Stimulus Generalization & Discrimination Week 10 (Tuesday)

Stimulus Generalization & Discrimination

Stimulus Generalization

• Definition: Stimulus generalization is the tendency for changes in behavior in one situation to spread to another situation.

• Examples:

  • A dog learning to respond to the ‘sit’ cue in the kitchen generalizes this behavior to new contexts, like outside on a walk.

  • Pavlov’s dogs exhibited generalization, salivating in response to sounds of different frequencies after being conditioned to respond to one specific sound frequency.

• Generalization Gradient: A graphic representation of generalization data, showing how similar stimuli produce varying responses.

Examples of Stimulus Generalization

1. Fear Conditioning:

   • Example: Little Albert, a child conditioned to fear a white rat, generalized this fear to similar stimuli, including a white rabbit and a Santa Claus mask.

   • Research: College students generalized fear from a tone associated with a shock to similar tones but less so with dissimilar tones (Chance & Furlong, 2022).

2. Generalization Following Reinforcement:

   • Example: Thorndike’s cats learned to escape from boxes and could escape from similar boxes they had not previously encountered. Pigeons learned to peck discs based on color and showed similar pecking behavior toward other similarly colored discs.

   • Generalization Gradient: Discs that emitted light of similar wavelengths (e.g., 550 nanometers) were pecked at higher rates based on reinforcement, illustrating how generalization can occur.

3. Generalization Following Extinction:

   • Example: Rats trained to press a lever for food showed decreased likelihood of pressing a new lever after extinction training (no longer receiving reinforcement) (Chance & Furlong, 2022).

Considerations About Generalizations

• Generalization can be enhanced by:

  • Training in diverse settings.

  • Presenting many examples.

  • Varying consequences.

  • Reinforcement of generalization behaviors.

• Potential Problems:

  • Tendency to give up.

  • Inflated problem behaviors.

  • Generalized behavior around dangerous animals.

  • Incidents of hate crimes.

Stimulus Discrimination

• Definition: Stimulus discrimination refers to the tendency for behavior to occur in specific situations but not in others.

• Inverse Relationship with Generalization: As discrimination increases, generalization decreases and vice versa.

• Discrimination Gradient: A relatively flat gradient indicates minimal discrimination (a), while a steep gradient indicates considerable discrimination (b).

References

• Learning and Behavior: Active Learning Edition. 8th ed. Chapter 11.