figure 7.4 Generalization In generalization, an organism responds to a stimulus that is similar to a CS to which it previously had learned to respond. In this study, goldfish had learned an association between a US, which was an electric shock, and a CS, which was a 200-Hertz tone (200 Hertz is roughly equal, in tone, to the G below middle C on a piano keyboard). When the goldfish heard tones higher or lower than 200 Hertz, they responded to them; their response generalized from the 200-Hertz tone to others.