Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 Stimulus discrimination,  in contrast, occurs if two stimuli are suffi ciently dis-
tinct from each other that one evokes a conditioned response but the other does not. 
Stimulus discrimination provides the ability to differentiate between stimuli. For 
example, my dog Cleo comes running into the kitchen when she hears the sound of 
the electric can opener, which she has learned is used to open her dog food when 
her dinner is about to be served. She does not bound into the kitchen at the sound 
of the food processor, although it sounds similar. In other words, she discriminates 
between the stimuli of can opener and food processor. Similarly, our ability to dis-
criminate between the behavior of a growling dog and that of one whose tail is 
wagging can lead to adaptive behavior—avoiding the growling dog and petting the 
friendly one. 
Beyond Traditional Classical 
Conditioning: Challenging 
Basic Assumptions
Although Pavlov hypothesized that all learning is nothing more than long strings of 
conditioned responses, this notion has not been supported by subsequent research. 
It turns out that classical conditioning provides us with only a partial explanation of 
stimulus generalization
A process in 
which, after a stimulus has been 
conditioned to produce a particular 
response, stimuli that are similar to the 
original stimulus produce the same 
response
stimulus discrimination
The process 
that occurs if two stimuli are suffi -
ciently distinct from one another that 
one evokes a conditioned response but 
the other does not; the ability to 
differentiate between stimuli.
StudyAlert
Remember that stimulus 
generalization relates to 
stimuli that are similar to 
one another, while 
stimulus discrimination 
relates to stimuli that are diff erent 
from one another.
feL82795_ch06_172-205.indd Page 180 7/22/10 4:59 PM user-f465
feL82795_ch06_172-205.indd Page 180 7/22/10 4:59 PM user-f465
/Users/user-f465/Desktop
/Users/user-f465/Desktop

---