Classical conditioning

High school (ages 12+)
Thinking & Learning

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/classical-conditioning

1. Who discovered Classical conditioning?
2. What is the historical significance?
3. How did Pavlov discover classical conditioning?
4. What is the difference between an unconditioned stimulus and a conditioned stimulus?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Classical conditioning?Observed during Ivan Pavlov's research on canine digestion, initially published in 1897
2. What is the historical significance?Formed a foundational principle of behaviorism, a major school of psychological thought
3. How did Pavlov discover classical conditioning?Pavlov noticed that dogs started to salivate when they heard a bell before getting food, showing that the bell became a cue for the food.
4. What is the difference between an unconditioned stimulus and a conditioned stimulus?An unconditioned stimulus is something that naturally causes a reaction, like food making a dog salivate, while a conditioned stimulus is a previously neutral thing, like a bell, that becomes linked to that reaction after many pairings.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): A stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response without prior learning.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A previously neutral stimulus that, after repeated association with an unconditioned stimulus, triggers a conditioned response.