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In this scenario, the process that accounts for Nancy becoming fearful every time she smells rubbing alcohol is classical conditioning.
Here's how classical conditioning works in this situation:
1. Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) and Unconditioned Response (UCR): The rubbing alcohol is initially a neutral stimulus that does not evoke a fear response. However, the painful rabies vaccination shots act as an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that naturally triggers fear (unconditioned response, UCR) in Nancy.
2. Conditioning Process: Through repeated pairings of the neutral stimulus (rubbing alcohol) with the UCS (painful shots), the rubbing alcohol becomes associated with fear. The brain starts to link the smell of rubbing alcohol with the pain of the shots.
3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS) and Conditioned Response (CR): Eventually, the rubbing alcohol (now a conditioned stimulus, CS) alone can trigger fear in Nancy without the presence of the painful shots. This learned response is known as the conditioned response (CR).
In this case, Nancy's fear response to the smell of rubbing alcohol is a result of classical conditioning, where an initially neutral stimulus becomes associated with a fear-inducing stimulus, leading to a conditioned fear response.
