A rat is first trained to press a lever for food reinforcement.Then, a tone is sounded and a brief footshock is delivered.Lastly, the rat is again allowed to press the lever for food, and the experimenter records how the rat's lever pressing behavior changes when the tone is sounded.This researcher is employing
A)a Pavlovian instrumental transfer procedure.
B)an omission control procedure.
C)a blocking procedure.
D)negative reinforcement procedure.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The experiment described is an example of a Pavlovian instrumental transfer procedure, in which a Pavlovian-conditioned stimulus (the tone) influences the rate of instrumental behavior (lever pressing) that was previously reinforced with food. The footshock serves to establish an association between the tone and aversive events, allowing the tone to gain the ability to influence behavior.

A Rat Is First Trained to Press a Lever for Food