Classical Conditioning Term Practice

Scenario: Pavlov rings a bell right before presenting food to a dog. Over time, the dog starts salivating upon hearing the bell, even when no food is given.

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• Bell (after being paired with food)

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• Salivation in response to the bell

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• Bell (initially)

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• Salivation when food is presented

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• Food

Scenario: A child gets bitten by a dog and experiences pain and fear. Later, the child starts feeling scared whenever they see a dog, even if it’s friendly.

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• Fear when seeing any dog

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• The sight of a dog

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• A dog bite

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• Pain and fear from the bite

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• The sight of a dog (after association with the bite)

Scenario: You wake up startled every morning to the loud sound of your alarm clock. Eventually, you feel the urge to wake up just by looking at the clock, even if it hasn’t gone off yet.

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• Waking up at the sight of the clock

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• Loud alarm sound

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• Waking up startled

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• The sight of the alarm clock

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• The alarm clock (after pairing with the sound)

Scenario: A company runs a commercial showing their brand logo alongside images of happy families. Later, just seeing the logo makes viewers feel happy and warm.

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• The brand logo

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• An image of a happy family

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• Feeling happy when seeing the logo

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• Feeling of happiness and warmth

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• The brand logo (after pairing with the happy image)

Scenario: Someone has a traumatic experience of falling off a ladder. Afterward, they feel a sense of fear and anxiety when they are in high places, even without falling.

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Fear and increased heart rate

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• • High places (after association with the fall)

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • Fear of heights

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • Being at a high place

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • A fall or near-fall experience

Scenario: A person eats chicken soup that has gone bad and becomes nauseous. Later, they feel nauseous just by smelling or seeing chicken soup, even if it’s fresh.

• :

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Chicken soup (after association with the spoiled food experience)

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• The smell or taste of chicken soup

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • Nausea when smelling or tasting chicken soup

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• Spoiled food

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • Feeling nauseous

Scenario: A school bell rings to signal the start of recess every day. Over time, students feel excited when they hear the bell, even before they know it’s recess time.

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• The sound of the school bell

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• Feeling excited

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• The school bell (after pairing with recess time)

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• Excitement when hearing the bell

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • Recess break

Scenario: A person undergoes a painful dental procedure. Later, just sitting in the dentist’s chair or seeing dental tools makes them feel anxious, even without any procedure happening.

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • Painful dental procedure

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • Anxiety and discomfort

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • The dentist’s chair or dental office

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• • The dentist’s chair (after being paired with the painful procedure)

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Anxiety upon seeing the dentist’s chair

Scenario: A dog trainer uses a clicker sound every time they give the dog a treat. Eventually, the dog becomes excited and wags its tail whenever it hears the clicker, even if no treat follows.

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• • Treat or reward

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • The clicker sound (after being paired with treats)

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • The sound of a clicker

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • Excitement or wagging tail at the sound of the clicker

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • Dog feeling happy and wagging its tail

Scenario: During a fire, a loud alarm rings to signal danger. Afterward, people feel panicked when they hear a similar alarm sound, even during a routine drill.

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • Panic and running for safety

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • The fire alarm (after being paired with the threat of fire)

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• • The sound of the fire alarm

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • The fire or threat of fire

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • Panic when hearing the alarm