Question

Before learning painfully that the sound of a buzzing bee signaled she was about to be stung, Sara felt no fear in response to the buzzing sound. At that time the sound of the buzzing bee was most clearly a(n):

A. conditioned stimulus
B. neutral stimulus
C. conditioned response
D. unconditioned stimulus

Answer 1

At that time the sound of the buzzing bee was most clearly a B. neutral stimulus.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Classical Conditioning, the stimulus can be unconditioned, neutral and conditioned and they provide responses (unconditioned and conditioned).

A neutral stimulus, as the name states, does not create a response on its own. It doesn't mean anything by itself until it is paired with another stimulus in order to become a conditioned stimulus and provide a response.

In this case, the buzzing sound means nothing to Sara because it didn't cause anything, it was just a neutral stimulus.