Answer:
The conditioned stimulus is the sweetened water.
Explanation:
Classical conditioning is the process by which a behavior is acquired through various stimulus which provide responses.
Let's define which is which in this example:
- Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): the drug injected into the rat's body to weaken its immune system.
- Unconditioned response (UCR): the weakening of the immune system.
- Neutral stimulus (NS): the saccharin- sweetened water, which by itself generates no response.
- Once the UCS and NS are combined, they generate the UCR; the weakening of the rat's immune system.
- Finally, the conditioned stimulus (CS) becomes the sweetened water, which without the drug (UCS) generates the conditioned response of the weakening of the immune system.
