A rat experiences a shock paired with the sound of a bell. The animal now experiences fear, demonstrated by freezing behavior, when it hears a bell. The bell is the
A) unconditioned stimulus.
B) conditioned stimulus.
C) unconditioned response.
D) conditioned response.
E) neutral stimulus.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The bell was originally a neutral stimulus (did not elicit a fear response) but became a conditioned stimulus after being paired with the shock (unconditioned stimulus). The fear response demonstrated by the rat (freezing behavior) is the conditioned response. The unconditioned response would be the innate fear response the rat had to the shock without prior conditioning.

A Rat Experiences a Shock Paired with the Sound of a Bell