You train your dog, Milo, to salivate at the sound of a bell. Then you ring the bell every five minutes and don't follow the ringing with food for Milo. He salivates less and less and finally stops salivating at all when the bell rings. But the next morning, when you ring the bell, Milo salivates! What term is used to explain the reappearance of this response?
A) counterconditioning
B) instinctive drift
C) spontaneous recovery
D) stimulus discrimination

Question

You train your dog, Milo, to salivate at the sound of a bell. Then you ring the bell every five minutes and don't follow the ringing with food for Milo. He salivates less and less and finally stops salivating at all when the bell rings. But the next morning, when you ring the bell, Milo salivates! What term is used to explain the reappearance of this response?
A) counterconditioning 
B) instinctive drift
C) spontaneous recovery 
D) stimulus discrimination

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of an extinguished response after a rest period. In this scenario, even though the response to the bell was extinguished, when the bell was presented again after a rest period, the response reappeared.

You Train Your Dog, Milo, to Salivate at the Sound