A child who is bitten by a white dog but is not afraid of black dogs is demonstrating what concept?

A child who is bitten by a white dog but is not afraid of black dogs is demonstrating what concept?

• A. Generalization
• B. Discrimination
• C. Conditioning
• D. Extinction

Answer: (B)

The concept being demonstrated in this scenario is discrimination. Discrimination refers to the ability to differentiate between similar stimuli and respond differently based on the characteristics of those stimuli. In this case, the child has learned to fear the specific white dog that bit them but does not extend that fear to black dogs. This shows that the child can distinguish between the two kinds of dogs and has not generalized the fear response to all dogs, indicating their ability to discriminate based on the color of the dog. Generalization, by contrast, would involve the child responding with fear to all dogs, regardless of color, following the negative experience with the white dog. Conditioning typically refers to the process of learning associations between stimuli, while extinction involves the gradual weakening of a conditioned response when it is no longer reinforced. Neither of these concepts directly applies to the child's differentiated response to the specific types of dogs in this situation.

The concept being demonstrated in this scenario is discrimination. Discrimination refers to the ability to differentiate between similar stimuli and respond differently based on the characteristics of those stimuli. In this case, the child has learned to fear the specific white dog that bit them but does not extend that fear to black dogs. This shows that the child can distinguish between the two kinds of dogs and has not generalized the fear response to all dogs, indicating their ability to discriminate based on the color of the dog.

Generalization, by contrast, would involve the child responding with fear to all dogs, regardless of color, following the negative experience with the white dog. Conditioning typically refers to the process of learning associations between stimuli, while extinction involves the gradual weakening of a conditioned response when it is no longer reinforced. Neither of these concepts directly applies to the child's differentiated response to the specific types of dogs in this situation.