Your dog Hans loves to ride in the car. Whenever anyone picks up a set of keys he races for the door. When your grandmother, who is afraid of dogs, arrives for a visit, Hans is not allowed to ride in the car. By the end of her two-week visit, he has ceased going to the door when the keys come out. However, after a brief vacation away from home, he's back at the door again as soon as he hears the keys. Why?
A) Generalization has occurred.
B) Grandma produced external inhibition in the dog.
C) Spontaneous recovery has occurred.
D) Counterconditioning occurred during the vacation.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the reemergence of an extinguished behavior after a delay. In this case, Hans stopped going to the door when the keys were picked up during his grandmother's visit, but after a brief vacation away from home, he started going to the door again when he heard the keys, indicating that spontaneous recovery had occurred.

Your Dog Hans Loves to Ride in the Car