Which of the following is one of Pavlov's fundamental criteria for stimulus-response conditioning in classical conditioning?

• A. The unconditioned stimulus must follow the conditioned response.
• B. The conditioned stimulus must reliably precede the unconditioned stimulus.
• C. The conditioned response must occur before any stimulus is presented.
• D. The unconditioned stimulus and conditioned stimulus must always be presented simultaneously.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the basic concept of classical conditioning, which involves learning through association between two stimuli: the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US).
2. Recall that Pavlov's fundamental criteria emphasize the timing and order of stimulus presentation to establish a reliable association.
3. Identify that the conditioned stimulus (CS) must be presented before the unconditioned stimulus (US) to create a predictive relationship, allowing the organism to anticipate the US after the CS.
4. Recognize that the unconditioned stimulus (US) naturally elicits an unconditioned response (UR), and through conditioning, the conditioned stimulus (CS) comes to elicit a similar response, now called the conditioned response (CR).
5. Conclude that the key criterion is that the conditioned stimulus must reliably precede the unconditioned stimulus to effectively establish stimulus-response conditioning.