In Skinner's research,food-deprived rats pressed a lever to receive a food pellet.The rat will eventually press the lever:
A) and receive an electric shock.
B) at a decreasing rate.
C) because its behavior is under the control of the reinforcers.
D) because its actions become more random.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The rat will eventually press the lever because its behavior is under the control of the reinforcers, i.e., the food pellets it receives as a consequence of pressing the lever. As the rat realizes that lever-pressing leads to food reward, it will become more likely to repeat this behavior in the future. This process is known as operant conditioning, and it relies on the principle of reinforcement to shape and maintain behavior. Option A is incorrect because the rat would not press the lever if it received an electric shock instead of a food pellet. Option B is incorrect because the rat's lever-pressing rate would increase rather than decrease if it were hungry and motivated to obtain more food. Option D is incorrect because the rat's behavior would become more predictable and not random as it learns to associate the lever-pressing behavior with the food reward.

In Skinner's Research,food-Deprived Rats Pressed a Lever to Receive a Food