A dog has completely acquired a classically conditioned salivation response. When a bell is rung, the dog salivates. Next the dog is put into extinction and returned to his home cage for two weeks. The next time he enters the experimental region, a bell rings and the dog salivates. What has happened?
A)Discrimination
B)Higher-order conditioning
C)Acquisition
D)Partial reinforcement
E)Spontaneous recovery

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a conditioned response (like salivation in response to a bell) after a period of no exposure to the conditioned stimulus (the bell) and following an extinction phase. This phenomenon demonstrates that the extinction process suppresses the conditioned response rather than completely eliminating the learned association.

A Dog Has Completely Acquired a Classically Conditioned Salivation Response