A child has been classically conditioned to fear a white rat. If the child does not show fear when shown a black rat, this is called
A) stimulus generalization.
B) stimulus discrimination.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) extinction.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Stimulus discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish between different stimuli, in this case the fear response to the white rat does not extend to the black rat. Stimulus generalization would be the opposite where the fear response would extend to other similar stimuli. Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of an extinguished response after some time has passed. Extinction refers to the gradual disappearance of a conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus no longer follows the conditioned stimulus.

A Child Has Been Classically Conditioned to Fear a White