Pavlov's dogs were conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell.The dogs may have also salivated to the telephone ringing.This is an example of:
A) discrimination
B) extinction
C) generalization
D) operant conditioning

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Generalization occurs when a conditioned response occurs to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus. In this case, the telephone ringing is similar enough to the sound of the bell that the dogs salivate to it as well. Discrimination would be if the dogs only salivated to the sound of the bell and not to other similar sounds. Extinction would be if the dogs stopped salivating to the sound of the bell after it was presented without the unconditioned stimulus (food) for a prolonged period. Operant conditioning involves reinforcement or punishment to increase or decrease the frequency of a behavior, and is not relevant to this scenario.

Pavlov's Dogs Were Conditioned to Salivate to the Sound of a Bell.The