Mitzi developed her phobia of cats through classical conditioning, a type of learning where an association is formed between a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned response. Let's break down the process:
1. Unconditioned Stimulus (US): The US is the stimulus that naturally triggers an involuntary response without any prior learning. In this case, the US is the cat scratching Mitzi when she was younger.
2. Unconditioned Response (UR): The UR is the unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus. In this case, the UR is Mitzi's fear and anxiety after being scratched by the cat.
3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS): The CS is a neutral stimulus that, through association with the US, acquires the ability to elicit a response. In this scenario, the CS is the sight or presence of a cat.
4. Conditioned Response (CR): The CR is the learned response to the previously neutral conditioned stimulus. In this case, the CR is Mitzi's fear and anxiety towards cats even when they do not pose an immediate threat, as she associates cats with the negative experience of being scratched.
So, through classical conditioning, the neutral stimulus (the sight of cats) became a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response (fear and anxiety) in Mitzi due to her negative experience (US) of being scratched by a cat.