Which term refers to an animal's ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other similar, non-conditioned stimuli?

Which term refers to an animal's ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other similar, non-conditioned stimuli?

• A. Stimulus generalization
• B. Habituation
• C. Extinction
• D. Stimulus discrimination

Answer: (D)

The concept being tested is stimulus discrimination: the animal learns to distinguish the conditioned stimulus from other similar, non-conditioned stimuli. In classical conditioning, once the CS reliably predicts the unconditioned stimulus, the animal begins to respond to that exact cue. When faced with stimuli that are similar but do not predict the US, the animal suppresses or weakens its response, showing discrimination between the signals. This differs from stimulus generalization, where similar cues evoke the same response because the organism treats them as equivalent signals. Habituation involves a decreasing response to a repeated, non-threatening stimulus rather than distinguishing between cues. Extinction refers to the gradual loss of the conditioned response when the CS is presented without the US, not to distinguishing between different stimuli. For example, if a dog learns that a specific bell tone predicts food, discrimination would mean the dog responds to that exact tone but not to tones that are close but not identical.

The concept being tested is stimulus discrimination: the animal learns to distinguish the conditioned stimulus from other similar, non-conditioned stimuli. In classical conditioning, once the CS reliably predicts the unconditioned stimulus, the animal begins to respond to that exact cue. When faced with stimuli that are similar but do not predict the US, the animal suppresses or weakens its response, showing discrimination between the signals.

This differs from stimulus generalization, where similar cues evoke the same response because the organism treats them as equivalent signals. Habituation involves a decreasing response to a repeated, non-threatening stimulus rather than distinguishing between cues. Extinction refers to the gradual loss of the conditioned response when the CS is presented without the US, not to distinguishing between different stimuli.

For example, if a dog learns that a specific bell tone predicts food, discrimination would mean the dog responds to that exact tone but not to tones that are close but not identical.