After having many cavities fixed as a child, Kyle now has an active dislike of the dentist's drill. His tendency to become anxious when hearing a similar-sounding noise is termed

• A. spontaneous recovery.
• B. higher-order conditioning.
• C. stimulus generalization.
• D. a reinforcer.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Begin by understanding the concept of 'stimulus generalization'. This occurs when a response to a specific stimulus is elicited by similar stimuli, due to the association formed with the original stimulus.
2. Consider Kyle's experience: he developed anxiety towards the dentist's drill, which is the original stimulus. This anxiety is a conditioned response due to past experiences with cavities being fixed.
3. Now, apply the concept of stimulus generalization: Kyle's anxiety is triggered not only by the dentist's drill but also by similar-sounding noises. This is because these noises resemble the original stimulus that caused the anxiety.
4. Differentiate between stimulus generalization and other concepts like spontaneous recovery, which refers to the reappearance of a conditioned response after a period of lessened response, and higher-order conditioning, which involves pairing a new stimulus with a conditioned stimulus.
5. Finally, recognize that a reinforcer is a different concept entirely, related to increasing the likelihood of a behavior by providing a reward or removing an unpleasant stimulus, and is not applicable in this context.