In Pavlov's study of classical conditioning, which stimulus became the conditioned stimulus after repeated pairings with food?

• A. The sight of food
• B. The salivation response
• C. The presence of the experimenter
• D. The sound of a bell

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the unconditioned stimulus (US) in Pavlov's experiment, which naturally and automatically triggers a response. In this case, the unconditioned stimulus is the sight or smell of food.
2. Recognize the unconditioned response (UR), which is the natural reaction to the unconditioned stimulus. Here, it is the salivation response to the food.
3. Determine the neutral stimulus (NS) before conditioning, which initially does not trigger the unconditioned response. In Pavlov's study, this was the sound of a bell.
4. Understand that through repeated pairings of the neutral stimulus (bell) with the unconditioned stimulus (food), the neutral stimulus becomes associated with the unconditioned stimulus.
5. After conditioning, the previously neutral stimulus (bell) becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS), which now elicits a conditioned response (CR), such as salivation, even without the food present.