Question

sven eats popcorn every time he goes to the movies. he goes to a new theatre with no concessions and finds that his mouth is watering for popcorn the entire time. in this example, what is the conditioned stimulus?

watching a movie
the concession stand
wanting popcorn
eating popcorn

Explanation:

Identify the classical conditioning components

Using the Classical Conditioning knowledge point

• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Eating popcorn (naturally triggers salivation).
• Unconditioned Response (UCR): Salivation/mouth watering (natural reflex to eating popcorn).
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Watching a movie / being at the movie theater (originally neutral, but becomes associated with eating popcorn).
• Conditioned Response (CR): Salivation/mouth watering in response to the movie theater environment alone.

Match with the given options

Using the Classical Conditioning knowledge point

• The question asks for the conditioned stimulus.
• The conditioned stimulus is the environmental cue that has been associated with the popcorn, which is watching a movie (or being at the theater).

Answer:

• (A) watching a movie (Correct answer)
• (B) the concession stand
• (C) wanting popcorn
• (D) eating popcorn