What does 'classical conditioning' involve?

Classical conditioning involves learning through association between stimuli, a concept pioneered by Ivan Pavlov. In this process, a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus that naturally elicits a response. Over time, the neutral stimulus alone can trigger the same response, demonstrating that the individual has learned to associate the two stimuli. A classic example of this is Pavlov’s experiment with dogs, where the sound of a bell (neutral stimulus) was paired with food (unconditioned stimulus) until the dogs began to salivate (conditioned response) merely in response to the bell.

The focus of classical conditioning is on the relationship between two stimuli and the response elicited by their association, rather than the influence of reinforcement, observation, or trial-and-error learning, which are central to other learning theories like operant conditioning, social learning theory, and the problem-solving approach, respectively.