hard · MCAT psych-soc
A rat is first classically conditioned so that a tone reliably predicts a mild foot shock. In a second phase, that same tone is repeatedly presented together with a light, and the compound (tone + light) is followed by the same shock. When the light is later tested alone, the rat shows almost no fear response to it, even though it was always paired with the shock during the compound phase.
This failure of the light to acquire fear-eliciting properties is best explained by which principle?
- Extinction, since the shock was no longer reliably predicted by the tone alone during pairing.
- Blocking, since the tone already fully predicted the shock, leaving no error signal for the light.
- Latent inhibition, since prior exposure to the light alone before pairing lowered its associability.
- Spontaneous recovery, since the fear response to the light would reappear after a rest period.
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