Through behavioral therapy, Jennifer was able to extinguish her fear of dogs and to actually pet a dog without tensing up.However, Jennifer has a new neighbor with a large dog that growled at her the first time she tried to pet it.Now, Jennifer's fearfulness toward all dogs has returned.This reoccurrence of her past fear is an example of
A) latent learning.
B) response chaining.
C) spontaneous recovery.
D) stimulus control.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery is the reemergence of a previously extinguished response after a delay or period of time. In this case, Jennifer's fear of dogs had been extinguished through behavioral therapy, but the fear returned after encountering a situation (the neighbor's growling dog) that triggered the fear response again. This is an example of spontaneous recovery.

Through Behavioral Therapy, Jennifer Was Able to Extinguish Her Fear