Unconditioned stimulus (US): The smell of food Unconditioned response (UR): Salivating

Neutral stimulus (NS): The sound of a bell

When I was a child, my parents would often ring a bell to signal that it was time for dinner. This pairing of the sound of the bell with the smell of food happened repeatedly over time, and eventually I learned to associate the two stimuli. As a result, I would start to salivate whenever I heard the bell, even if there was no food present.

The event that contributed to the formation of the conditioned stimulus was the repeated pairing of the sound of the bell with the smell of food. This pairing created an association between the two stimuli in my mind, so that eventually the sound of the bell alone was enough to elicit the conditioned response of salivation.

This respondent behavior impacts me in my environment in a few ways. First, it can be inconvenient when I’m not hungry and I hear the bell, because I start to salivate even though I don’t want to eat. Second, it can be embarrassing if I’m in a public place and I start to salivate when I hear the bell, because people might think I’m hungry or sick.

If I wanted to extinguish the stimulus-stimulus pairing that elicits my conditioned response, I could try to desensitize myself to the sound of the bell. This would involve gradually exposing myself to the sound of the bell in a controlled environment, starting with a very low volume and gradually increasing the volume over time. Eventually, I would hopefully become desensitized to the sound of the bell and it would no longer elicit the conditioned response of salivation.

Alternatively, if I wanted to elicit the same response under the control of other stimuli, I could try to recondition myself. This would involve pairing the sound of the bell with a new stimulus that I want to associate with food, such as the sight of a plate of delicious food. After a few repetitions of this pairing, I should start to salivate when I see the plate of food, even if I don’t hear the bell.