After being classically conditioned to salivate to a tone, a dog continues to hear a tone but does not receive food; as a result
, salivation will decrease, then disappear. A dog owner may use operant conditioning to train a dog to "sit" by presenting a treat each time the dog sits. However, the behavior may diminish if the treats are discontinued. Both examples illustrate:
Based on the information provided in regards to the situation at hand it can be said that both of these examples illustrate extinction. This term refers the fading out of conditioned responses over time if they are not properly reinforced. This is what is happening in this situation since the dog is not reinforced with food for salivating then the response begins to fade until it is completely gone.
