Question

Mira is a college student who lives alone in an apartment with her cat, Max. Whenever Mira walks into her kitchen and opens the squeaky drawer where Max's food is kept, he begins to salivate and runs into the kitchen, pawing at Mira to be fed. Even when Max has already had his food for the day, every time the squeaky drawer is opened, the cat runs in.

Okay, so the unconditioned response is when Max salivates. The conditioned stimulus is the squeaky drawer and the conditioned response is Max salivating when he hears the squeaky drawer. I was wondering if the unconditioned stimulus is also the squeaky drawer?

Answer 1

An unconditioned stimulus (US) is one which innately brings a response. It is reflexive, such as salivating while eating food.

In contrast, a conditioned stimulus (CS) must be learned by association with other stimuli, typically USs.

With this information, I think you can answer your own question.

I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.