After researchers conditioned a dog to salivate to the sight of a triangle, they presented the triangle alone to the dog every three minutes. Over the course of several trials, the amount of saliva the dog secreted in response to the triangle decreased to zero. At that point, the researchers put the dog back in his cage for the night. What happened the next morning when the researchers presented the triangle to the dog again?
A) Because of latent learning, the dog did not salivate.
B) Spontaneous recovery likely occurred, and the dog salivated in response to the triangle.
C) Learned helplessness developed, and the dog did not respond in any way.
D) Because the triangle was no longer a discriminative stimulus, the dog did not salivate.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response. In this case, the dog had stopped salivating to the triangle after repeated presentations, but after a period of rest (overnight), it is likely that the dog will exhibit a conditioned response again when presented with the triangle. Option A (latent learning) does not apply in this situation, as latent learning refers to learning that is not immediately demonstrated and only becomes apparent when there is an incentive to do so. Option C (learned helplessness) is not applicable in this situation, as there is no indication that any aversive stimuli were involved. Option D (no salivation due to triangle not being a discriminative stimulus) is not accurate in this case, as the triangle had previously been conditioned to elicit salivation in the dog.

After Researchers Conditioned a Dog to Salivate to the Sight