What was Ivan Pavlov researching when he discovered the process of classical conditioning?

• A. The effects of punishment on behavior
• B. The development of language in children
• C. Human memory and recall
• D. The digestive processes in dogs

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the historical context of Ivan Pavlov's research, which was primarily focused on studying the physiological processes related to digestion in dogs.
2. Recognize that Pavlov was originally investigating how dogs produce saliva in response to food, aiming to understand the digestive system better.
3. Note that during his experiments, Pavlov observed that dogs began to salivate not only when food was presented but also when they saw the lab assistant or heard footsteps, indicating a learned response.
4. Identify this learned response as the foundation of classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.
5. Conclude that Pavlov's discovery of classical conditioning emerged from his research on the digestive processes in dogs, not from studies on punishment, language development, or human memory.