Martha trains her cat Whiskers to salivate to the sound of a bell. She rings the bell every 15 minutes and doesn't follow it with food for Whiskers. It salivates less and less and finally stops salivating at the sound of the ringing bell. A week later, she finds Whiskers salivating to the sound of a ringing bell. Which of the following terms explains this response?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of time has passed. In this case, Whiskers had stopped salivating to the sound of the bell after it was repeatedly presented without food, but a week later, the salivation response reappeared, demonstrating spontaneous recovery.

Martha Trains Her Cat Whiskers to Salivate to the Sound