Question

Alan always turns the aquarium light on before putting fish food into the tank. after a while, he notices that the fish swim to the top to look for the food as soon as he turns on the light. in this example, the _____ is the unconditioned stimulus.

Answer 1

The unconditioned stimulus in the scenario of Alan's fish responding to the light being turned on is the fish food, as it is the stimulus that elicits a natural response without prior conditioning.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the example provided, the fish swim to the top to look for the food as soon as they see the light turned on. This situation is an example of classical conditioning, where the fish have been conditioned to associate the light with the arrival of food. In classical conditioning terms, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) is the one that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any prior learning. In Alan's aquarium, the unconditioned stimulus is the fish food, because it naturally causes the fish to swim to the top and is not something they've had to learn to respond to.

Answer 2

This situation is a conditioned stimulus and not an unconditioned one.

The fish here associated between the light being turned on and the food being provided. It established a relation between the two where it realized that whenever the light is turned on, this meant that food was about to be served.

Based on this, the answer would be:
Alan always turns the aquarium light on before putting fish food into the tank. after a while, he notices that the fish swim to the top to look for the food as soon as he turns on the light. in this example, the light of the aquarium is the conditioned stimulus.

On the other hand, unconditioned stimulus is a response arising naturally. For example, you can get hungry by smelling your favorite type of food.