Question

Patients may generalize the nausea caused by chemotherapy to the place where the therapy takes place. When this occurs, the unconditioned stimulus is ________.



a. the sound of the nurse's voice

b. nausea

c. chemotherapy

d. the place where therapy takes place

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Answer 1

The unconditioned stimulus here is C, the chemotherapy.

A "stimulus" is anything that causes a response.

And an "unconditioned stimulus" is a stimulus that is unconditioned. That means that the stimulus was ALWAYS meant to create a response.

In this case, the chemotherapy was ALWAYS meant to create nausea. Nothing was done to make it create nausea. The chemotherapy creates nausea all by itself.

That is why it's "unconditioned."

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Now, we know what the answer to the question is. Let me just point out one more thing, to make the explanation clear.

Chemotherapy is the unconditioned stimulus. Yes.

Let's read the problem again. I want to look at this one sentence:

"Patients may generalize the nausea caused by chemotherapy to the place where the therapy takes place."

What this means is that when a patient gets chemotherapy, at the hospital, the feel nausea.
But then, after that, they start feeling nausea EVERYTIME they come to the hospital. Just by being at the hospital, they feel nausea! Even without the chemotherapy.

The CONDITIONED stimulus is the place where the chemotherapy takes place.
Aka. the hospital.

Do you see how the hospital was NEVER MEANT to create nausea?
It's just a hospital, after all! A building!
But something changed, and now, it does.

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I hope this information helps.

If you have anymore questions about all this psychology stuff, please ask!