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Which of the following psychologists studied how and when the presence of food would produce salivation in dogs?

A) B.F. Skinner
B) Ivan Pavlov
C) John B. Watson
D) Sigmund Freud

1 Answer

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Final answer:

Ivan Pavlov is the psychologist known for studying salivation in dogs, revealing the process of classical conditioning. He discovered that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell when it was consistently paired with the presentation of food.

Step-by-step explanation:

The psychologist who studied how and when the presence of food would produce salivation in dogs is Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov conducted experiments that led to the discovery of classical conditioning. In his famous experiment, he rang a bell every time food was presented to dogs. Eventually, the dogs began to associate the sound of the bell with the arrival of food and started salivating in response to the bell alone, anticipating food.

Pavlov's discovery was serendipitous while studying the digestive system of dogs. His findings revealed that dogs could learn to connect a previously neutral stimulus (the bell) with a significant one (food), leading to a conditioned response - salivation. This type of learning was later termed classical conditioning and has had a significant impact on the field of psychology, particularly in our understanding of how associative learning takes place.