What term describes the weakening of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus?

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

Answer: (D)

Extinction is the process where the conditioned response fades away when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus. This happens because the predictive link between the cue and the reward is weakened through repeated nonreinforced presentations. For example, in Pavlovian conditioning, if the bell keeps ringing without being followed by food, the dog's salivation to the bell decreases and eventually stops. This isn’t the same as generalization (responding to similar cues) or discrimination (responding differently to different cues), and it’s different from reinforcement (which strengthens a behavior). Note that extinction doesn’t erase the original learning completely; the association can reemerge later in phenomena like spontaneous recovery.