PsychologyGeneralQuality 90 · Exceptional
Classical Conditioning: Pavlov's Dogs
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Zara Cho Verified Teacher
@author · 2026-06-28 · v1
7 min read
Pavlov rang a bell before feeding dogs. After repetition, the dogs salivated to the bell alone. This showed that a neutral stimulus (bell) paired with a natural trigger (food) can itself trigger the response — the basis of learned associations in behavior.
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Lucas Silva Teacher
24 days agoThe line "Pavlov rang a bell before feeding dogs" is the part that finally made it click for me. I'd been fuzzy on conditioning before — seeing it spelled out this way connects it to associations in a way my notes never did.
Diego Fernandez
24 days agoYeah, the conditioning point is exactly right. I'd add that associations matters here too — if you drop it, the repetition case breaks down even though it *looks* optional. Learned that the hard way on a problem set last week.
Emma Johansson
24 days agoQuick question on conditioning: does that also explain what happens with associations? My textbook mentions both but never ties them together, and this explanation of repetition makes me think they're the same mechanism from two angles.
Hannah Kim
24 days agoAdding to this: "Pavlov rang a bell before feeding dogs" also generalizes to associations. I tried it on repetition and the same logic holds, which makes me think conditioning is the deeper principle behind all of them.
Ravi Patel
24 days agoWhat stood out is "After repetition, the dogs salivated to the bell alone" — most resources skip the *why* and just give the formula. Adding associations to the picture is what makes conditioning feel like a real tool instead of trivia. Saved this one.