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 balloon is the
A) unconditioned response.
B) conditioned stimulus.
C) conditioned response.
D) unconditioned stimulus.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The balloon initially caused an unconditioned response (crying) when it burst, making it the unconditioned stimulus. However, after the association was made between the balloon and the loud noise, the balloon became the conditioned stimulus that elicited a conditioned response (fear) in Rick.

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