Generalization
Definition
Generalization in psychology refers to the tendency for the conditioned response to be evoked by stimuli that are similar to the stimulus to which it was originally conditioned.
Analogy
Think about eating different brands of chocolate chip cookies. If you love one brand's cookie, chances are high that if someone gives you another brand's chocolate chip cookie, you'll still enjoy it because it's similar enough - this is generalization.
Related terms
Stimulus Discrimination: It’s when we learn to respond only to the original stimulus, and not to other similar stimuli.
Classical Conditioning: A type of learning where an organism learns through establishing associations between different events and stimuli.
Operant Conditioning: A type of learning where behavior is controlled by consequences.
"Generalization" appears in:
Study guides (1)
Practice Questions (1)
- Which phenomenon best demonstrates generalization in classical conditioning?
Resources
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