Aida loves to sing for her family and friends but is extremely shy. In order to encourage her to sing again, which of the following is a primary reinforcement that Aida's mom might use?
Table of contents
- 1. Introduction to Psychology1h 43m
- 2. Psychology Research2h 20m
- 3. Biological Psychology2h 41m
- 4. Sensation and Perception28m
- 5. Consciousness and Sleep32m
- 6. Learning1h 26m
- 7. Memory34m
- 8. Cognition37m
- 9. Emotion and Motivation35m
- 10. Developmental Psychology1h 20m
- 11. Personality1h 17m
- 12. Social Psychology1h 18m
- 13. Stress and Health41m
- 14. Psychological Disorders1h 27m
- 15. Treatment1h 24m
6. Learning
Classical Conditioning
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Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!Watch the first videoMultiple Choice
After having many cavities fixed as a child, Kyle now has an active dislike of the dentist's drill. His tendency to become anxious when hearing a similar-sounding noise is termed
A
spontaneous recovery.
B
higher-order conditioning.
C
stimulus generalization.
D
a reinforcer.

1
Begin by understanding the concept of 'stimulus generalization'. This occurs when a response to a specific stimulus is elicited by similar stimuli, due to the association formed with the original stimulus.
Consider Kyle's experience: he developed anxiety towards the dentist's drill, which is the original stimulus. This anxiety is a conditioned response due to past experiences with cavities being fixed.
Now, apply the concept of stimulus generalization: Kyle's anxiety is triggered not only by the dentist's drill but also by similar-sounding noises. This is because these noises resemble the original stimulus that caused the anxiety.
Differentiate between stimulus generalization and other concepts like spontaneous recovery, which refers to the reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of lessened response, and higher-order conditioning, which involves pairing a new stimulus with a conditioned stimulus.
Finally, recognize that a reinforcer is a different concept entirely, related to increasing the likelihood of a behavior by providing a reward or removing an unpleasant stimulus, and is not applicable in this context.
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