AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -A neutral stimulus is a stimulus that at first elicits no response. Pavlov introduced the ringing of the bell as a neutral stimulus. An unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus that leads to an automatic response. In Pavlov’s experiment, the food was the unconditioned stimulus.

Detailed explanation-2: -The correct to the answer is option C, neutral stimulus. A conditioned stimulus is a previously neutral stimulus that has gone through a conditioning process and it triggers a specific response.

Detailed explanation-3: -Then Pavlov sounded the bell (neutral stimulus) before giving the food. After a few pairings the dogs salivated when they heard the bell even when no food was given. The bell had become the conditioned stimulus and salivation had become the conditioned response.

Detailed explanation-4: -A neutral stimulus is a stimulus which initially produces no specific response other than focusing attention. In classical conditioning, when used together with an unconditioned stimulus, the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus.