Final answer:
Option (B), Dylan's sailor's cap has become a conditioned stimulus after being associated with the unconditioned stimulus of vomiting, now eliciting the conditioned response of nausea just by looking at it.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the scenario described, Dylan's sailor's cap has become a conditioned stimulus (CS). This is because it was a neutral stimulus that, after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus (the action of vomiting due to nausea), now elicits a conditioned response (nausea) on its own.
In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes conditioned after being associated with an unconditioned stimulus. An unconditioned stimulus automatically triggers a reflexive response (unconditioned response). After repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus alone can evoke the response and thus is termed a conditioned stimulus, eliciting a conditioned response.
In summary, the vomiting on the boat was an unconditioned response to getting nauseated, which is an unconditioned stimulus. But when Dylan looks at the sailor's cap and gets nauseated, the sailor's cap serves as the conditioned stimulus that triggers the conditioned response of nausea, demonstrating the process of classical conditioning where a previously neutral stimulus becomes associated with a response.