Researchers conduct an experiment using dogs. Each dog is placed in a cage with a short middle partition. A light turns on five seconds before the dog receives a painful electric shock through the floor, which stops when the dog jumps over the partition. If researchers count the number of trials each dog needs until it jumps over the partition before the shock is administered, they are most likely studying:

Question

Researchers conduct an experiment using dogs.  Each dog is placed in a cage with a short middle partition.  A light turns on five seconds before the dog receives a painful electric shock through the floor, which stops when the dog jumps over the partition.  If researchers count the number of trials each dog needs until it jumps over the partition before the shock is administered, they are most likely studying:

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11ecba2d_0d84_469c_a3bf_656decd43c22_MD0008_00 In operant conditioning, negative reinforcement is the withdrawal of an unpleasant stimulus (eg, ongoing electric shock) following a behavior, which increases the likelihood that the behavior will occur again. Negative reinforcement can lead to escape and/or avoidance learning. Escape learning occurs when an organism learns how to terminate an ongoing unpleasant stimulus (eg, a dog jumps over a partition to flee from or stop a continuous electric shock). Escape learning becomes avoidance learning when an organism prevents coming into contact with an unpleasant stimulus (eg, a dog jumps over a partition to avoid the electric shock before it occurs). Because the researchers are counting the number of trials each dog needs until it jumps over the partition before the shock is administered (ie, avoid the shock), they are studying avoidance learning. (Choice A) Escape learning is demonstrated by the dog jumping over the partition to terminate the electric shock, an ongoing unpleasant stimulus. Because the researchers are counting how many trials each dog needs until it jumps over the partition before the shock was administered, they are studying avoidance (not escape) learning. (Choice C) Habituation is a type of learning in which repeated exposure to a stimulus results in a decrease in the strength of a response (eg, after a few minutes one becomes accustomed to a flickering overheard light and no longer notices it). (Choice D) Sensitization is a type of learning in which repeated exposure to a stimulus results in an increase in the strength of a response (eg, instead of becoming accustomed to a flickering overhead light, one becomes extremely irritated). Educational objective: Escape learning occurs when an organism learns how to terminate an ongoing unpleasant stimulus. Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns how to prevent coming into contact with an unpleasant stimulus before it occurs.

Researchers Conduct an Experiment Using Dogs