Most of your colleagues have their coffee breaks in the staff lounge. One day, in the meeting room, a couple of them verbally attack you, causing you to feel quite anxious. Later that day, you also feel anxious when you are in the staff lounge, even though no one else is present. This example best illustrates
A) higher-order conditioning.
B) latent inhibition.
C) sensory preconditioning.
D) blocking.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This example illustrates sensory preconditioning because you first associated the meeting room (where the verbal attack happened) with anxiety, and then the staff lounge (linked to the meeting room through the context of work and social interactions) also becomes a trigger for anxiety, even in the absence of the colleagues who attacked you. This happens without a direct negative experience in the staff lounge itself, showing how an anxiety response can be transferred from one context to a related one.

Most of Your Colleagues Have Their Coffee Breaks in the Staff