AP Psychology Practice Test 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The concept of generalization in classical conditioning refers to the phenomenon where stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus can evoke responses that are similar to the conditioned response. When an organism has been conditioned to respond to a specific stimulus (the conditioned stimulus), it may also respond to other stimuli that share similar characteristics, even if those stimuli have not been specifically paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

For example, if a dog is conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell (the conditioned stimulus) because it has been paired with food (the unconditioned stimulus), that dog may also salivate in response to a different bell sound or even the sound of a buzzer. This illustrates generalization, as the dog is reacting to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus.

In contrast, discrimination involves the ability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and other stimuli, responding only to the specific conditioned stimulus. Operant conditioning, on the other hand, is a learning process that involves changing behavior through rewards and punishments, while spontaneous recovery refers to the reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of extinction. These concepts are distinct from generalization and do not capture the nuance of how similar stimuli can trigger conditioned responses.