What is the outcome that follows a dog's operant response?

• A. Consequence
• B. Response
• C. Generalization
• D. Spontaneous Recovery

Answer: (A)

In operant conditioning, what follows an action is the consequence. After the dog performs an operant response, the outcome—whether it’s a treat and praise (reinforcement) or a time-out (punishment)—changes how likely that behavior is to happen again. The consequence is the key driver of future behavior, not the action itself. The other terms refer to different ideas: the response is the behavior, generalization is applying the learned behavior to similar situations, and spontaneous recovery is the return of a previously extinguished behavior after a break. So the outcome that follows the operant response is the consequence.