Your textbook described a classic experiment by Robert Rescorla that involved two groups of rats. One group of rats heard a tone just before each of 20 shocks. The second group of rats experienced the same 20 tone-shock pairings, but also experienced an additional 20 shocks that were not paired with a tone. How did the two groups differ?
A)Because they experienced more shocks, the rats in the second group displayed a much stronger fear response to the tone than did the rats in the first group.
B)As predicted by the basic principles of classical conditioning, there were no differences between the two groups of rats.
C)The rats in the first group developed learned helplessness, while the rats in the second group did not.
D)The rats in the first group displayed a much stronger conditioned fear response to the tone than did the rats in the second group.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The rats in the first group received 20 tone-shock pairings, while the second group received 20 tone-shock pairings as well as 20 shocks that were not paired with a tone. Therefore, the rats in the second group experienced fewer total tone-shock pairings than the rats in the first group. As a result, the rats in the first group developed a stronger conditioned fear response to the tone than did the rats in the second group, as predicted by the basic principles of classical conditioning.

Your Textbook Described a Classic Experiment by Robert Rescorla That