A girl classically conditions her dog to blink by blowing into her dog's eyes just after saying "Blink." Unfortunately,her parrot overhears the procedure,and says "Blink" all day long when the girl is out.When she returns,the girl says "Blink" to her dog,but he does not blink.What is the most likely explanation for the dog's behaviour?
A)shaping has occurred.
B)spontaneous recovery has occurred.
C)the dog's behaviour has generalized.
D)extinction has taken place.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The most likely explanation for the dog's behavior is that extinction has taken place. Extinction occurs when the conditioned response (blinking) no longer occurs in response to the conditioned stimulus (saying "Blink") because the reinforcement (blowing into the dog's eyes) is no longer present. In this case, the parrot repeatedly saying "Blink" has likely caused the dogs' conditioned response to become extinguished.

A Girl Classically Conditions Her Dog to Blink by Blowing