Final answer:
A conditioned response is learned through associative learning as demonstrated in classical conditioning, where an organism learns to respond to a previously neutral stimulus after it has been repeatedly paired with a stimulus that elicits a natural response.
Step-by-step explanation:
A conditioned response is one that is learned by association. This kind of response is a key concept in classical conditioning, a type of associative learning where a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit a response after it has been paired with a stimulus that naturally brings about that response. The classic example of this is Ivan Pavlov's experiments, where dogs learned to salivate in response to the sound of a bell after the bell had been repeatedly paired with the presentation of food. In contrast to innate behaviors such as instincts and reflexes, conditioned responses are acquired through experience and reflect the complex processes of learning and memory.