Benny, an unfortunate family dog, has been brought up in an abusive environment; his owners routinely beat him with a broomstick. Now, Benny cries and whimpers anytime he sees a broom. In terms of classical conditioning, what is the broom in this example?

A) an unconditioned stimulus
B) a conditioned stimulus
C) a punisher
D) a negative reinforcer

Question

Abhisekh Agarwal · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : B, Explanation :  The broom in this example is a conditioned stimulus because it was previously neutral but became associated with pain and fear through the process of classical conditioning. Now, it elicits a fear response in Benny. Option A is incorrect because if the broom were an unconditioned stimulus, it would have always elicited a fear response, but that is not the case here. Option C is incorrect because a punisher decreases the likelihood of a behavior occurring, but there is no behavior mentioned in this scenario. Option D is incorrect because a negative reinforcer is a stimulus that, when removed after a behavior, increases the likelihood of that behavior occurring again, and that concept is not applicable in this situation.

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