Introductory Psychology CLEP Prep Practice Exam

What is the best description of the three step process of conditioning?

1. Stimulus, response, reinforcement

2. Stimuli, reinforcement, habituation

3. Stimuli, habituation, response

4. Stimulus, response, extinction

The correct answer is: Stimulus, response, reinforcement

The three step process of conditioning involves three key elements a stimulus, a response and a reinforcement. This refers to the process of learning through which an organism (human or animal) is trained to associate a specific behavior with a particular consequence or outcome. In this case, A is the best description because it accurately captures the three essential components of this process. Option B, by contrast, replaces the critical element of the original definition, reinforcement, with habituation. Habituation is a form of learning in which an organism becomes desensitized to a specific stimulus after repeated exposure, and is not typically associated with conditioning. Similarly, option C misplaces the reinforcement component and thus does not accurately describe the three step process of conditioning. Finally, option D replaces the reinforcement element with extinction, which is the gradual disappearance of a learned behavior when the expected consequence or reinforcement is no longer presented. While extinction is