John, "Mr. Anxiety," finally musters up the courage to ask the beautiful and popular Carole to go to the movies. She finds the idea so ridiculous that she laughs out loud the instant he has gotten the question out. John's face turns the color of a steamed lobster. In classical conditioning terms, John's experience is an example of ________

a. trace conditioning
b. delayed conditioning
c. simultaneous conditioning
d. backward conditioning

A