In which setting would a behaviourist expect to generalize findings from animal experiments?

In which setting would a behaviourist expect to generalize findings from animal experiments?

• A. Humans and other animals
• B. Only humans
• C. Only non-human primates
• D. Plants

Answer: (A)

Behaviorists see the basic processes of learning—like conditioning—as operating in a similar way across species. When animals are trained in classical or operant conditioning, the discovered laws of association and reinforcement are considered to apply to humans as well. Because of this cross-species similarity, findings from animal experiments are expected to generalize to human behavior, making humans and other animals the appropriate setting. Plants don’t show the same conditioning patterns, and limiting generalization to only humans or only non-human primates would ignore the broader applicability to animal learning that behaviorists rely on.

Behaviorists see the basic processes of learning—like conditioning—as operating in a similar way across species. When animals are trained in classical or operant conditioning, the discovered laws of association and reinforcement are considered to apply to humans as well. Because of this cross-species similarity, findings from animal experiments are expected to generalize to human behavior, making humans and other animals the appropriate setting. Plants don’t show the same conditioning patterns, and limiting generalization to only humans or only non-human primates would ignore the broader applicability to animal learning that behaviorists rely on.