An 11-year-old girl with an overactive immune system that attacks her own body receives a treatment in which cod liver oil is paired with an immune-suppressant drug. After these initial trials, she occasionally receives only cod liver oil (without the drug),yet her body still shows the desired impairment of functioning. According to the principles of classical conditioning, the immune suppressant drug would be considered the
A)conditioned stimulus
B)unconditioned stimulus
C)conditioned response
D)unconditioned response

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The immune suppressant drug is the unconditioned stimulus because it naturally (without prior conditioning) causes the immune system's response to be suppressed. In classical conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus is something that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any learning needed.

An 11-Year-Old Girl with an Overactive Immune System That Attacks