A cat is classically conditioned to purr when it hears the refrigerator door open,because it contains the cat food.But the cat does not purr when it hears the pantry door open.The fact that the cat only purrs when the refrigerator door opens is most likely a result of
A) stimulus discrimination.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) stimulus generalization.
D) extinction.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Stimulus discrimination occurs when an organism learns to respond differently to various stimuli that are similar. In this case, the cat has learned to distinguish between the sound of the refrigerator door, which is associated with food, and the pantry door, and only responds by purring to the former. This indicates that the cat can differentiate between the two stimuli and only reacts to the one that has been consistently associated with food.

A Cat Is Classically Conditioned to Purr When It Hears