The process by which a conditioned response weakens when the CS is no longer paired with the US is called:

• A. Acquisition
• B. Extinction
• C. Generalization
• D. Spontaneous Recovery

Answer: (B)

Extinction is the process where the conditioned response fades away when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly shown without the unconditioned stimulus. The idea is that the CS loses its predictive value—the organism learns that this cue no longer signals the US, so the response weakens over time.

This differs from acquisition, which is the initial learning of the CS–US connection; generalization, which is responding to stimuli similar to the CS; and spontaneous recovery, which is the reappearance of the extinguished response after a rest period. Remember, extinction doesn’t erase the original learning completely; the association can reappear under certain conditions.