Five-year-old Samantha is watching a storm from her window. A huge bolt of lightning is followed by a tremendous thunderclap. Startled, Samantha jumps at the noise. This happens several times. As the storm moves farther away, Samantha jumps at the sight of a lightening bolt but hears the thunder after her jump! In this example, the unconditioned stimulus is the ________ and the conditioned stimulus is the ________.
A) jumping; lightning
B) thunder; jumping
C) thunder; lightning
D) lightning; thunder

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus is the thunder, which naturally causes Samantha to jump. The conditioned stimulus is the lightning, which she learns to associate with the thunder and thus causes her to jump even before hearing the thunder.

Five-Year-Old Samantha Is Watching a Storm from Her Window