Jonas is a veteran of the war in Iraq.He suffers from PTSD.Now,back home in a quiet California neighborhood,he jumps when he hears a firecracker or a car backfire.In the terminology of classical conditioning,these sounds are best thought of as _____ stimuli.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The sounds of firecrackers or car backfires have become associated with the traumatic events that Jonas experienced during the war, and as a result, they have become conditioned stimuli that trigger a fear response in him. They were not inherently frightening (neutral) and they did not elicit an automatic response (unconditioned). Normative stimuli are not relevant in this context.

Jonas Is a Veteran of the War in Iraq