After several pairings of a beeping sound with an electric shock, a person reacts to the beeping sound by flinching, increased heart rate, and other signs of fear. How could someone extinguish this response?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best way to extinguish the fear response to the beeping sound is to repeatedly present the beeping sound alone without the electric shock. This is called extinction training, and it involves presenting the conditioned stimulus (beeping sound) without the unconditioned stimulus (electric shock) until the conditioned response (fear) is no longer elicited. This is a gradual process, and it may take several trials for the fear response to be completely extinguished. Punishing the person for any sign of fear (choice A) is not effective and can even make the fear response worse. Waiting a long time without either the sound or the shocks (choice B) may weaken the conditioned response, but it is not as effective as extinction training. Presenting the shocks after some other sound (choice C) does not address the conditioned response to the beeping sound and may even strengthen the connections between the shocks and the other sound.

After Several Pairings of a Beeping Sound with an Electric