats have shown an increased tolerance to morphine in the striped room, two-thirds of the rats that receive the same dose in the yellow room die of cardiac failure. Their deaths can be attributed to
A) proactive interference.
B) retroactive interference.
C) trace decay.
D) retrieval failure.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The deaths of the rats can be attributed to retrieval failure, as the environmental cues in the yellow room did not match those in the striped room where the rats had learned to tolerate the morphine. This mismatch likely prevented the rats from accessing the learned tolerance, leading to overdose and death.

On Even-Numbered Days, a Rat Receives Morphine Injections in a Room