Responding to similar signals
Compare a response spreading to similar cues with learning to distinguish them.
The picture in words
- Generalization
- Similar cues can elicit a learned response.
- Discrimination
- Experience can help distinguish which cue predicts an event.
- Learning history
- The pattern depends on the signals and outcomes encountered.
Reading the illustration
Droplets represent a salivation response. The food and rain icons stand for hypothetical outcomes that help illustrate different learned predictions.
Try a question
What experience could help distinguish two similar notification sounds?
Show the explanation
If one sound consistently predicts a particular event, the different relationships can support responding differently to the two sounds.
Read the sources
- Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020). Psychology 2e. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/6-2-classical-conditioningSelected rendered passages: Extinction/recovery selected passages.