Final answer:
A Stimulus Class is a group of stimuli that share common characteristics and elicit similar responses. These stimuli can share physical features, consequences, or functions and are significant for behavioral generalization in psychology.
Step-by-step explanation:
To define a Stimulus Class in the context of psychology, it refers to a group of stimuli that share common elements and can elicit similar responses from an individual. These stimuli may be similar in terms of physical features, consequences, or functions. For example, different types of praise such as a 'good job,' 'well done,' or 'great effort' might all be part of the same stimulus class because they function in a similar manner to reinforce a behavior.
Stimulus classes are important in behavioral psychology because they allow individuals to generalize and respond appropriately to new but similar stimuli. When an organism has learned a response to a particular stimulus within a class, it can apply that response to other stimuli of the same class even without previous exposure to each of those specific stimuli.