Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 6: Problem 2

Whenever Erin first sees her boyfriend, her heart beats fast. And whenever her boyfriend comes to her dorm room and the door is closed, he knocks five times before entering the room. After a while, Erin's heart jumps with excitement whenever she hears five knocks. The knocking is a(n) ________ for Erin. a. unconditioned stimulus b. unconditioned response c. conditioned stimulus d. conditioned response

Short Answer

Expert verified
The correct answer is c. conditioned stimulus.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the key concepts

First, let's briefly review the definitions of the four terms provided in the options. a. Unconditioned stimulus: A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any learning or conditioning. b. Unconditioned response: A natural and automatic response to an unconditioned stimulus without needing to be learned. c. Conditioned stimulus: A previously neutral stimulus that, after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response. d. Conditioned response: A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus) after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
02

Identify the unconditioned stimulus and response

In this situation, Erin's boyfriend is the unconditioned stimulus because his presence naturally and automatically triggers a response in Erin without any learning or conditioning. The unconditioned response is Erin's heart beating fast upon seeing her boyfriend.
03

Identify the conditioned stimulus and response

The conditioned stimulus in this situation is the five knocks. Initially, the knocks were a neutral stimulus, but after being associated with Erin's boyfriend's presence, they come to trigger a conditioned response in Erin. The conditioned response is Erin's heart jumping with excitement upon hearing the five knocks, which is a learned response after associating the knocks with her boyfriend's presence.
04

Choose the best answer to describe the knocking

Considering the given information and the definitions of the terms, the knocking is a "conditioned stimulus" for Erin because it's a neutral stimulus that has become associated with her boyfriend's presence and now triggers a conditioned response (her heart jumping with excitement). The correct answer is c. conditioned stimulus.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

Three-year-old Sam watches as his s-year-old sister, Mindy, draws on her bedroom wall with crayons. Their mother enters the room, but doesn't yell at Mindy. Instead, as Sam watches, their mother gets cleaning supplies and scrubs the wall clean. The next day, Sam displays modeling when he _______ a. stops himself from drawing on the walls to avoid punishment b. thinks about where they have a coloring book he can color in c. yells at Mindy for drawing on the walls d. gets his markers and colors on the laundry room wall

Rosie wants her cat to meow when the doorbell rings. Each time a visitor rings the bell and the cat meows, Rosie gives him a treat. Soon the cat always meows when the doorbell rings. Rosie's cat is demonstrating __________. a. non-associative learning b. classical conditioning c. vicarious conditioning d. operant conditioning

Glen and Lynda are hired to rake leaves. Glen is paid \(\$_{3}\) for each bag of leaves he rakes. Lynda is paid \(\$ 7\) for each hour she works. Glen is paid according to a ______ schedule of reinforcement. Lynda is paid according to a ____ schedule . a. variable ratio; variable interval b. fixed ratio; fixed interval c. variable ratio; fixed interval d. fixed ratio; variable interval

Christopher used to drink water from a drinking fountain just before physics class. One time, he felt nauseated right after drinking the water. After that, to avoid the risk of nausea, he stopped drinking at the fountain. Christopher learned a connection between the water fountain and feeling nauseated because he experienced __________ . a. acquisition b. extinction c. spontaneous recovery d. counterconditioning

Ajeet's younger sister is always bugging him. One day, Ajeet lets her play his video game, and she stops bugging him for several hours. Ajeet now lets her play his video game more and more, because doing so stops her from bugging him. Ajeet's learning in this situation is best explained by __________. a. positive reinforcement b. negative reinforcement c. positive punishment d. negative punishment
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Psychology Textbooks

Basic Psychology

Read Explanation

Sensation and Perception

Read Explanation

Aggression

Read Explanation

Scientific Investigation

Read Explanation

Approaches in Psychology

Read Explanation

Clinical Psychology

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free