An animal trainer is conditioning an elephant to startle at the sound of a trombone.Every time she plays the trombone,she then shows the elephant a mouse,which startles the elephant.Eventually,the elephant startles at just the sound of the trombone.However,after playing the trombone 10 more times,without a mouse appearing,the elephant exhibits no response.The trainer then gives the elephant an adequate rest period from the trombone.What is MOST likely to occur if the elephant hears the trombone again the following week?
A)The elephant will not react.
B)The elephant will have a greatly delayed startle reaction.
C)The elephant will startle upon hearing the sound.
D)The elephant will startle only if it sees a mouse.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The elephant was conditioned to startle at the sound of the trombone by associating it with the appearance of a mouse. However, after 10 repetitions without the mouse, the conditioned response extinguished. This means that the association between the sound and the mouse was weakened. After an adequate rest period, the elephant may still have the associative memory between the sound and the mouse, and may startle upon hearing the sound again, even if no mouse appears. Therefore, the elephant is likely to startle upon hearing the sound of the trombone again the following week.

An Animal Trainer Is Conditioning an Elephant to Startle at the Sound