Classical Conditioning - MCAT Psychological and Social Foundations

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Question

Diana takes the subway to and from school every day. Her family’s apartment, situated in a low-income neighborhood of New York City, is a thirty-minute walk from the subway station. During her trips to the subway, Diana loves to watch people work, play, and socialize. She feels very safe in her community because she trusts the people around her.

On a different occasion, Diana stumbles on a set of stairs and crashes towards the pavement. She reaches out to break her fall and feels a crackling sensation as her hand hits the ground. She finds a large scrape across her palm that does not completely heal for weeks. For months after this event, Diana feels anxious whenever she sees a set of stairs. In terms of classical conditioning, the sight of stairs would be described as which of the following?

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Answer

When Diana sees a set of stairs, they act as a stimulus to induce anxiety. Since she did not feel this way before the accident, the sight of stairs would be a “conditioned stimulus.” Anxiety is the “conditioned response.” The initial stumble and injury would be the “unconditioned stimulus” and “response,” respectively.

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