If a dog bitten by one specific spider now avoids all spiders, this illustrates which behavioral phenomenon?

If a dog bitten by one specific spider now avoids all spiders, this illustrates which behavioral phenomenon?

• A. Stimulus Generalization
• B. Stimulus Discrimination
• C. Habituation
• D. Sensitization

Answer: (A)

Generalization happens when a response learned to one stimulus spreads to other, similar stimuli. Here, the dog’s aversive experience with one spider leads to avoidance of all spiders because they share features that led to the bite. The fear/avoidance isn’t limited to the exact spider; it generalizes to spiders that resemble it. This isn’t discrimination, where the animal would learn to respond only to that specific stimulus and not to similar ones. It isn’t habituation, which would be a decreased response with repeated nonthreatening exposure. It isn’t typically attributed to sensitization here, which would broaden the increased response to a wider range of stimuli, but the classic pattern described—avoiding all spiders after one aversive event—best fits generalization.

Generalization happens when a response learned to one stimulus spreads to other, similar stimuli. Here, the dog’s aversive experience with one spider leads to avoidance of all spiders because they share features that led to the bite. The fear/avoidance isn’t limited to the exact spider; it generalizes to spiders that resemble it.

This isn’t discrimination, where the animal would learn to respond only to that specific stimulus and not to similar ones. It isn’t habituation, which would be a decreased response with repeated nonthreatening exposure. It isn’t typically attributed to sensitization here, which would broaden the increased response to a wider range of stimuli, but the classic pattern described—avoiding all spiders after one aversive event—best fits generalization.