Harmony notices that her cat salivates as soon as it hears the sound of Harmony opening a can with an electric can opener. In this example, the ________ is the conditioned stimulus.
A) can of cat food
B) sound of the electric can opener
C) dish that Harmony puts the food in
D) cat scurrying into the kitchen

Question

Harmony notices that her cat salivates as soon as it hears the sound of Harmony opening a can with an electric can opener. In this example, the ________ is the conditioned stimulus.
A) can of cat food
B) sound of the electric can opener 
C) dish that Harmony puts the food in 
D) cat scurrying into the kitchen

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The sound of the electric can opener is the conditioned stimulus because it is the trigger for the cat's salivation, which is a learned response that has been conditioned to the sound. The other options are not conditioned stimuli, as they do not elicit a learned response.

Harmony Notices That Her Cat Salivates as Soon as It