Peter was attacked by a black cat when he was young. Due to this, he developed a fear of cats. A few years later, his parents got him a black kitten, and his fear gradually extinguished. On his way to work one day, he saw a black cat running toward him and felt his old fear resurfacing. In this scenario, the recurrence of Peter's fear of cats is known as ________.
A)regularization
B)systemic desensitization
C)spontaneous recovery
D)counterconditioning

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a conditioned response (in this case, fear of cats) after a period of apparent extinction. Peter had overcome his fear of cats thanks to counterconditioning, but the sight of the black cat brought back his old fear, indicating spontaneous recovery. Regularization is not a relevant term in this context, and systemic desensitization refers to a technique used to treat fears and phobias by gradually exposing the person to the feared object or situation.

Peter Was Attacked by a Black Cat When He Was