Two-year-old Rick was playing with a balloon when it burst and made an extremely loud noise, causing him to cry. Now, whenever Rick sees a balloon, he becomes frightened. In this situation, the loud noise is the
A) unconditioned response.
B) conditioned stimulus.
C) conditioned response.
D) unconditioned stimulus.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The loud noise is the unconditioned stimulus because it naturally (without prior conditioning) caused Rick to cry, which is an unconditioned response. The fear response to the balloon (conditioned stimulus) developed after the association was made between the balloon and the loud noise.

Two-Year-Old Rick Was Playing with a Balloon When It Burst