Question

In regard to Pavlov's classical conditioning experiments, how would a psychologist with a cognitive perspective explain the dogs learning capacity?

Select one:
a. The dogs learned the association between the conditioned response and the unconditioned response.
b. The dogs mentally connected the bell with the meat powder.
c. The dogs mentally connected the assistant with the meat powder.
d. The dogs learned the association between two stimuli without a contingency factor.

Answer 1

A cognitive psychologist would explain Pavlov's experiments by indicating that the dogs mentally connected the bell with the meat powder, reflecting the cognitive processes underlying learning in classical conditioning.

Step-by-step explanation:

In regard to Pavlov's classical conditioning experiments, a psychologist with a cognitive perspective would likely explain the dogs' learning capacity as the dogs mentally connecting the bell with the meat powder. This explanation aligns with option b. The cognitive perspective emphasizes the role of internal mental processes. From this viewpoint, during Pavlov's experiments, the dogs didn't just reflexively respond to stimuli; instead, they developed a mental representation of the relationship between the sound of the bell (conditioned stimulus) and the presentation of meat powder (unconditioned stimulus).

Through repeated pairings, the dogs learned that the bell predicted the arrival of food, which is the process of classical conditioning. Cognitive psychologists would argue that this learning involves more than just automatic, reflexive processes; it involves complex mental activity, whereby the dogs anticipate the food based on the memory of past experiences with the bell ringing and food being presented.