Rats A and B receive shocks in a Skinner box. Rat A can terminate the shock by pressing a bar. For rat B, there is no response that leads to shock termination. The experimenter then tries to teach both rats another similar shock-avoidance task. What result would one expect?
A) Rat A will learn the avoidance task more quickly than rat B
B) Rat B will learn the avoidance task more quickly than rat A.
C) The rats will learn the avoidance task at equal rates.
D) Neither rat A nor rat B will be able to learn the avoidance task.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Rat A has already learned the association between pressing a bar and terminating the shock, which will make it easier for it to learn a similar task. Rat B did not have the opportunity to learn that association in the previous task, so it may take longer to learn the new task without a response that terminates the shock.

Rats a and B Receive Shocks in a Skinner Box