Felix is coming down with the flu, but he eats spaghetti anyway and subsequently becomes violently ill. A month later he sees that spaghetti is being served in the dining hall and is overcome by nausea. What type of learning is illustrated by this episode?
A) operant conditioning
B) cognitive learning
C) latent learning
D) classical conditioning

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This episode illustrates classical conditioning, in which an originally neutral stimulus (spaghetti) becomes associated with a negative response (nausea) due to its pairing with an unconditioned stimulus (flu/vomiting). As a result, the previously neutral stimulus (spaghetti) becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response (nausea).

Felix Is Coming Down with the Flu, but He Eats