A little boy is allowed to play with a laboratory rat and shows no fear of it.Then,a scientist makes a scary noise by banging an iron bar whenever the little boy reaches for the rat.Soon,the boy begins crying whenever the rat comes near him.In this study,the scary noise is the ________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The scary noise is the unconditioned stimulus because it naturally (without prior conditioning) elicits a response of fear or distress, which in this case is the crying of the little boy when he hears the noise.

A Little Boy Is Allowed to Play with a Laboratory