Every time Maricella goes to work in the morning, she notices that her dog sulks in the corner of the room and looks very sad. Over several weeks, she notices that the dog gets unhappy when she picks up her car keys, immediately before leaving the house. Which phenomenon of learning BEST describes the dog's behavior?
A) classical conditioning
B) innate learning
C) punishment by removal
D) instinctive drift

Question

Every time Maricella goes to work in the morning, she notices that her dog sulks in the corner of the room and looks very sad. Over several weeks, she notices that the dog gets unhappy when she picks up her car keys, immediately before leaving the house. Which phenomenon of learning BEST describes the dog's behavior?
A) classical conditioning 
B) innate learning
C) punishment by removal 
D) instinctive drift

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The dog's behavior of sulking and looking sad when Maricella picks up her car keys and prepares to leave the house suggests that the dog has associated that stimulus (the car keys) with the negative experience of Maricella leaving for work. This is an example of classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus (car keys) becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus (Maricella leaving) and elicits a response (sadness in the dog).

Every Time Maricella Goes to Work in the Morning, She