After extinguishing the salivating response in his dog, Pavlov allowed the dog to rest and then brought it back to the laboratory. At this point, Pavlov found that the dog would again salivate, although the response was weaker and shorter than before. Pavlov called this recurrence __________
A) discrimination.
B) spontaneous recovery.
C) generalization.
D) retrograde conditioning.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of spontaneous recovery, which is the reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response. Option A, discrimination, is the ability to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli and respond differently to each. Option C, generalization, is when stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus also elicit the conditioned response. Option D, retrograde conditioning, is not a known phenomenon.

After Extinguishing the Salivating Response in His Dog, Pavlov Allowed