Nigel always turns the aquarium light on before putting fish food into the tank. After a while, he notices that the fish swim to the top to look for the food as soon as he turns on the light. In this example, the __________ is the unconditioned stimulus.
A) presence of Nigel near the aquarium
B) fish swimming to the top
C) aquarium light
D) fish food

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus is the stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any prior learning. In this case, the unconditioned stimulus is the fish food as it naturally and automatically triggers the fish to swim to the top to look for the food. The other options are not the unconditioned stimulus as they do not trigger the fish's behavior without any prior learning.

Nigel Always Turns the Aquarium Light on Before Putting Fish