Therapist Development Center Practice Exam 1

What does the child's crying in response to loud noises after an earthquake exemplify?

1. Extinction

2. Negative reinforcement

3. Operant conditioning

4. Classical conditioning

The correct answer is: Classical conditioning

The child's crying in response to loud noises after an earthquake exemplifies classical conditioning because it involves an emotional response to a stimulus that has been associated with a traumatic event. In this scenario, the loud noises serve as a neutral stimulus that becomes a conditioned stimulus when paired with the overwhelming experience of the earthquake, which may have elicited fear or distress. Over time, the child learns to associate the loud noises with the feelings of fear and anxiety they experienced during the earthquake, leading to the conditioned response of crying. This reaction is automatic and involuntary, which is a hallmark of classical conditioning, where an initially neutral stimulus acquires the ability to evoke a response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus that already produces that response. Considering other options, extinction refers to the gradual weakening of a conditioned response when it is no longer reinforced, which doesn't apply here. Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to strengthen a desired behavior, which is not relevant in the context of emotional responses. Operant conditioning focuses on behavior being shaped by its consequences, primarily rewards or punishments, rather than involuntary emotional responses that are established through association.