In classical conditioning, a stimulus that does not initially elicit any response is called:
AAn unconditioned stimulus
BA conditioned stimulus
CA neutral stimulus
DAn unconditioned response
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. A neutral stimulus
1. The four labels in classical conditioning are defined by what a stimulus does before and after training.
2. An unconditioned stimulus already elicits a reflex with no training at all.
3. A neutral stimulus is one that does not initially elicit a response; Pavlov's tone began as exactly this.
4. Once the neutral stimulus has been repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus, the same stimulus is renamed the conditioned stimulus.
_Source: OpenStax Psychology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Learning", §6.2 Classical Conditioning_
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