Carrie fed her cat canned tuna that was opened with an electric can opener. Even when she was merely opening a can of corn, her cat responded physically as if it were about to be fed. In this example, the unconditioned stimulus is the
A) corn.
B) tuna.
C) sound of the electric can opener.
D) eating behaviours.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The unconditioned stimulus is the canned tuna because it naturally elicits a response from the cat (i.e. physical response as if it were about to be fed) without any prior learning or conditioning. The sound of the electric can opener and eating behaviors can be considered conditioned stimuli because they become associated with the tuna through learning and conditioning. The corn is not relevant to the example.

Carrie Fed Her Cat Canned Tuna That Was Opened with an Electric