Dr.Graham exposes rats to a vanilla scent prior to receiving a food pellet in the left corner of their cage,but provides no food after exposure to a lemon scent.After several trials,upon smelling a vanilla scent,the rats wait at the far left corner of the cage regardless of whether a food pellet is present.However,they do not wait in the far left corner when exposed to the lemon scent.What is the unconditioned stimulus in the experiment?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus in this experiment is the food pellet because it elicits an unconditioned response (eating behavior) without any prior conditioning. The vanilla scent becomes a conditioned stimulus because it is associated with the unconditioned stimulus (food pellet) through repeated pairings, eventually leading to a conditioned response (waiting behavior in the left corner of the cage). The lemon scent does not have any association with the unconditioned stimulus, therefore, it does not elicit any conditioned response.

DrGraham Exposes Rats to a Vanilla Scent Prior to Receiving