According to a study by Breland and Breland (1961), it was no trouble to condition a raccoon to slip coins into the slot on a laboratory "piggy bank." However, the raccoon would not let the coins go, but dipped them in and out of the slot, and rubbed them together in his paws. This was because
A) the raccoon could not be conditioned to use only one paw and persisted on grasping with both
B) the procedure used a continuous reinforcement contingency
C) the raccoon's saving behavior had not been properly shaped
D) the raccoon had come to associate the coins with receiving food and was treating the coins as food

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The raccoon's behavior of dipping coins in and out of the slot and rubbing them together, as described by Breland and Breland (1961), was due to the raccoon treating the coins as if they were food. This behavior illustrates the concept of instinctual drift, where an animal's innate behaviors interfere with conditioned responses.

According to a Study by Breland and Breland (1961), It