Warren's cat has learned to purr and rub against him whenever the cat hears the sound of the can opener. Lately, Warren has noticed that his cat behaves the same way when Warren uses his blender. What is Warren's cat is demonstrating?
A) unconditioned reinforcement
B) observational learning
C) stimulus generalization
D) stimulus discrimination

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Warren's cat is demonstrating stimulus generalization, which is the tendency for a response elicited by one stimulus to be elicited by a similar, but not identical, stimulus. In this case, the cat has generalized the association it has made between the sound of the can opener and food to the sound of the blender.

Warren's Cat Has Learned to Purr and Rub Against Him