AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The unconditioned stimulus is one that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers a response.4 For example, when you smell one of your favorite foods, you may immediately feel hungry. In this example, the smell of the food is the unconditioned stimulus.

Detailed explanation-2: -An unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that leads to an automatic response. In Pavlov’s experiment, the food was the unconditioned stimulus. An unconditioned response is an automatic response to a stimulus. The dogs salivating for food is the unconditioned response in Pavlov’s experiment.

Detailed explanation-3: -In classical conditioning, an unconditioned response is an unlearned response that occurs naturally in reaction to the unconditioned stimulus. 1 For example, if the smell of food is the unconditioned stimulus, the feeling of hunger in response to the smell of food is the unconditioned response.

Detailed explanation-4: -These type of responses (i.e., unconditioned responses) appear when an organism comes across stimuli which automatically, and naturally, trigger them (Thines 1987). For instance, a puff of air to an individual’s eye area automatically induces a response of an eyeblink (Shanks 1995).

Detailed explanation-5: -The unconditioned stimulus (US) is something (such as food) that triggers a naturally occurring response, and the unconditioned response (UR) is the naturally occurring response (such as salivation) that follows the unconditioned stimulus.