A pigeon has been trained to peck a dark red disk for food reinforcement. When the colour of the disk is switched to a lighter shade of red, the bird, at first, pecks infrequently. Soon, though, the pigeon pecks the disk at the rate at which it was pecking the darker disk. The pigeon's behaviour an example of
A) negative reinforcement.
B) discrimination.
C) generalization.
D) shaping.
E) habituation.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The pigeon's behavior is an example of generalization because it is responding in a similar way to a stimulus (the lighter shade of red disk) that is similar but not identical to the original stimulus (the dark red disk) it was trained to respond to.

A Pigeon Has Been Trained to Peck a Dark Red