Refer to the passage below to answer questions 3 through 5: The last three times little Theresa visited Dr. Lopez for checkups, he administered a painful preventive immunization shot that left her in tears. Today, when her mother takes her for another checkup, Theresa begins to sob as soon as she comes face to face with Dr. Lopez, even before he has had a chance to say hello. __________________ occurs when a stimulus that is fairly similar to the conditioned stimulus produces the same response.

Short Answer

Expert verified
The described event is 'Generalization' in classical conditioning.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Classical Conditioning

In the context of psychology, classical conditioning is a learning process where two stimuli are repeatedly paired. Here, Theresa fearing Dr. Lopez is a result of the repeated pain (unconditioned stimulus) associated with the sight of Dr. Lopez (neutral stimulus). Over time, the neutral stimulus (sight of Dr. Lopez) alone can elicit the same fear response that the pain does. This fear response elicited by the neutral stimulus has now become a conditioned response.
02

Identifying Generalization

The problem statement mentions an event that occurs when a stimulus similar to the original one (conditioned stimulus) elicits the same conditioned response. This concept is known as 'Generalization' in classical conditioning. It happens when a response not only occurs to the specific conditioned stimulus but also to other stimuli that are similar to that conditioned stimulus.
03

Giving the final answer

Based on the situation described and the characteristics of the event, we can conclude that this psychological phenomenon is called Generalization in classical conditioning.

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