In the anticipatory nausea and vomiting response that can occur with patients receiving cancer treatment, initially neutral stimuli, such as needles, the hospital, or the treatment room, become _____________ that trigger sickness.
A)negative reinforcers
B)conditioned stimuli
C)positive reinforcers
D)discriminative stimuli

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Conditioned stimuli are initially neutral stimuli that, after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus (in this case, the chemotherapy that causes nausea), come to elicit a conditioned response (nausea and vomiting) on their own. This is a classic example of classical conditioning.

In the Anticipatory Nausea and Vomiting Response That Can Occur