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Chapter 6: Problem 5

Rosie wants her cat to meow when the doorbell rings. Each time a visitor rings the bell and the cat meows, Rosie gives him a treat. Soon the cat always meows when the doorbell rings. Rosie's cat is demonstrating __________. a. non-associative learning b. classical conditioning c. vicarious conditioning d. operant conditioning

Short Answer

Expert verified
b. classical conditioning

Step by step solution

01

Understand non-associative learning

Non-associative learning is a type of learning that occurs when an individual is repeatedly exposed to a stimulus, but this stimulus is not associated with any particular outcome or reinforcement. In this scenario, the cat is not just exposed to the doorbell sound, but also receives a treat each time it meows. Therefore, non-associative learning does not apply in this case.
02

Understand classical conditioning

Classical conditioning is a learning process in which an organism learns to associate a neutral stimulus (the doorbell ringing) with an unconditioned stimulus (the treat) that elicits a natural response (meowing). Over time, the neutral stimulus will come to evoke the same response as the unconditioned stimulus, even without the presence of the unconditioned stimulus. This matches the current scenario, as the cat learned to meow every time the doorbell rings, due to the association with getting a treat.
03

Understand vicarious conditioning

Vicarious conditioning is a type of learning that occurs when an individual observes the consequences of another individual's actions and learns from them. In this case, the cat is not learning from watching another individual but is directly associating the doorbell ringing with receiving a treat. Hence, vicarious conditioning does not apply in this situation.
04

Understand operant conditioning

Operant conditioning is a learning process in which an individual learns to associate a specific behavior with a specific consequence. In this situation, the cat is learning to associate the specific behavior of meowing with the consequence of receiving a treat. Although this may seem similar to classical conditioning, the main difference is that the response (meowing) itself is voluntary and reinforced, instead of simply being a reflexive action triggered by the stimulus.
05

Select the correct learning type

Comparing and analyzing the descriptions of each type of learning, we can see that the cat's behavior in this scenario fits best within classical conditioning. The cat learns to associate the neutral stimulus (doorbell ringing) with the unconditioned stimulus (treat) leading to the natural response (meowing). Thus, the correct answer is: b. classical conditioning

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Ajeet's younger sister is always bugging him. One day, Ajeet lets her play his video game, and she stops bugging him for several hours. Ajeet now lets her play his video game more and more, because doing so stops her from bugging him. Ajeet's learning in this situation is best explained by __________. a. positive reinforcement b. negative reinforcement c. positive punishment d. negative punishment

Glen and Lynda are hired to rake leaves. Glen is paid \(\$_{3}\) for each bag of leaves he rakes. Lynda is paid \(\$ 7\) for each hour she works. Glen is paid according to a ______ schedule of reinforcement. Lynda is paid according to a ____ schedule . a. variable ratio; variable interval b. fixed ratio; fixed interval c. variable ratio; fixed interval d. fixed ratio; variable interval

Lola's new dog, Hoss, is afraid of loud noises. Every time her cell phone rings, Hoss starts barking out of fear. After a while, Hoss also starts barking when a phone rings on a television show. The fact that Hoss now barks when he hears a telephone ring on TV is most likely due to __________. a. stimulus discrimination b. stimulus generalization c. spontaneous recovery d. second-order conditioning

Dante often shopped at the same grocery store. One day, another customer asked Dante if he knew where the plastic storage containers were located in the store. Dante immediately gave directions to the correct aisle, even though he had never bought plastic storage containers from that store. The fact that Dante knew the location of the containers is best explained by _________. a. insight learning b. vicarious conditioning c. latent learning d. continuous reinforcement

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