When Marianela was a young child and watching TV with her mother, a mouse ran by. Her mother screamed, scaring her. Subsequently, she has been afraid of mice. In this example, the mouse is the:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The mouse is not an unconditioned stimulus since it does not naturally elicit a fear response. It also cannot be a conditioned response or unconditioned response since these refer to behaviors or reactions that are learned rather than stimuli. Thus, the mouse is the conditioned stimulus since it is the previously neutral object (before the fear response was conditioned) that now elicits the fear response in Marianela.

When Marianela Was a Young Child and Watching TV with Her