Stimulus Generalization

Stimulus generalization is the tendency for a learned response to a particular stimulus to also occur in response to other stimuli that resemble it, with the strength of the response typically declining as the new stimulus becomes less similar to the original one. In John Watson and Rosalie Rayner's 1920 study of Little Albert, an infant conditioned to fear a white rat also showed fear toward a rabbit, a dog, and a fur coat, none of which had themselves been paired with the frightening noise that caused the original fear. The pattern lets learned responses transfer usefully to new but related situations, though excessive generalization of fear is also associated with anxiety disorders.