Blocking is best described by which statement?

Blocking is best described by which statement?

• A. Blocking occurs when a familiar stimulus enhances the learning of a new cue
• B. Blocking occurs when learning about a new cue is impeded by the presence of a familiar cue
• C. Blocking refers to reinforcement being withheld after initial learning
• D. Blocking describes when a new cue is learned more quickly when paired with a familiar cue

Answer: (B)

Blocking happens when a cue you already know predicts the outcome, so a new cue added at the same time doesn’t get learned about. The existing cue creates a full prediction of the reinforcement, leaving no prediction error to drive learning about the new cue. In dog-training terms, if a tone already signals food, adding a light together with the tone won’t lead the dog to learn that the light also predicts food—the dog already expects the food from the tone, so the light is effectively blocked from taking on associative strength. This is why the correct description is that learning about a new cue is impeded by the presence of a familiar cue. The other statements describe different phenomena (enhancement, withholding reinforcement, or faster learning with a familiar cue) and don’t fit the blocking effect.

Blocking happens when a cue you already know predicts the outcome, so a new cue added at the same time doesn’t get learned about. The existing cue creates a full prediction of the reinforcement, leaving no prediction error to drive learning about the new cue. In dog-training terms, if a tone already signals food, adding a light together with the tone won’t lead the dog to learn that the light also predicts food—the dog already expects the food from the tone, so the light is effectively blocked from taking on associative strength. This is why the correct description is that learning about a new cue is impeded by the presence of a familiar cue. The other statements describe different phenomena (enhancement, withholding reinforcement, or faster learning with a familiar cue) and don’t fit the blocking effect.