In canine training, which term refers to teaching the dog to perform a behavior to terminate an aversive stimulus?

• A. Positive reinforcement
• B. Avoidance conditioning
• C. Escape Training
• D. Generalization

Answer: (C)

Escape conditioning is the idea here: it’s teaching a dog to perform a specific behavior to stop an unpleasant stimulus that is already happening. In this scenario, the dog learns that the trained action will terminate the aversive event, which is exactly escape training. This differs from avoidance conditioning, where the animal acts to prevent the aversive stimulus from occurring in the first place. Generalization refers to applying the same response to similar stimuli, not about stopping the current one. Positive reinforcement centers on rewarding a behavior to increase it, not on terminating an aversive stimulus.