Bertha becomes conditioned to cry every time she sees an onion chopper because she associates it with cutting onions,which always make her eyes water.For weeks,the onion cutter sits on the counter with no onions.Eventually,she never cries when she sees the cutter.Then the onion cutter disappears for two months,and when Bertha sees it again for the first time,she begins to cry.This response is known as ____.
A) positive reinforcement
B) negative reinforcement
C) spontaneous recovery
D) reconditioning

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a rest period. In this scenario, Bertha's conditioned response to cry when seeing the onion chopper had previously been extinguished after weeks of the chopper being present without any onions. However, when the chopper reappeared after a two-month absence, Bertha experienced spontaneous recovery and began to cry again. Choice A and B are incorrect because neither positive nor negative reinforcement is occurring in this scenario. Choice D is incorrect because there is no indication of Bertha undergoing reconditioning (also known as second-order conditioning) in this scenario.

Bertha Becomes Conditioned to Cry Every Time She Sees an Onion