Discrimination, Generalization & Maintenance

What is discrimination?

Responding differently in the presence of different stimuli.

What is stimulus generalization?

A learned behavior occurs in the presence of stimuli that resemble the stimulus associated with reinforcement.

Example:

• A child learns to say “dog” when they see the family dog.

• Later, the child sees a different dog at the park and also says “dog.”

• The behavior (saying “dog”) occurs with a stimulus that resembles the original stimulus (the family dog).

What is maintenance?

The continued occurrence of learned behavior over time after the original teaching or intervention conditions have changed or ended.

Example of stimulus generalization?

Fear and Phobias: A child bitten by a small brown dog may feel scared when seeing other small furry animals like cats or rabbits.