One Saturday, Adolf was sitting at home when the telephone rang.A local company was making promotional calls and told Adolf he had just won a $1,000 gift certificate.He felt a rush of excitement at the thought of what he could do with $1,000.Now Adolf finds that whenever he hears a telephone ring, he feels a small surge of excitement.In this example of classical conditioning, the conditioned stimulus is:
A)the ringing of a telephone
B)the rush of excitement that Adolf felt when he won the gift certificate
C)the news that he had won a $1,000 gift certificate
D)the rush of excitement that Adolf feels whenever he hears a ringing telephone

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus in this example is the ringing of a telephone, as it is the stimulus that has become associated with the excitement of potentially winning a prize. The rush of excitement that Adolf felt when he won the gift certificate is the unconditioned response, as it is an automatic reaction to the unexpected news. The news that he had won a $1,000 gift certificate is the unconditioned stimulus, as it directly caused the rush of excitement. The rush of excitement that Adolf feels whenever he hears a ringing telephone is the conditioned response, as it is a learned reaction to the conditioned stimulus.

One Saturday, Adolf Was Sitting at Home When the Telephone