A group of people has learned to blink their eyes whenever they see a flashing blue light, because for the last hour that flashing blue light has always been followed by a puff of air to their eyes. If we want to test for the possibility of stimulus generalization, what procedure should we follow?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To test for stimulus generalization, we need to present a stimulus that is similar but not identical to the original conditioned stimulus (flashing blue light). Choice C presents a flashing light (stimulus) that is different in color (green) from the original conditioned stimulus, which allows us to observe whether participants generalize their learned response (blinking) to a similar but different stimulus. Choices A and B would both cause confusion and interfere with the existing conditioning, while choice D involves extinction, which is a separate procedure altogether.

A Group of People Has Learned to Blink Their Eyes