When Pavlov placed meat powder in the mouths of canine subjects, they began to salivate. His student noticed that after being brought to the laboratory a number of times, the dogs would begin to salivate at the sound of the person's footsteps. The footsteps acted as a/an:
A) unconditioned stimulus.
B) conditioned response.
C) unconditioned response.
D) conditioned stimulus.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The sound of the person's footsteps originally did not elicit a salivary response from the dogs, thus it was not an unconditioned stimulus (Choice A) or an unconditioned response (Choice C). However, after being repeatedly paired with the presentation of the meat powder (which did elicit salivation without any prior learning), the sound of the footsteps became a conditioned stimulus that could elicit salivation on its own. Therefore, the correct answer is D, conditioned stimulus.

When Pavlov Placed Meat Powder in the Mouths of Canine