How Classical Conditioning Works in Dr. Garcia's Classroom

What happens in Dr. Garcia's classroom before a pop quiz?

What do students experience when Dr. Garcia closes the door?

Answer:

The answer is conditioned stimulus.

Dr. Garcia is known for his difficult pop quizzes in the classroom. Just before he springs a pop quiz on his students, he typically goes to the classroom door and closes it. This action causes his students to start feeling anxious and tense. As a result, students quickly learn to anticipate a pop quiz and feel anxious whenever Dr. Garcia shuts the classroom door. Closing the door has become a conditioned stimulus in this scenario.

In classical conditioning, a conditioned stimulus like closing the door becomes associated with an unrelated consequence, which is known as the unconditioned stimulus in this case, the pop quizzes. This association leads to a reaction called conditioned response, in this instance, the feeling of anxiety. It's essential to understand that any stimulus can become conditioned in this way.

For example, if Dr. Garcia were to slam his books on the desk instead of closing the door, it would still elicit the same reaction when paired with the unconditioned stimulus, which is the pop quizzes. This demonstrates how classical conditioning works in a classroom setting, where specific actions or events become linked with certain reactions or emotions.