Sheldon is a psychology student and decides to conduct an experiment where he provides reinforcement to his pet rat every so often, independent of its behaviour. After several days of his experiment, Sheldon notices that his rat is engaging in strange behaviours, such as turning around in circles repetitively. Which of the following is an explanation for what likely happened in Sheldon's experiment?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Sheldon's experiment likely led to superstititious conditioning, where the rat associated receiving a reward with whatever action it was performing at the time of reinforcement, despite the action not being related to the reinforcement. This can lead to repetitive or strange behaviors if the animal thinks those behaviors will lead to more rewards.

Sheldon Is a Psychology Student and Decides to Conduct an Experiment