What is the term for expressing a learned response to a different but similar stimulus, with more similarity increasing the response?

• A. Spontaneous Recovery
• B. Generalization
• C. Cue/Command
• D. Consequence

Answer: (B)

Generalization is the tendency for a learned response to occur in the presence of stimuli that resemble the original cue. As the similarity between the new stimulus and the trained cue increases, the strength of the response tends to rise, creating a gradient where more similar cues elicit stronger reactions. In training with military working dogs, this means a dog taught to respond to a specific alert cue may also respond to closely related cues, which helps in real-world environments where cues aren’t always identical. Spontaneous recovery refers to the return of a previously extinguished response, a cue/command is the signal that prompts the response, and a consequence is the reinforcement or punishment that shapes behavior, none of which describe the spread of a learned response to similar stimuli.