When a rat learns to fear a light and then subsequently hears a noise with the light, you know from blocking that the rat will:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Blocking suggests that learning only occurs when a new stimulus provides unique information that is not already predicted by existing knowledge. In this scenario, the rat has already learned to fear the light through previous conditioning. Therefore, when it hears the noise with the light, the light is already a predictor for the aversive outcome, and the noise provides redundant information. As a result, the rat is unlikely to develop a fear for the noise and will continue to fear only the light. Therefore, the correct answer is B - the rat will fear the light.

When a Rat Learns to Fear a Light and Then