Question

William is taking part in an experiment. William is instructed to tickle his own nose, and as a result, he is about to sneeze. Before he sneezes, a research assistant shines a light in his eyes. After many repetitions of this behavior, when the research assistant shines a light in his eyes, William feels like he has to sneeze. What is the conditioned stimulus (CS) in this scenario? A. William tickling his own nose B. William sneezing C. the light D. the researcher’s presence

Answer 1

Answer: The correct answer is C. the light.

Explanation: A conditioned stimulus is a previously neutral stimulus, but thanks to being paired or associated with an unconditioned stimulus eventually elicit a conditioned response.

In this case, the light was a neutral stimulus but after pairing it repeatedly with the tickling of the nose it became a conditioned stimulus that elicits the conditioned response of sneezing.

The answer is C. The light is the conditioned stimulus (CS)