Final answer:
Advertisers leverage classical conditioning to pair their products with positively-viewed athletes to transfer their positive attributes to the products. Pavlov's experiments with dogs laid the foundation for understanding these associations, demonstrating how neutral stimuli can become conditioned to elicit certain responses.
Step-by-step explanation:
Advertisers use the principles of classical conditioning to create positive associations between their products and desirable stimuli. In the case of athletes endorsing fast food, although the athletes themselves might be nutrition-conscious, their image of health, success, and discipline can be transferred to the product through classical conditioning. This is because athletes are viewed positively by the public, and by pairing them with fast food, the positive emotions and values associated with the athletes are hoped to be conditioned as a response when consumers think of the fast food brand, despite the mismatch in health values.
Classical conditioning was originally demonstrated by Pavlov's experiments with dogs, where a neutral stimulus (a bell) became associated with an unconditioned stimulus (food), leading to a conditioned response (salivation) to the bell alone. Similarly, by associating athletes with fast food, the aim is for the sight of the athlete (conditioned stimulus) to invoke feelings of vitality and strength (conditioned response) even though the product itself (fast food) typically contradicts this image.
Advertisers quickly cutting ties with athletes after a scandal demonstrates the reversal of this process, where the negative associations can impact perceptions of the product. Thus, it's crucial for the stimuli associated with the product to maintain positive connotations to reinforce the desired conditioned response from consumers.