In classical conditioning, if the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus, what will likely occur?

A. stimulus generalizationB. stimulus discriminationC. extinctionD. spontaneous recovery

C - Extinction

Explanation:

Extinction is the gradual removal or cessation of a learned behavior. It usually occurs when the behavior is not reinforced.

Classical conditioning can be defined as a process in which a conditioned stimulus becomes paired with an unrelated unconditioned stimulus in order to elicit a conditioned response (behavior) from the subject.

It was a process incepted by Ivan Pavlov.

In classical conditioning, if the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response is gradually eroded until it becomes extinct and forgotten.

C. extinction

Explanation:

For example, you have a dog that naturally salivates at the sight of food. The salivation is an unconditioned response that is generated by the an unconditioned stimulus which is the food you present to your dog.

If you decide to ring bell before presenting food to your dog, your dog would associate the sound of the bell with food. And each time you ring the bell, your dog would salivate even when food is not presented. This salivation is a conditioned response that is generated when a conditioned stimulus (sound of the bell) is presented.

If the conditioned stimulus (sound of the bell) is presented repeatedly to your dog without the unconditioned stimulus (food), extinction occurs. Meaning your dog would stop salivating when next it hears the sound of the bell over time. The association of the sound of the bell with food by your dog would be weakened and goes to extinct over time.