Final answer:
Stimulus generalization training is important to help organisms broaden their responses to various similar stimuli, which is crucial for adapting to new but similar situations. It occurs naturally as part of the learning process, as seen in examples such as Ivan Pavlov's dogs and Little Albert.
Step-by-step explanation:
Stimulus generalization training is necessary in order to broaden responses to various stimuli rather than to refine responses, eliminate conditioned responses, or reinforce specific stimulus associations. The process of stimulus generalization occurs when an organism responds to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus. For example, Ivan Pavlov's dogs would salivate not only to the specific tone played before feeding but also to similar tones. This is an essential survival mechanism as it allows organisms to react appropriately to new but similar situations without having to learn from scratch.
Stimulus discrimination, on the other hand, is the ability to distinguish between different stimuli, responding only to the one that has been associated with a certain response, which is also a crucial learning process for organisms.
For instance, a cat may learn to respond to the sound of a can opener (associated with being fed) but not to the sound of an electric mixer, exhibiting stimulus discrimination. In the case of Little Albert, a child who was conditioned to fear a white rat and subsequently feared other white furry objects, generalization occurred, demonstrating the child's general fear response to stimuli that resembled the conditioned stimulus.