In classical conditioning, what term describes a decrease in the likelihood or rate of a target response?

• A. Acquisition
• B. Spontaneous recovery
• C. Extinction
• D. Generalization

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the context of classical conditioning, which involves learning through association between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response.
2. Identify the key terms: Acquisition refers to the initial learning phase where the conditioned response is established; Spontaneous recovery is the reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period; Generalization is when similar stimuli elicit the conditioned response.
3. Focus on the term that describes a decrease in the likelihood or rate of the conditioned response, which occurs when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
4. Recognize that this decrease in response is called Extinction, as the learned association weakens over time without reinforcement.
5. Summarize that Extinction is the process in classical conditioning where the conditioned response diminishes because the conditioned stimulus no longer predicts the unconditioned stimulus.