Question

​eli is afraid of bees, and has been ever since he was nearly stung by one a few months ago. lately, his father has been very distressed to see that eli is now afraid of any flying insect, even tiny ones like gnats. the fact that eli gets terribly afraid and runs to another room whenever he sees a flying "bug" demonstrates _____.

Answer 1

Stimulus generalization. This issue occurs when a conditioned response, like Eli's recently developed phobia of bees, begins to extend to other things that meet a generalized criteria. Although bees and wasps are the primary insects that can sting, the fear response has now been associated with any insect that can fly.