AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Pavlov showed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell if that sound was repeatedly presented at the same time that they were given food. Q. Ivan Pavlov used to ring a bell every time he fed a dog. On smelling the food, the dog produced saliva.

Detailed explanation-2: -The bell had become the conditioned stimulus and salivation had become the conditioned response. The dogs had learnt to associate the bell with the food and the sound of the bell and salivation was triggered by the sound of the bell. Pavlov showed that classical conditioning leads to learning by association.

Detailed explanation-3: -During conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus (food) is presented repeatedly just after the presentation of the neutral stimulus (bell). After conditioning, the neutral stimulus alone produces a conditioned response (salivation), thus becoming a conditioned stimulus.

Detailed explanation-4: -Stimulus generalization is the tendency for a conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned.8 For example, if a dog has been conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell, the animal may also exhibit the same response to a sound that’s similar to the bell.

Detailed explanation-5: -On smelling the food, the dog produced saliva. Later on, the dog produced saliva when the bell was rung even without noticing the food.