Which term describes the generalization of a conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus?

• A. Extinction
• B. Stimulus generalization
• C. Habituation
• D. Conditioned stimulus (CS)

Answer: (B)

Stimulus generalization is the idea that a learned response can spread to stimuli that are similar to the one that originally predicted the outcome. After a conditioned stimulus signals an unconditioned stimulus, the organism may react to other cues that resemble that CS. For example, if a dog learns to salivate to a specific bell tone, it may also salivate to bells with similar tones because those cues resemble the original signal. This spreading of the response to related stimuli is what stimulus generalization describes.

Extinction involves weakening the conditioned response when the CS is presented without the US, not the spread of the response to similar stimuli. Habituation is a non-associative process where repeated exposure to a non-threatening stimulus reduces the response. A conditioned stimulus is the originally neutral cue that becomes associated with the unconditioned stimulus, not the generalization itself.