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"India used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. As part of a behavioral program, she started putting her cigarette butts in a Ziplock bag. Each time she took a puff of a cigarette, she also took a big sniff from the bag. Now, the sight of a cigarette makes her feel nauseous. The scent from the cigarette butt baggie serves as a(n) ______ in this example.

a. Conditioned stimulus
b. Neutral stimulus
c. Unconditioned stimulus
d. Unconditioned response"

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The cigarette butt baggie scent in the described scenario serves as a conditioned stimulus. Over time, pairing this with smoking (unconditioned stimulus) has led to India feeling nauseous at the sight of a cigarette due to classical conditioning.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this scenario, the scent from the cigarette butt bag in which India was placing her cigarette butts after smoking, and taking big sniffs from, can be considered a conditioned stimulus. Initially, the cigarette butt baggie would have likely been a neutral stimulus, as it would not cause nausea on its own; over time, the association with taking a puff subsequently followed by the unpleasant experience of smelling the concentrated scent of cigarette butts has turned this initially neutral stimulus into a conditioned one. As a result of repeatedly pairing this conditioned stimulus with the act of smoking (an unconditioned stimulus that elicits no specific response in this context), the sight of a cigarette alone is now causing nausea without the need to smell the bag, demonstrating classical conditioning as the association gained strength through repeated pairings. Eventually, the conditioned stimulus (scent from the bag) on its own provokes the conditioned response (nausea).

User Ingmar Boddington
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