Read the scenario below and answer the question that follows. Molly and Mark are new parents. Their daughter Alvina often cries when she is uncomfortable. Each time Alvina cries, her parents give her a stuffed rabbit. Eventually, Alvina looks at the rabbit and cries because she associates the rabbit with being uncomfortable. What is the conditioned stimulus (CS) in this scenario?

In classical conditioning, a conditioned stimulus is something that was initially neutral but becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus and later triggers a response. The stuffed rabbit is repeatedly present when Alvina is uncomfortable, so she learns to associate it with discomfort and cries when she sees it. Therefore, the conditioned stimulus is the rabbit.

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