Jeramy's cat always purrs when she eats her food. Each day, Jeramy would use the can opener to open the cat food and after a while, he found that his cat would purr each time he used the can opener even if he didn't give her food. What happened?
A) His cat has amnesia.
B) His cat learned via classical conditioning.
C) His cat learned via instrumental conditioning.
D) His cat has developed LTD.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

What happened is an example of classical conditioning, which occurs when a neutral stimulus (in this case, the sound of the can opener) becomes associated with a natural response (the feeling of being fed) and as a result, elicits the response on its own (the purring). This is a common phenomenon in animal behavior and has been studied extensively in the field of psychology. Option A is incorrect because amnesia wouldn't cause the cat to form an association between the can opener sound and food. Option C is incorrect because instrumental conditioning involves learning through rewards and punishments, which isn't relevant in this scenario. Option D is incorrect because long-term depression (LTD) is a type of synaptic weakening, not a form of conditioning.

Jeramy's Cat Always Purrs When She Eats Her Food