
What is spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous recovery is a phenomenon that involves suddenly displaying a behavior that was thought to be extinct. This can apply to responses that have been formed through both classical and operant conditioning.
What is the difference between extinction and spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous recovery has to do with the re-emergence of behaviors which were previously thought to be conditioned away. Extinction, on the other hand, takes place when someone picks up a new response to certain stimuli due to lessened exposure to a negative response or classical conditioning.
What happens to spontaneous recovery after a conditioned response is extinguished?
After a conditioned response has been extinguished, spontaneous recovery may gradually increase as time passes. However, the returned response will generally not be the same strength as the original response unless additional conditioned takes place.
What is spontaneous recovery of fear response?
Spontaneous recovery refers to the return of fear response following the passage of time since the response was extinguished (Pavlov, 1927; Rescorla, 2004 ).
What is spontaneous recovery?
What happens to salivation after a two hour rest period?
What is the stimulus in the Little Albert experiment?
What is the unconditioned response?
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What is spontaneous recovery and why might it occur?
Spontaneous recovery can be defined as the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response. If the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated, extinction will occur very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery.
What causes spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?
In classical conditioning, spontaneous recovery can happen when the unconditioned stimulus is repeated with the conditioned stimulus. Operant conditioning is most likely seen when retroactive interference occurs, and the replaced old behavior returns spontaneously.
Does spontaneous recovery always happen?
Spontaneous Recovery Is Time-Dependent. The first important result of the present study is that spontaneous recovery is a time-dependent process. First, the time components of acquisition and extinction determine whether spontaneous recovery will occur.
What is necessary for spontaneous recover?
For spontaneous recovery to occur, the conditioning of the memory that is recalled later needs to be stored in long-term memory. It is a process where the semantics and associations of the certain memory are so ingrained that they can become habitual, or automatic to the person.
Under what conditions can spontaneous recovery occur quizlet?
Spontaneous recovery is said to have occurred when: a conditioned response reappears after a period in which it did not occur.
Which is the best example of spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous Recovery Examples – Operant Conditioning A trainer teaches a dog to sit by associating the command “Sit” with food. So the dog learns to sit whenever the trainer says the word. But after the trainer stops giving it food, the dog gradually stops responding to the command.
What is spontaneous recovery and give an example?
Spontaneous recovery occurs when the cat begins to run again when the door opens. A student immediately stops talking during instruction when his teacher purses her lips and shakes her head. However, the student changes this behavior by not responding to the teacher's expression. Then, he begins to once again respond.
Which statement is true about spontaneous recovery?
Which statement is TRUE about spontaneous recovery? Spontaneous recovery can happen long after the response has been extinguished.
What is the difference between extinction and spontaneous recovery?
Extinction Doesn't Mean It's Gone Forever Allowing several hours or even days to elapse after a response has been extinguished can result in the spontaneous recovery of the response. Spontaneous recovery refers to the sudden reappearance of a previously extinct response.
What is spontaneous recovery in psychology quizlet?
SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY: The reappearance of a previously extinguished conditioned response after a period of time without exposure to the conditioned stimulus.
Under what circumstances do we see spontaneous recovery of a learned response?
Under what circumstances do we see spontaneous recovery of a learned response? After a response is extinguished, the subject is given a delay and then tested again.
What is the relationship between acquisition extinction and spontaneous recovery?
Acquisition: The CS and the US are repeatedly paired together and behavior increases. Extinction: The CS is repeatedly presented alone, and the behavior slowly decreases. Spontaneous recovery: After a pause, when the CS is again presented alone, the behavior may again occur and then again show extinction.
What is spontaneous recovery and give an example?
Spontaneous recovery occurs when the cat begins to run again when the door opens. A student immediately stops talking during instruction when his teacher purses her lips and shakes her head. However, the student changes this behavior by not responding to the teacher's expression. Then, he begins to once again respond.
Which of the following is true of spontaneous recovery in classical conditioning?
In the context of classical conditioning, which of the following statements is true of spontaneous recovery? It becomes weaker when the conditioned stimulus is presented without the unconditioned stimulus.
Under what circumstances do we see spontaneous recovery of a learned response?
Under what circumstances do we see spontaneous recovery of a learned response? After a response is extinguished, the subject is given a delay and then tested again.
What is the difference between extinction and spontaneous recovery?
Extinction Doesn't Mean It's Gone Forever Allowing several hours or even days to elapse after a response has been extinguished can result in the spontaneous recovery of the response. Spontaneous recovery refers to the sudden reappearance of a previously extinct response.
Understanding Spontaneous Recovery in Psychology With Examples
Spontaneous recovery is a vital phenomenon in learning, and was first seen in the Pavlovian theory of classical conditioning. It points towards the fact that a learned response post extinction, isn't completely unlearned and can be effectively recovered. PsycholoGenie explains the concept of spontaneous recovery by using some illustrative examples. Take a look!
Spontaneous Recovery - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
Randolph J. Nudo, David McNeal, in Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 2013 Mechanisms underlying recovery after cortical injury. Spontaneous recovery during the first few weeks after stroke is thought to be related to several biological processes including (a) restitution of function within the penumbra, (b) the resolution of diaschisis, especially in areas remote from, but connected to, the ...
Classical Conditioning: How It Works With Examples
Classical Conditioning Examples. Pavlov's Dogs. The most famous example of classical conditioning was Ivan Pavlov's experiment with dogs, who salivated in response to a bell tone.Pavlov showed that when a bell was sounded each time the dog was fed, the dog learned to associate the sound with the presentation of the food.
What is spontaneous recovery?
In psychology, spontaneous recovery deals with the emergence of a behavior which was previously regarded as no more. Psychological conditioning also plays a role in this, seeing as behaviors which resurface during spontaneous recovered were supposed to be weeded out by either classical or operant conditioning.
How to understand spontaneous recovery?
To understand spontaneous recovery, one must first grasp conditioning and how much classical conditioning impacts the individual psyche and their subsequent responses to various elements.
How does trauma affect spontaneous recovery?
Traumatic memories can prompt spontaneous recoveries due to an essential override of prior classical conditioning. It's important to understand that the intensity of said past trauma can also impact the frequency or regularity of traumatic memories. Look at it this way: in a sense, classical conditioning programs individuals to associate certain actions with either positive or negative responses. With time and consistency, a pattern is eventually established. However, the emergence of trauma has the power to disrupt previously established patterns psychologically.
Why are spontaneous recoveries not positive?
Because of the inherent negativity associated with traumatic memories, spontaneous recoveries may not be positive. It's not uncommon for people who experience trauma to pull away from others, make lifestyle changes, and otherwise behave in ways which are out of character for them. In situations like these, it's generally advisable for survivors of trauma to seek psychological help, particularly therapy or counseling.
What are the two things that are liked to spontaneous recovery?
Thus far, there are two determined circumstances which are liked to spontaneous recovery: traumatic memories and retroactive inhibition. Understanding both of these causes and the impacts which they have on classical conditioning is very enlightening to spontaneous recovery.
What is retroactive inhibition?
Retroactive inhibition takes place when someone learns new information or behavior patterns which override previous conditioning. This override manifests itself in the form of spontaneous recovery. There are so many factors which can generate retroactive inhibition, and it's more common than many people would like to think or believe. Each day, individuals are living and being exposed to new people, things, situations, and experiences. Sometimes, new exposure can reinforce what someone has already learned; in other cases, it can generate new insight and subsequent spontaneous recoveries.
How long does spontaneous recovery last?
This response can happen after only a few days, and in some instances, it may also occur after a period of months.
What is spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous recovery refers to the sudden reappearance of a previously extinct conditioned response after the unconditioned stimulus has been removed for some time. This phenomenon can occur after these two types of conditioning have taken place.
What happens to learning when extinction is applied again?
If extinction is applied again, the subsequent recovery will become weaker and weaker.
How does extinction affect conditioned learning?
Instead, extinction inhibits the conditioned response. It appears that extinction forms new learning separate from the original conditioned learning 2. This new learning “extinguish” the conditioned response by inhibiting its expression instead of erasing or unlearning it.
Does fear recovery occur after extinction?
For example, studies show that, with sufficient time, sudden recovery of the fear response after extinction occurs 100% in situations such as fear conditioning 3.
Does spontaneous recovery replace extinction learning?
Since new learning does not replace old ones, spontaneous recovery does not replace the extinction learning either. The recovery simply exists in the presence of extinction learning 4.
What is spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous recovery refers to the return of fear response following the passage of time since the response was extinguished (Pavlov, 1927; Rescorla, 2004 ). To investigate spontaneous recovery the expression of a conditioned fear response is assessed at a time point following extinction training with little experimental manipulation required save for the nonreinforced presentation of the extinguished CS. The presentation of the previously reinforced CS after extinction learning serves a dual purpose: it allows the researcher to determine if a conditioned fear response has returned through spontaneous recovery or if the extinction memory is recalled (termed extinction recall or between-session extinction). Pavlov (1927) initially established that extinguished conditioned responses would spontaneously recover with the passage of time post extinction. Further investigation of this phenomenon, spanning the next several decades, revealed that, after a 6-day delay, rodents exhibited return of fear levels equal to those present at the end of acquisition ( Brooks & Bouton, 1993 ). Additionally, the extent of rodents’ fear recovery at retest is directly proportional to the interval of time since extinction training ( Quirk, 2002 ), resulting in higher levels of CR as time passes. Further, despite the occurrence of spontaneous recovery, the extinction memory remained intact, as evidenced by savings in the rate of reextinction learning ( Quirk, 2002 ). No clear evidence has pointed to a single contributing factor for the expression of spontaneous recovery, implying that it results from a combination of multiple sources (for complete review, see Rescorla, 2004 ).
How does a stroke affect spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous recovery during the first few weeks after stroke is thought to be related to several biological processes including (a) restitution of function within the penumbra, (b) the resolution of diaschisis, especially in areas remote from, but connected to, the injured zone, (c) behavioral compensation, and (d) substitution of function by other areas (or vicarious function) (Kwakkel et al., 2004 ). These mechanisms are not mutually exclusive, and they likely interact in complex ways over the course of recovery. While it would be instructive to understand the time course of each of these phenomena and their relationship to the nonlinear recovery profiles described in the previous section, this information is still far from sufficient for therapeutic targeting. However, in the past several years, the time course of some early events has been clarified. For example, various methods of reperfusion, such as thrombolytic therapy or mechanical embolus removal, are thought to act principally on the penumbral region, and are most effective when a substantial volume of salvageable tissue remains ( Zaleska et al., 2009 ). Thrombolytic therapy is known to be most effective during the first 3−5 hours after stroke ( Saver et al., 2009 ).
How long does it take to recover from alcoholism?
Surveys of its members reveal an 83% probability of abstinence for the next year if an individual is abstinent between 1 and 5 years with regular attendance of at least one AA meeting per week and a 91% probability of an additional year if the individual is abstinent in AA for more than 5 years.
How long after a trauma do you show symptoms?
Supporting the idea that persistent responses are simply continuations of initial reactions are the findings that people who show high-magnitude posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (i.e., intrusive, avoidance, and hyperarousal) in the first few days and from 1 to 2 weeks after the event are those at greatest risk for subsequent symptom severity. However, many researchers performing longitudinal studies of acute trauma survivors have not been able to identify specific symptoms that can convincingly predict pathological mental health outcomes. More promising clinical predictors appear to be the presence of a panic attack and/or intense dissociation during or immediately after a trauma, which suggests additional or fundamentally different immediate responses. Both panic attacks and dissociative responses reflect catastrophic or negative interpretations of the event. Such interpretations may further perpetuate arousal associated with stress responses and reduce the body's ability to achieve homeostasis following the trauma. The presence of catastrophic attributions (e.g., that posttraumatic symptoms signify a major problem and will not ultimately resolve) provides a way of drawing a distinction between being terrorized and being terrified. People exposed to a traumatic event are not traumatized unless they are deeply distraught at the time of the event and then make catastrophic interpretations that may result in fundamentally different biological stress responses.
What is reinstatement in psychology?
In addition to spontaneous recovery, reinstatement is a second phenomenon that relates to extinction. In reinstatement, the CR reappears when the US is presented during the interval between the extinction session and a subsequent retention test, but only when US presentation and retention test take place in the same context3 ( Figure 33.1B ). Thus, the occurrence of reinstatement again demonstrates that the extinguished reward memory is not destructed after extinction and that, more important, the context is critical for memory retrieval after extinction.
Is diaschisis a mechanism of spontaneous recovery?
Resolution of diaschisis has been suggested as a possible mechanism of early spontaneous recovery for at least a century ( Kwakkel et al., 2004 ). This hypothesis is based on von Monakow's suggestion that areas remote from, but connected to, an infarcted area experience depressed function that resolves over time. These depressive changes are usually expressed as decreases in metabolism, blood flow, or neurotransmitter function. While resolution of diaschisis is likely to play a significant role, it has been difficult to isolate its effects independently from other recovery mechanisms.
Can you do cognitive rehabilitation after brain tumor?
In general, few studies on cognitive rehabilitation techniques and packages have been performed in patients with brain tumors or in patients after CMS ( Gudrunardottir et al., 2011b; Walker et al., 2014; Catsman-Berrevoets, 2017 ). Therefore, at long-term follow-up appointments, rehabilitation after CMS should be tailored to patients’ individual needs because a variety of functions, including memory, attention, executive functions, visuospatial skills, perceptual abilities, and communication skills, may be impaired to varying severities ( Vandeinse and Hornyak, 1997; Grill et al., 2004; Palmer et al., 2010; De Smet et al., 2012).
What is spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous recovery is part of the brain’s natural healing process after stroke. It helps patients regain many of the cognitive and physical abilities they have lost. However, spontaneous recovery is not the only way to regain function after stroke, nor is it the most reliable.
How to take advantage of spontaneous recovery after stroke?
While spontaneous recovery mostly occurs on its own, you can increase the number of abilities you recover by harnessing your brain’s neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to form new neural pathways.
What Happens After Six Months?
About six months after stroke, spontaneous recovery will cease, and plasticity will also decrease. This leads to a recovery plateau, where it might seem as though you have peaked in the progress you can make.
What are the three mechanisms that the brain uses to promote spontaneous recovery after stroke?
There are three mechanisms that the brain uses to promote spontaneous recovery after stroke. These three are reperfusion , edema management, and diaschisis reversal :
Why is diaschisis reversal important?
When blood flow improves and swelling resolves, these areas become more active and functional again. Diaschisis reversal is the most important part of spontaneous recovery. It is the reason why some of your abilities might suddenly return after stroke.
How does neuroplasticity work?
This allows the brain to transfer functions that were once held in damaged parts to new, healthy areas. You can activate neuroplasticity through consistent, therapeutic exercise. During the period when spontaneous recovery occurs, the brain also enters a heightened state of plasticity.
How long does it take for a stroke to heal?
Spontaneous recovery occurs after a stroke when the brain naturally repairs some of the damage it sustained. This recovery is usually seen within the first six months after a stroke and relies on several neural mechanisms.
What is spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous recovery is a theory of learning and memory associated with two types of conditioning: classical and operant. classical conditioning - This is the most well known of the two types since it was the type of conditioning Pavlov explored in his famous experiment regarding dogs' salivation when food and a bell were associated.
What is operant conditioning?
operant conditioning - This is highly complex conditioning that includes both positive and negative conditioning.
What is spontaneous recovery?
Spontaneous recovery can be defined as the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or period of lessened response. If the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated, extinction will occur very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery.
What happens to salivation after a two hour rest period?
Pavlov found that after a two-hour rest period, the salivation response suddenly reappeared when the tone was presented. Essentially, the animals spontaneously recovered the response which was previously extinct.
What is the stimulus in the Little Albert experiment?
For example, in the famous Little Albert experiment, researchers John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner repeatedly paired a loud sound (the unconditioned stimulus) with the presentation of a white rat (the neutral stimulus). The child in their experiment was previously unafraid of the animal but naturally frightened by the loud noise ...
What is the unconditioned response?
Your response to these things takes place automatically without any learning, which is why it is referred to as the unconditioned response. After repeatedly pairing something with the unconditioned stimulus, the previously neutral stimulus will begin to trigger the same reaction, at which point it becomes known as a conditioned stimulus. The learned reaction to the conditioned stimulus is now referred to as the conditioned response .
Does Verywell Mind use peer reviewed sources?
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Spontaneous recovery. APA Dictionary of Psychology.

What Is Spontaneous Recovery
Spontaneous Recovery Examples – Classical Conditioning
- In classical conditioning, also known as pavlovian conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus (NS) becomes conditioned when it is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus(US). This now conditioned stimulus (CS) can produce its own conditioned response (CR), which is usually very similar to the unconditioned response (UR). However, some conditioned responses are vulnerabl…
Spontaneous Recovery Examples – Operant Conditioning
- A trainer teaches a dog to sit by associating the command “Sit” with food. So the dog learns to sit whenever the trainer says the word. But after the trainer stops giving it food, the dog gradually stops responding to the command. Days later, the trainer tries again, and the dog sits again. Here is another example. A child runs to the door to greet Dad because he always brings home a new …
How It Works
- Extinction involves inhibition. The fact that conditioned response can suddenly recover suggests that extinction doesn’t erase the learned association. Instead, extinction inhibits the conditioned response. It appears that extinction forms new learning separate from the original conditioned learning2. This new learning “extinguish” the conditioned response by inhibiting its expression in…