You want to condition your cat to stay out of your garbage cans with as few trials as possible.Of the following,which method would best accomplish your goal?
A) Lace some food in the garbage with a nausea-inducing drug.
B) Ring a bell when the cat gets in the garbage.
C) Produce a loud obnoxious noise whenever the cat approaches the garbage.
D) Administer a mild electric shock to the cat when it touches the garbage.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Lacing some food in the garbage with a nausea-inducing drug would create a strong association between the garbage and feeling sick, leading to a rapid change in behavior with potentially fewer trials due to the significant and direct consequence of the action. This method utilizes the principle of classical conditioning, where an animal learns to associate two stimuli, in this case, the garbage (neutral stimulus) and feeling nauseous (unconditioned stimulus), leading to a conditioned response of avoiding the garbage.

You Want to Condition Your Cat to Stay Out of Your