An almost simultaneous occurrence of the stimuli and of the responses to them is called

The almost simultaneous occurrence of stimuli and the responses to them is contiguity, where nearness in time forges the association.

Edwin Guthrie built his one-trial learning theory on contiguity, holding that a stimulus paired with a response tends to be followed by it again.

Generalisation and discrimination describe responding alike to similar stimuli or differently to distinct ones, not their timing.

Reinforcement is a consequence that strengthens a response, an outcome rather than the temporal pairing itself.

Extinction is the fading of a learned response when reinforcement or the paired stimulus is withdrawn.

Contiguity theory needs no reward, which sets Guthrie apart from Thorndike's and Skinner's reinforcement-based accounts.