Sylvia used to play with balloons. When she tried to blow up a balloon last week, it popped in her face and gave her quite a scare. Now, blowing up a balloon is so scary that Sylvia will not try it. In this example, the pop is a(n) _____ and the balloon is a(n) _____.
A) conditioned stimulus; unconditioned stimulus
B) unconditioned stimulus; conditioned stimulus
C) unconditioned response; conditioned response
D) conditioned response, ; unconditioned response

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The pop is an unconditioned stimulus because it naturally elicits a response (fear) from Sylvia. The balloon is a conditioned stimulus because it is associated with the pop and now also elicits fear from Sylvia. Therefore, the correct answer is B, with the unconditioned stimulus (pop) preceding the conditioned stimulus (balloon).

Sylvia Used to Play with Balloons