Question

Psychologist John Garcia conditioned rats to have a taste aversion to sweet-tasting water by injecting them with a drug that made them ill. Using classical conditioning terminology, what was the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in this experimental situation?

Answer 1

Answer:

The answer is: In this experimental situation the unconditioned stiumulus (UCS) is the drug.

Explanation:

In classical conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus is what produces a natural and unconscious response, for example, in Pavlov's experiment with dogs, the unconditioned stimulus was the smell of food, which produced an unconditioned response (salivation).

In this case, the drug produced a natural response in the rats, it made them ill,  therefore, the drug that was injected to them is the unconditioned stimulus.