After a painful experience at one dentist's office, Teresa's mother takes Teresa to a different dentist, who takes great care to make her visits painless. Teresa is anxious at first, but after a few visits, Teresa gradually becomes less resistant about going to the new dentist. Teresa's change in behavior can probably best be explained in terms of _____. But then Teresa doesn't go to see the dentist again until three years later. On her first visit to the painless dentist after that time interval, she is anxious once again, even though she had not been anxious in her previous visits. The return of this response after it had previously disappeared is known as _____.
A) extinction; spontaneous recovery
B) generalization; discriminative learning
C) higher-order conditioning; sensory preconditioning
D) sensory preconditioning; higher-order conditioning

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Teresa's initial anxiety was likely due to a negative experience with a previous dentist, and her gradual decrease in resistance to the new dentist's office can be understood as extinction of that anxiety response. However, when she experiences anxiety again on her return visit, it is an example of spontaneous recovery, which occurs when an extinguished response reappears after a period of time has elapsed. This scenario fits with option A, which correctly identifies both extinction and spontaneous recovery.

After a Painful Experience at One Dentist's Office, Teresa's Mother