How can one test for stimulus generalization?

To assess stimulus generalization, it involves observing how well a learned behavior transfers to different contexts or stimuli. The choice that involves having different teachers ask the student to perform the skill effectively evaluates whether the behavior can be generalized beyond the specific conditions or individuals present during training. This is important because it tests whether the student can apply the learned skill in new environments and with various authority figures, which is a crucial aspect of generalization.

Using different teachers creates a context that differs from the original learning scenario while still maintaining the same target behavior. If the student can successfully perform the skill with different instructors, it indicates that the learned behavior is not tied to the original teacher or specific teaching conditions, thus demonstrating effective stimulus generalization.

Other options do not effectively test for generalization: using similar materials could still confine the learning to a narrow set of stimuli, varied responses might not reflect a transfer of the skill itself, and consistently using the same materials doesn’t provide the test conditions needed for generalization across different stimuli.