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 Response (CR)

• Salivation when food is presented

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• Food

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• Bell (initially)

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• Salivation in response to the bell

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• 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)

• Pain and fear from the bite

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• A dog bite

• Conditioned Response (CR)

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

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• Fear when seeing any dog

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• The sight of a 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.

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• Waking up startled

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• Waking up at the sight of the clock

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• Loud alarm sound

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• The alarm clock (after pairing with the sound)

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• The sight of the alarm clock

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 Response (UR)

• Feeling of happiness and warmth

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• An image of a happy family

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• The brand logo

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• Feeling happy when seeing the logo

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• 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 Response (CR)

• • Fear and increased heart rate

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • Fear of heights

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • A fall or near-fall experience

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • High places (after association with the fall)

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Being at a high place

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 Response (CR)

• The smell or taste of chicken soup

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• Spoiled food

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • Nausea when smelling or tasting chicken soup

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

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

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • 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.

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• Feeling excited

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Recess break

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• The sound of the school bell

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• The school bell (after pairing with recess time)

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• Excitement when hearing the bell

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.

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Painful dental procedure

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • The dentist’s chair or dental office

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• • Anxiety upon seeing the dentist’s chair

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

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

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • Anxiety and discomfort

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 Stimulus (US)

• • Dog feeling happy and wagging its tail

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

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

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • Treat or reward

• Unconditioned Response (UR)

• • The sound of a clicker

• Conditioned Response (CR)

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

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)

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

• Conditioned Response (CR)

• • Panic when hearing the alarm

• Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

• • Panic and running for safety

• Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

• • The sound of the fire alarm

• Neutral Stimulus (NS)

• • The fire or threat of fire