Ever since she foolishly drank too much beer at a rock concert and vomited all over her boyfriend, Sharon becomes nauseated at the smell or taste of beer. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is _____ and the conditioned response is _____.
A) her boyfriend; nausea
B) nausea; loud music
C) nausea; the smell or taste of beer
D) the smell or taste of beer; nausea

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus in classical conditioning is the stimulus that triggers the conditioned response, which is a learned response to the previously neutral stimulus. In this example, the neutral stimulus is the beer, and the unconditioned response is the vomiting. After repeated pairing of the beer with the vomiting, the beer becomes the conditioned stimulus and the nausea becomes the conditioned response. Therefore, the correct choice is D, where the conditioned stimulus is the smell or taste of beer, and the conditioned response is nausea.

Ever Since She Foolishly Drank Too Much Beer at a Rock