Multiple Choice
What did Robert Rescorla and Allan Wagner's experiments establish about classical conditioning?
93
views
6. Learning
Classical Conditioning
Multiple Choice
Based on the principle of spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning, what would you predict about Little Albert after his conditioned fear response to the white rat has been extinguished?
A
Little Albert will develop a new fear response to a different stimulus unrelated to the white rat.
B
Little Albert will never show fear of the white rat again once the response has been extinguished.
C
Little Albert's fear response to the white rat will gradually increase over time after extinction.
D
Little Albert may temporarily show a return of his fear response to the white rat even after extinction has occurred.
Verified step by step guidance1
Step 1: Understand the concept of classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus (like the white rat) becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus that naturally triggers a fear response, leading to a conditioned fear response to the previously neutral stimulus.
Step 2: Recognize that extinction occurs when the conditioned stimulus (white rat) is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus, causing the conditioned fear response to decrease or disappear over time.
Step 3: Learn about spontaneous recovery, which is the phenomenon where, after a rest period following extinction, the conditioned response can reappear temporarily when the conditioned stimulus is presented again.
Step 4: Apply this principle to Little Albert's case: even after his fear response to the white rat has been extinguished, there is a possibility that the fear response may reoccur temporarily without any new conditioning trials.
Step 5: Conclude that the correct prediction is that Little Albert may show a temporary return of his fear response to the white rat after extinction, illustrating spontaneous recovery.
Related Videos
Related Practice
