Dee Dee taught his dog Max to play dead whenever he made the sound of a gun being fired. After a while, Dee Dee got bored with the trick and allowed Max's behavior to extinguish. However, while Dee Dee was watching TV several months later, a small child on the TV began making the sound of a gun with his mouth. Upon hearing the sound, Max rolled over and played dead. Which principle of classical conditioning does this example illustrate?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery occurs when a previously extinguished conditioned response reappears after a period of no training or exposure to the conditioned stimulus. In this case, Max's behavior of playing dead in response to the sound of a gun, which had been extinguished, reappeared when he heard a similar sound from the TV.

Dee Dee Taught His Dog Max to Play Dead Whenever