Which term describes a stimulus that does not elicit an automatic response?

• A. Systematic desensitization
• B. Aversive conditioning
• C. Neutral stimulus (NS)
• D. Conditioned response (CR)

Answer: (C)

In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is something that initially does not trigger any automatic, reflexive response. It’s called neutral because, by itself, it elicits no innate reaction. Through repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus that does produce an automatic response, that neutral stimulus can become a conditioned stimulus and eventually evoke a learned response. So the term for a stimulus that does not elicit an automatic response is neutral stimulus. The other terms refer to different ideas: systematic desensitization is a therapy technique to reduce fear, aversive conditioning pairs a stimulus with an unpleasant consequence to create aversion, and a conditioned response is the learned reaction that occurs after conditioning, not the initial neutral stimulus.