Question

Mary is allergic to cats. Mary's friend, Sue, has a roommate who has cats. Whenever Mary visits Sue, Mary sneezes even before she enters Sue's house. Mary's sneezing persists even after Sue's roommate and his cats have moved out. After a while, Mary stops sneezing before she enters Sue's house. The point at which Mary's sneezing stopped is an example of _____.

Answer 1

Answer: Extinction

Explanation: Extinction simply means cessation. A condition whereby an action or behavior exhibited by an individual or organism eventually stops. In psychological parlance, extinction is usually attributed to the discontinuance of a certain behavior usually due to non - reinforcement or eventual absence of the conditioned stimulus.

In the scenario above, the point at which Mary stopped sneezing is called extinction which is due to the removal of the cat which is the cause of Mary's sneezing behavior.