Your Textbook Describes Robert Rescorla's Classic Experiment Involving Two Groups

Multiple Choice

Your textbook describes Robert Rescorla's classic experiment involving two groups of rats. One of these groups of rats heard a tone just before each of 20 shocks. The second group of rats experienced the same 20 tone-shock pairings, but also experienced an additional 20 shocks that were not paired with a tone. How did the two groups differ?

A) Because they experienced more shocks, the rats in the second group displayed a much stronger fear response to the tone than did the rats in the first group.
B) As predicted by the basic principles of classical conditioning, there were no differences between the two groups of rats.
C) The rats in the first group developed learned helplessness, while the rats in the second group did not.
D) The rats in the first group displayed a much stronger conditioned fear response to the tone than did the rats in the second group.