When Arthur fed his fish, he used to switch on the light just before he gave them their food. He noticed that they would swim to the top as soon the aquarium light came on. He decided to see what would happen if he switched on the light but did not feed the fish. For one week he doesn't feed the fish after turning on the light. Arthur is trying to see if ________ will occur.
A) counterconditioning
B) extinction
C) discrimination
D) instinctive drift

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Arthur is trying to see if the behavior of the fish (swimming to the top when the light turns on) will decrease or go extinct when food is not given after the light is turned on. This is an example of extinction, which is the gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of learned behavior when reinforcement is withheld. The other options are not applicable in this scenario: counterconditioning involves changing an emotional response to a stimulus through conditioning; discrimination involves the ability to distinguish between similar stimuli and respond differently to them; and instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to innate behaviors rather than learned behaviors.

When Arthur Fed His Fish, He Used to Switch on the Light