An animal is conditioned to salivate to a bell using Pavlovian procedures. After the conditioning is established, the animal is then put through an extinction procedure and the conditioned salivation disappears. Then the animal is removed from the test situation for several days. When returned to the test situation, the conditioned response is seen again. The effect is known as __________

A) spontaneous recovery.
B) higher-order conditioning.
C) extinction.
D) stimulus generalization.

Question

Animesh Gangaher · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : A, Explanation :  Spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest. This is what is described in the scenario, where the animal's conditioned salivation reappears after several days of being removed from the test situation. Therefore, option A is the correct answer. Option B refers to when a conditioned stimulus is used to condition a new conditioned stimulus, which is not relevant in this scenario. Option C refers to the process of reducing or eliminating a conditioned response through repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus, which has already been done in this scenario. Option D refers to the tendency for a conditioned response to occur in response to stimuli that are similar to but not the same as the original conditioned stimulus, which is not applicable here.

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