Question

To control the rat population in urban settings, the health department scatters bags of corn and molasses laced with poison. Many of the rats that survive temporarily become very sick. After this, the surviving rats never eat the bait again. What type of learning does this example illustrate?

Select one:
a. taste aversion
b. higher-order conditioning
c. observational learning
d. spontaneous recovery

Answer 1

The type of learning illustrated in this example is taste aversion, where the rats associate the taste of the poisoned bait with feeling sick and avoid eating it again.

Step-by-step explanation:

The type of learning illustrated in this example is taste aversion. Taste aversion is a form of classical conditioning where an organism develops an aversion to a particular taste or food after it becomes associated with a negative stimulus, such as illness or poisoning.

In the case of the rats, they learn to associate the taste of the corn and molasses laced with poison with feeling sick, and as a result, they avoid eating it again in the future.