The nurse says "This won't hurt a bit!" before jabbing Joey with a needle for his vaccinations. Now, whenever someone says "This won't hurt a bit!" Joey cringes in fear. The initial jab with the needle would be the
A) unconditioned response.
B) unconditioned stimulus.
C) conditioned response.
D) conditioned stimulus.
E) neutral stimulus.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The conditioned stimulus is the one that triggers a learned response, and in this case, Joey learned to associate the phrase "This won't hurt a bit!" with the pain of being jabbed with a needle. Therefore, the conditioned stimulus is the phrase being said.

The Nurse Says "This Won't Hurt a Bit!" Before Jabbing