Keller and Marian Breland were unable to teach a pig to drop a "coin" in a box because of:
A) shaping.
B) intermittent reinforcement.
C) instinctive drift.
D) successive approximations.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors rather than continue responding to learned behaviors, which may have been shaped through operant conditioning techniques, such as successive approximations or intermittent reinforcement. In the case of the Brelands, despite their use of these techniques, the pig's innate behavior of rooting and nudging with its snout interfered with the learned behavior of dropping a coin in a box, illustrating the concept of instinctive drift.

Keller and Marian Breland Were Unable to Teach a Pig