Question at position 5 In Pavlov's studies on classical conditioning, the bell was a(n) ________ before it was paired with the food.unconditioned stimulusconditioned stimulusneutral stimulusreinforced stimulus

Question

Question at position 5 In Pavlov's studies on classical conditioning, the bell was a(n) ________ before it was paired with the food.unconditioned stimulusconditioned stimulusneutral stimulusreinforced stimulus

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question at position 5: In Pavlov's studies on classical conditioning, the bell was a(n) ________ before it was paired with the food.
Option 1: 'unconditioned stimulus' — An unconditioned stimulus naturally elicits a response without prior learning, such as food causing salivation. The bell did not initially provoke the unlearned reflex of salivation, so labeling it an unconditioned stimulus before pairing is incorrect.
Option 2: 'conditioned stimulus' — A conditioned stimulus is something that becomes associated with the unconditioned stimulus through repeated pairings. Before any pairing with food, the bell had no predictive value and did not yet elicit a conditioned response, so this option is not accurate initially.
Option 3: 'neutral stimulus' — A neutral stimulus is one that does not produce a relevant automatic response by itself and has no inherent meaning related to the unconditioned response. Before conditioning, the bell did not cause salivation or another reflex; it merely stood for something unrelated, which fits the definition of a neutral stimulus.
Option 4: 'reinforced stimulus' — Reinforcement pertains to processes that increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring, typically after a response is made. In the classical conditioning setup, the bell itself was not a reinforcing stimulus prior to pairing; reinforcement applies to operant conditioning concepts or to the consequences that follow a response, so this option mislabels the bell at that stage.
Taken together, the best description of the bell before conditioning is that it was a neutral stimulus, since it carried no inherent meaning or automatic response prior to being paired with the food.

Question at position 5 In Pavlov's studies on classical conditioning, the bell was a(n) ________ before it was paired with the food.unconditioned stimulusconditioned stimulusneutral stimulusreinforced stimulus

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

Question at position 51 Watson, a research subject, is pricked with a needle every time he decides to have a sip of a soda. He is being conditioned to avoid drinking soda. In this scenario, the needle prick is thevestibular stimulus.auditory stimulus.unconditioned stimulus.perceptual stimulus.

Which of the following can be best explained by classical conditioning?

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler