Questions: At a Fourth of July party, someone lit off a cluster of firecrackers. Everyone around was startled and turned to see who set them off. Being startled at the sound of the firecrackers would be the neutral response. neutral stimulus. unconditioned response. unconditioned stimulus.

The answer is the third one: unconditioned response.

Explanation for each option:

1. Neutral response: This is not the correct answer because a neutral response would imply a reaction that is neither conditioned nor naturally occurring, which does not apply to being startled by a loud noise.

2. Neutral stimulus: This is incorrect because a neutral stimulus is something that initially does not elicit any particular response until it is associated with an unconditioned stimulus. The sound of firecrackers is not neutral; it naturally causes a reaction.

3. Unconditioned response: This is the correct answer. An unconditioned response is a natural, automatic reaction to a stimulus. Being startled by a loud noise, such as firecrackers, is an instinctive reaction that does not require prior learning or conditioning.

4. Unconditioned stimulus: This is incorrect because an unconditioned stimulus is something that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any prior learning. In this scenario, the firecrackers themselves would be considered the unconditioned stimulus, not the response to them.

In summary, being startled at the sound of the firecrackers is an unconditioned response because it is an automatic and natural reaction to the loud noise.