Stimulus Generalization In Psychology Examples

Stimulus generalization or primary generalization is the tendency for stimuli similar to an original stimulus in a learning paradigm to produce a response approximating that learnt under the original condition.

Stimulus generalization in psychology examples. When a child is learning to use the toilet rewards are often used to increase the desired behaviors. Stimulus generalization is the evocation of a nonreinforced response to a stimulus that. For example imagine a very young boy encountering different breeds of dogs for the first time.

Now there is every chance that this dog responds to all sounds of whistles that might not particularly be coming from his master. Stimulus generalization is the tendency of a subject to respond to a stimulus or a group of stimuli similar but not identical to the original cs. One of the most famous cases of stimulus generalization was the case of little albert in which john watson trained an infant to fear white rats through classical conditioning but the infant.

A generalization gradient can be drawn up showing that the more similar the stimuli the more similar the responses. Psychology definition of stimulus generalization. If responding is not.

Examples of stimulus generalization. One of the most famous examples of stimulus generalization took place in an early psychology experiment. Is the effect of conditioning which removes the discrimination between two stimuli and responsible for evoking the same response.

Example edit edit source. While the child had originally been conditioned to fear a white rat his fear also generalized to similar objects. For example suppose there is a dog that has been conditioned to run to his master as soon as he blows the whistle.

Yet a subject can be taught to discriminate between similar stimuli and to only respond to a specific stimulus. Haskell in encyclopedia of applied psychology 2004. Stimulus generalization can occur in both classical conditioning and operant conditioning.