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.

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• Salivation in response to the bell

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• Bell (initially)

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• Salivation when food is presented

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• Food

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• Bell (after being paired with 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 Stimulus (CS)

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

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• Pain and fear from the bite

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• The sight of a dog

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• A dog bite

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• Fear when seeing any dog

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.

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• Waking up at the sight of the clock

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• The sight of the alarm clock

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• Waking up startled

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• Loud alarm sound

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• 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 (after pairing with the happy image)

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• An image of a happy family

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• Feeling happy when seeing the logo

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• The brand logo

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• Feeling of happiness and warmth

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 Response (CR)

• • Fear and increased heart rate

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • High places (after association with the fall)

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • Being at a high place

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Fear of heights

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • 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.

• :

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

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

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • Nausea when smelling or tasting chicken soup

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• The smell or taste of chicken soup

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• Spoiled food

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• • 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)

• Excitement when hearing the bell

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• The sound of the school bell

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• Feeling excited

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Recess break

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• The school bell (after pairing with recess time)

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.

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • Anxiety and discomfort

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • Anxiety upon seeing the dentist’s chair

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• • The dentist’s chair or dental office

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Painful dental procedure

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

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

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.

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • Treat or reward

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

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

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • Dog feeling happy and wagging its tail

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• • The sound of a clicker

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

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

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 Response (UR)

• • Panic when hearing the alarm

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • The fire or threat of fire

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • Panic and running for safety

• Conditioned Response (CR)

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

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • The sound of the fire alarm