... was in the dogs nature to salivate when bought food, this is an unconditioned response (salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (food); no learning had been required. The sound of the bell was a neutral stimulus; there was no natural connection between a ringing bell and food. But by pairing the two together, repeatedly they eventually became associated. The neutral stimulus is transformed into the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned response becomes the conditioned response. In classical conditioning no new behaviours are learnt, instead an association is developed between an unconditioned and neutral stimulus. This learning theory was the taken further by Edward Thorndike and later by BF Skinner. They suggested that learning is the result of the application of consequences; that is, learners begin to connect certain responses with certain stimuli. This connection results in the likelihood of the response to change; learning occurs. Thorndike and Skinner demonstrated this by experiments ...

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