Dr. Sterling investigated operant conditioning using laboratory rats in a custom chamber. A continuous, irritating buzzing sound was played inside the chamber. Whenever a rat pressed a small lever, the buzzing sound stopped immediately for 30 seconds. Dr. Sterling recorded how quickly the rats learned to press the lever after being placed in the chamber.
Explain how Dr. Sterling used negative reinforcement in this investigation.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Content with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 100 questions covering Main features of classical conditioning, Pavlov (1927) salivation in dogs, Main features of operant conditioning, Properties of reinforcement, Behaviour modification and shaping, Main features of social learning theory, Social learning stages, Bandura (1961, 1963) Bobo doll experiments, Bandura (1965) vicarious reinforcement, Learning theories and phobias, Treatments for phobias, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.