Question

After the bell became an effective conditioned stimulus (CS), Pavlov paired the bell sound with a light. Eventually, the light was able to elicit the dog's response of salivation. What process does this exemplify?

Select one:
a. stimulus-response hierarchy
b. generalization
c. response hierarchy
d. higher-order conditioning

Answer 1

The process exemplified when Pavlov paired the bell sound with a light, and the light then elicited salivation is called higher-order conditioning. It shows that a conditioned stimulus can be used to condition a new neutral stimulus.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Pavlov paired the bell sound (a conditioned stimulus) with another neutral stimulus, a light, and soon the light alone was able to elicit salivation from the dogs, this process exemplified higher-order conditioning. In higher-order conditioning, a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus until this new stimulus elicits the conditioned response on its own. This process demonstrates the complexity of associative learning, where stimuli can build layers of associations beyond the original conditioning.