A hungry monkey's lever-pressing behavior is reinforced with a banana-flavored treat.Which occurrence would produce the MOST dopamine activity?
A)treat delivery after the behavior is learned and the monkey expects the treat
B)treat delivery upon the first press,when the monkey does not expect a treat
C)an unexpected nondelivery of the treat when the lever press occurs
D)expected nondeliveries of treats as the response is extinguished

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Dopamine activity is highest when there is an unexpected reward or reinforcement. In this case, the monkey is not expecting the treat upon the first press, so the delivery of the treat would produce the most dopamine activity. As the monkey learns to associate the lever-pressing behavior with the treat, the dopamine activity would decrease because the reward is expected. Nondelivery of the treat, whether expected or unexpected, would not produce as much dopamine activity as the delivery of the treat.

A Hungry Monkey's Lever-Pressing Behavior Is Reinforced with a Banana-Flavored