Pavlov's dogs exhibited stimulus discrimination when they

• A. did not demonstrate a conditioned response upon hearing ticking sounds similar to the metronome.
• B. stopped experiencing the conditioned response in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus.
• C. salivated at the sound of the metronome after a few weeks of not hearing it.
• D. initially began salivating to the metronome when presented with food.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the concept of stimulus discrimination: In classical conditioning, stimulus discrimination occurs when an organism learns to respond differently to various stimuli that are similar but not identical.
2. Identify the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US) in Pavlov's experiment: The metronome is the CS, and the food is the US.
3. Recognize the conditioned response (CR): In Pavlov's experiment, the CR is the salivation in response to the metronome.
4. Analyze the scenario: Pavlov's dogs would exhibit stimulus discrimination if they only salivated to the specific sound of the metronome and not to other similar sounds, such as ticking.
5. Determine the correct example of stimulus discrimination: The dogs not demonstrating a conditioned response to ticking sounds similar to the metronome is an example of stimulus discrimination.