Question

Every day when Johnny goes outside for recess, he sees the child who bullies him on the playground, which causes him to feel anxious. Over time, Johnny has been classically conditioned to feel anxious at the sound of the bell signaling the start of recess.

Describe stimulus generalization in the situation and give an example of how generalization might occur in Johnny’s situation.
Describe stimulus discrimination in the situation and give an example of how discrimination might occur in Johnny’s situation.
Identify the US, UR, CS, and CR in the situation.

Answer 1

Stimulus generalization and stimulus discrimination are two concepts related to classical conditioning. In Johnny's situation, stimulus generalization may occur if he starts feeling anxious not only at the sound of the recess bell, but also at similar sounds.

Step-by-step explanation:

Stimulus generalization occurs when an organism demonstrates the conditioned response to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus. In Johnny's situation, stimulus generalization may occur if Johnny starts to feel anxious not only at the sound of the bell signaling the start of recess, but also at similar sounds such as a school bell ringing for a different purpose. On the other hand, stimulus discrimination involves the ability to differentiate between stimuli and only respond to the specific conditioned stimulus. In Johnny's situation, stimulus discrimination may occur if he is able to recognize that the feeling of anxiety is specific to the sound of the recess bell and not other similar sounds.

The unconditioned stimulus (US) in Johnny's situation is the child who bullies him on the playground, which causes him to feel anxious (unconditioned response, UR). The conditioned stimulus (CS) is the sound of the bell signaling the start of recess, which has become associated with feeling anxious. Therefore, the conditioned response (CR) is the feeling of anxiety that Johnny experiences when he hears the recess bell.