{"id":25396,"date":"2023-05-19T18:51:25","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T18:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/?p=25396"},"modified":"2024-05-26T20:10:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-26T20:10:33","slug":"response-generalization-examples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/response-generalization-examples\/","title":{"rendered":"Response Generalization: Examples and Definition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"response<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Response generalization refers to situations where one stimulus can lead to a range of different responses upon each exposure. An example is when we use varying synonyms of ‘good’ in response to “how are you today?”, so the response is different each time (great, doing well, awesome), but still gets the same point across.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pierce and Cheney (2017) state that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cResponse generalization occurs when a target response is strengthened and other similar responses increase in frequency\u201d (p. 362).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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A Simple Example of Response Generalization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pierce and Cheney provide the example of a child that has learned how to build a house out of Legos might also arrange the pieces in different ways on different occasions. They are still constructing a house, but each one is slightly different. Although this might seem like an unimpressive display of learning, it can be a significant sign of improvement in a child with autism or other learning disability.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Many Definitions of Response Generalization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An exact definition of response generalization has a long history of debate\/discussion (Stewart, et al., 2013).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, Kazdin (1994) cites Skinner\u2019s (1953) definition as occurring when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“\u2026reinforcement of a response increases the probability of other responses that are similar [to that response]\u2019\u2019 (p. 54).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Austin and Wilson (2002) propose a definition which suggests that response generalization happens:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“\u2026when reinforced responses co-vary with similar but unreinforced responses\u2019\u2019 (p. 42).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Martin and Pear (2011) define it as occurring when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2026a behavior becomes more probable as the result of reinforcement of another behavior\u2019\u2019 (p. 193).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Martin and Pear then identify several qualifying circumstances that can constitute response generalization, including the concept of physical similarity, in addition to \u201cminimal physical similarity\u201d or \u201cdue to functionally equivalent responses\u2019\u2019 (2011, p. 193).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooper, Heron, and Heward (2007) also incorporate the concept of functional equivalence, defining response generalization as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201c\u2026the extent to which a learner emits untrained responses that are functionally equivalent to the trained target behavior\u2019\u2019 (p. 620).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Response Generalization vs. Stimulus Generalization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These two terms are easily confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary difference is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n