Conditioned Stimulus (Noun)
Meaning
The stimulus that is the occasion for a conditioned response.
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- The bell was the conditioned stimulus that caused the dog to start salivating in preparation for food.
- In Ivan Pavlov's famous experiment, the sound of a buzzer was used as a conditioned stimulus to elicit a response in the dogs.
- The smell of popcorn became a conditioned stimulus for me because it always signaled the start of a movie.
- The sound of the school bell was a conditioned stimulus that made students immediately start gathering their things and heading for the door.
- The sight of a syringe was a conditioned stimulus that caused the patient to feel anxious and fearful of the upcoming injection.