Question

if the sound of an electric can opener causes a child to salivate because it has previously been associated with the presentation of food, the childs salivation to the sound of the can opener is a(n):

a) conditioned response

b) unconditioned response

c) conditioned stimulus

d) unconditioned stimulus

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze classical conditioning concepts:

• Unconditioned response (B) is innate (e.g., salivating to food).
• Unconditioned stimulus (D) is what naturally triggers the unconditioned response (e.g., food).
• Conditioned stimulus (C) is a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., can opener sound) that, after association, triggers a response.
• Conditioned response (A) is the learned response to the conditioned stimulus. Here, the child salivates to the can opener sound because it was associated with food (a conditioned stimulus), so salivation here is a learned (conditioned) response.

Answer:

A) Conditioned response