A researcher is testing respondent conditioning by presenting a blinking red light 500 milliseconds before an electric shock. The probability of the blinking light occurring before a shock is delivered is 0.3 (3 out of 10 times). Which of the following statements is the most likely outcome for this study?
A) Due to the high contiguity between light and shock, strong conditioning will occur
B) Due to the low contiguity between light and shock, very weak conditioning will occur
C) Due to the high contingency between light and shock, strong conditioning will occur
D) Due to the low contingency between the light and shock, very weak conditioning will occur

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The term "contingency" refers to the predictability or reliability of the pairing between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US). In this case, with a probability of 0.3 (3 out of 10 times) that the blinking light (CS) is followed by a shock (US), the contingency is low. This low contingency means that the blinking light is not a reliable predictor of the shock, leading to very weak conditioning.

A Researcher Is Testing Respondent Conditioning by Presenting a Blinking