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unconditioned stimulus

British  

noun

  1. psychol any stimulus evoking an unlearnt response, esp in the context of classical conditioning, in which the conditioned stimulus is followed by the unconditioned one

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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In Pavlov’s experiments, the unconditioned response was the salivation of dogs in response to the unconditioned stimulus of seeing or smelling their food.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The response to the original, unconditioned stimulus is called the unconditioned response.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

After the conditioning period was finished, the dog would respond by salivating when the bell was rung, even when the unconditioned stimulus, the food, was absent.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Design an experiment to test the use of conditioning using the administration of cyclosporine as the unconditioned stimulus and sugar water as the conditioned stimulus by measuring the blood concentration of interleukin.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022