Question

Psychologists testing the relationship between environment and development developed the “rat wonderland” experiment. The control group rats were placed in plain cages, and the experimental group rats were placed in enriched cages with colorful patterns, platforms, and ladders. Rats that were raised in the enriched cage environments a. had smaller, lighter brains. b. had brains with a thinner cortex. c. were superior at learning mazes. d. exhibited all of these characteristics.

Answer 1

The answer is: C. were superior at learning mazes.

From the result of this experiment, we can learn the different possibilities of learning methodologies that are applicable by mammals.

When combining the cages with colorful patterns, platforms, and ladders, the rat subjects in the experiments are trained to utilized different part of their brains when they try to solve a certain problems. The study suggested that this is the reason why rats in enriched cage were superior at learning mazes.