In classical conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus leads to which type of response?

• A. Conditioned stimulus
• B. Neutral stimulus
• C. Arousal response
• D. Unconditioned response

Answer: (D)

An unconditioned stimulus naturally triggers an unlearned, reflexive response. For example, food presented to a hungry animal automatically causes salivation, and this happens without any training. This automatic reaction is the unconditioned response. Through pairing the unconditioned stimulus with a neutral cue (like a bell), the cue can become a conditioned stimulus, and eventually it can evoke a conditioned response similar to the unconditioned response. But the response that the unconditioned stimulus directly produces is the unconditioned response itself.