What is the conditioned response in the bell-food conditioning example?

What is the conditioned response in the bell-food conditioning example?

• A. Salivation to the Bell
• B. Salivation to the Food
• C. Barking at the Bell
• D. Jumping with Excitement

Answer: (A)

In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes something that evokes a response after it’s paired with something that naturally triggers that response. Here, the bell starts as a neutral cue, while the food naturally causes the dog to salivate. After repeatedly pairing the bell with the food, the bell alone comes to trigger salivation. That learned reaction to the bell is the conditioned response. So the correct choice is salivation to the bell. Salivation to the food is the unconditioned response—the natural, unlearned reaction to the food. Barking at the bell or jumping with excitement aren’t the standard conditioned responses in this classic setup.

In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes something that evokes a response after it’s paired with something that naturally triggers that response. Here, the bell starts as a neutral cue, while the food naturally causes the dog to salivate. After repeatedly pairing the bell with the food, the bell alone comes to trigger salivation. That learned reaction to the bell is the conditioned response. So the correct choice is salivation to the bell. Salivation to the food is the unconditioned response—the natural, unlearned reaction to the food. Barking at the bell or jumping with excitement aren’t the standard conditioned responses in this classic setup.