Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is a form of associative learning in which organisms adjust their responses according to observed temporal relations between environmental stimuli or stimuli that are produced and perceived within the organism. It is also known as Pavlovian conditioning, as Ivan Pavlov is often credited with its discovery. Pavlov was a Russian physiologist who studied the digestive system. In the 1920s, he described that his laboratory dogs started salivating not only at the presentation of food (which is to be expected, as saliva helps break down food) but also at stimuli that appeared in temporal proximity to the presentation of food (e.g., a metronome that was switched on shortly before feeding). Because of Pavlov’s famous experiments, the best known form of classical conditioning comprises the ...