What is the conditioned response in Pavlov's experiment?

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Get ready for the UCF PSY2012 General Psychology Exam. Practice with hints and explanations to improve your understanding. Master your exam preparation today!

In Pavlov's experiment, the conditioned response refers to the behavior that is learned through the association established between a stimulus and a response. In this classic conditioning scenario, the bell (a neutral stimulus) initially does not elicit salivation from the dog. However, when the bell is repeatedly paired with the presentation of food (which naturally causes the dog to salivate), the dog eventually learns to associate the sound of the bell with the arrival of food.

As a result, the dog's salivation in response to the bell becomes a conditioned response. This learning process demonstrates how an initially neutral stimulus can become a significant signal that triggers a response after conditioning. The key aspect of the conditioned response is that it occurs in reaction to a previously neutral stimulus that has acquired its meaning through association. Thus, the correct answer identifies the learned salivation that occurs when the dog hears the bell, demonstrating the process of conditioning.