Which term refers to the reappearance of a weakened conditioned response after an interval of time following extinction?

• A. Extinction
• B. Habituation
• C. Reconditioning
• D. Spontaneous recovery

Answer: (D)

Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a weakened conditioned response after a rest interval following extinction. After extinction, the original CS–US association isn’t erased; instead, new learning suppresses the CR. With time, that suppression fades, and the conditioned response can briefly come back when the CS is encountered again, though it’s usually weaker than the original. This explains why a response reappears after a pause rather than being permanently gone. Extinction, habituation, and reconditioning describe other processes: extinction is the reduction of the CR with repeated CS without the US; habituation is a decreased response to a repeated, non-threatening stimulus; reconditioning is the rapid relearning of the association after extinction.