What is referred to as the conditioned stimulus in Pavlov's experiment?

In Pavlov's experiment, the conditioned stimulus is the bell, which is associated with the presentation of the meat powder. Initially, the bell does not elicit any response from the dog. However, when it is repeatedly paired with the meat powder, which naturally triggers salivation in the dog, the bell begins to evoke a salivation response as well. This transformation from a neutral stimulus (the bell) to a conditioned stimulus occurs through the process of classical conditioning, where the dog learns to associate the sound of the bell with food. Thus, after the conditioning process, the bell alone is enough to elicit salivation, demonstrating the concept of a conditioned stimulus in this classical conditioning framework.