Teresa has a painful experience at the dentist's office. The next time her mother brings her to the dentist's office, Teresa begins to get tense and anxious. In this situation, the dentist and dentist's office are

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The dentist's office and the dentist are originally neutral stimuli for Teresa, but after associating them with the painful experience, they become conditioned stimuli that trigger her anxiety and tension. Therefore, C is the correct answer. The unconditioned stimuli (A) are the pain and discomfort she experienced during the dental procedure, and the unconditioned responses (B) are her natural and automatic responses to that pain, such as flinching or crying. The conditioned responses (D) would be any learned reactions that follow the conditioned stimuli, such as sweating or increased heart rate, but in this scenario, we are only discussing the triggering stimuli.

Teresa Has a Painful Experience at the Dentist's Office