Question 1

A puff of air on the surface of your eye will make you blink reflexively. If you hear a buzzer repeatedly just before air is puffed into your eye, eventually you will blink as soon as you hear the buzzer. In this example, the unconditioned stimulus is the

Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus in classical conditioning is the natural response that occurs without any prior learning. In this scenario, the natural response is the eye-blink reflex when air is puffed onto the surface of the eye, so the puff of air is the unconditioned stimulus. The buzzer is the conditioned stimulus because it only causes an eye blink response after being repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus (puff of air).

Question 2

For years, Sylvester the cat has been fed canned tuna fish that has been opened with an electric can opener. Now Sylvester races into the kitchen every time he hears the can opener. What is the unconditioned stimulus in this example?

Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus is the tuna fish, as it naturally triggers a response of hunger in Sylvester without any prior conditioning. The sound of the can opener is a neutral stimulus, which eventually becomes associated with the delivery of the tuna fish and becomes a conditioned stimulus that also triggers the response of hunger. Sylvester's owner and food other than his are not stimuli in this specific example that are directly related to the conditioning of his response to the sound of the can opener.

Question 3

Andrea's mother always puts special napkins on the table when she serves fried chicken, Andrea's favourite food. Now Andrea begins to salivate as soon as she sees the special napkins on the table. The conditioned stimulus in this situation is

Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus in this situation is the special napkins, as they have become associated with the pleasurable experience of eating Andrea's favourite food, fried chicken. As a result, seeing the napkins has elicited a conditioned response of salivation in Andrea.

Question 4

In classical conditioning, what is the term for a neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a response because it has been paired repeatedly with another stimulus that reliably elicits that response?

Accepted Answer

A neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a response because it has been paired repeatedly with another stimulus that reliably elicits that response is called a conditioned stimulus.

Question 5

After repeatedly pairing a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus, a trainer presents the conditioned stimulus alone, and the subject responds with

Accepted Answer

When the conditioned stimulus is presented alone and the subject responds, it is referred to as a conditioned response. This is the learned response that is a result of repeatedly pairing the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus. Therefore, choice B is the correct answer.

Question 6

Which of the following refers to the learned aspect from an example of classical conditioning?

Accepted Answer

In classical conditioning, the learned response is the conditioned response. Salivating to the sound of the word "steak" is a learned response, as it occurs after the word has been associated with the actual presentation of steak.

Question 7

According to Pavlov, when classically conditioning a response it is best to present the conditioned stimulus

Accepted Answer

Pavlov's recommendation was to present the conditioned stimulus slightly before the unconditioned stimulus to allow for the association between the two stimuli to be made. This creates an expectation in the organism that the unconditioned stimulus will follow the conditioned stimulus, leading to a conditioned response.

Question 8

Andrea's mother always puts special napkins on the table when she serves fried chicken, Andrea's favourite food. Now Andrea begins to salivate as soon as she sees the special napkins on the table. The special napkins in this situation are the

Accepted Answer

The special napkins have become a conditioned stimulus, as they now elicit a response (salivation) that was not originally present. The fact that they were paired repeatedly with fried chicken, which is the unconditioned stimulus that naturally caused salivation, led to the napkins becoming a cue that anticipates the arrival of the food. Therefore, the correct answer is D - conditioned stimulus.

Question 9

Articles of clothing or other features that are repeatedly paired with sexual arousal or pleasure may become ________ for such reactions.

Accepted Answer

Conditioned stimuli are stimuli that, after being repeatedly paired with unconditioned stimuli, come to elicit conditioned responses. In this case, articles of clothing or other features that are repeatedly paired with sexual arousal or pleasure become conditioned stimuli for such reactions.

Question 10

Morgana was once frightened by big, barking dogs, which now causes her to cry when she sees a dog. After visiting a friend's house where both a dog and a cat live, Morgana is now also afraid of cats. In this example, the conditioned response is

Accepted Answer

The conditioned response in this example is crying at seeing a cat, which was caused by the previous conditioning with dogs.

Question 11

Andrea's mother always puts special napkins on the table when she serves fried chicken, Andrea's favourite food. Now Andrea begins to salivate as soon as she sees the special napkins on the table. The unconditioned stimulus in this situation is

Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus is the fried chicken, as it is the natural trigger for salivation (the unconditioned response). The special napkins have become associated with the presence of fried chicken through classical conditioning, but they are not the original trigger for salivation.

Question 12

Carrie fed her cat canned tuna fish that was opened with an electric can opener. Even when she was merely opening a can of corn, her cat responded physically as if it were about to be fed. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is the

Accepted Answer

The sound of the electric can opener is the conditioned stimulus because it has become associated with the presentation of the unconditioned stimulus (the tuna fish) and now elicits a conditioned response (the cat's physical response). The other options (B) eating behaviours, (C) corn, and (D) tuna fish are not the conditioned stimulus in this example.

Question 13

Andrea's mother always puts special napkins on the table when she serves fried chicken, Andrea's favourite food. Now Andrea begins to salivate as soon as she sees the special napkins on the table. Salivating to the sight of the napkins in this situation is the

Accepted Answer

Salivating to the sight of the napkins is a learned response (conditioned response) that has been associated with the unconditioned stimulus (fried chicken) through repeated pairings during previous meals. The conditioned stimulus is the special napkins.

Question 14

Salivating when you are eating steak is ________ response; salivating when you see a thick steak being barbecued is ________ response.

Accepted Answer

Salivating when eating steak is an unconditioned response because it is a natural, unlearned response to the presence of food. Salivating when seeing a thick steak being barbecued is a conditioned response because it is a learned response that has been associated with the sight of the steak being cooked.

Question 15

Little Tammy is frightened by thunder and cries when she hears it. During a season of frequent electrical storms, thunder is always preceded by lightning. Now Tammy cries as soon as she sees lightning. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is

Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus is the stimulus that is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus to produce a specific response. In this example, lightning is the conditioned stimulus because it has become associated with the unconditioned stimulus (thunder) that initially produced the response of crying (unconditioned response). Tammy's crying at the sight of lightning is a conditioned response that has been learned through classical conditioning.

Question 16

Morgana was once frightened by big, barking dogs, which now causes her to cry when she sees a dog. After visiting a friend's house where both a dog and a cat live, Morgana is now afraid of cats. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is

Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus is the stimulus (cat) that has become associated with the fear response (crying) through classical conditioning. The presence of the cat now elicits the fear response without the need for the original unconditioned stimulus (dog).

Question 17

Carrie fed her cat canned tuna fish that was opened with an electric can opener. Even when she was merely opening a can of corn, her cat responded physically as if it were about to be fed. In this example, the unconditioned stimulus is the

Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus is the naturally occurring stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response. In this case, the canned tuna fish is the unconditioned stimulus as it elicits a natural response (hunger) from the cat. The sound of the electric can opener and eating behaviours are not unconditioned stimuli, as they do not elicit a natural response in the cat. The corn is irrelevant to the cat's response, as it is not part of the conditioned stimulus.

Question 18

Allison is a fashion model for magazine advertising, so cameras and flash bulbs are a part of her life. She responds to the click of a camera with a slight contraction of her pupils, even when a flash bulb is not being used. This contraction of her pupils is an example of

Accepted Answer

The contraction of Allison's pupils is a conditioned response because it has been learned through repeated association with the click of a camera. It is not an unconditioned response because it is not a natural, unlearned response to a particular stimulus. It is not a discriminatory response because Allison's pupils are contracting in response to a broad range of stimuli (the click of a camera), not just one specific stimulus. It is not a reflexive response because it is a learned behavior, not an automatic physiological response.

Question 19

In which of the following does a stimulus which cannot initially elicit a response acquire the ability to do so as a result of repeated pairing with the stimulus that does elicit the response?

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning is the process by which a neutral stimulus comes to elicit a particular response after being repeatedly paired with a stimulus that naturally elicits that response. It is also known as Pavlovian conditioning, named after Ivan Pavlov who conducted experiments on dogs to demonstrate this phenomenon.

Question 20

In classical conditioning, which element functions as a signal?

Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus (CS) functions as a signal in classical conditioning. This is because it is what initially does not elicit the response of interest (conditioned response, CR) but through association with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), it comes to signify the arrival of the UCS and therefore elicits the CR.

Quiz 5: Learning