Which of the following is an example of teaching stimulus generalization in classical conditioning?

• A. A student learns to associate a specific classroom with taking tests.
• B. A dog salivates only when it hears a specific bell tone that was paired with food.
• C. A child who learns to fear a white rabbit also shows fear when presented with a white dog.
• D. A person stops responding to a repeated stimulus after it no longer predicts an outcome.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the concept of stimulus generalization in classical conditioning: it occurs when a conditioned response is elicited by stimuli that are similar, but not identical, to the original conditioned stimulus.
2. Review each option to identify which one demonstrates a response to stimuli that are similar but not exactly the same as the conditioned stimulus.
3. Option 1 describes learning to associate a specific classroom with tests, which is a direct association, not generalization to similar stimuli.
4. Option 2 describes a dog salivating only to a specific bell tone, which shows stimulus discrimination rather than generalization.
5. Option 3 describes a child fearing a white rabbit and also showing fear to a white dog, which illustrates stimulus generalization because the fear response extends to similar stimuli (white animals).