Final answer:
Acquisition in classical conditioning is the initial learning phase where a previously neutral stimulus begins to elicit a conditioned response after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus. The statement that acquisition is the initial learning of the stimulus-response link is true.
Step-by-step explanation:
Acquisition in classical conditioning is indeed the initial learning phase where the stimulus-response link is established. This period, known as the acquisition period, is crucial as it involves the process by which an organism starts to associate a previously neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus, eventually leading the neutral stimulus to trigger the conditioned response on its own.
In the context of classical conditioning and learning, it is true that the acquisition phase is characterized by the initial learning of the stimulus-response relationship. For example, in Ivan Pavlov's well-known experiments with dogs, acquisition occurred as the dogs learned to associate the sound of a ringing bell (neutral stimulus) with food (unconditioned stimulus), leading to salivation (conditioned response).
Therefore, the assertion that acquisition in classical conditioning represents the initial learning of the stimulus-response link is true.