Ivan Pavlov, who first described classical conditioning, was:
AA Russian physiologist studying the digestive system
BAn American psychologist studying child development
CA German physician treating patients with phobias
DA British biologist studying migration in animals
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. A Russian physiologist studying the digestive system
1. The chapter introduces Pavlov as a Russian scientist and stresses that he was a physiologist, not a psychologist.
2. His research area was digestion, and he collected saliva from dogs to measure their responses to food.
3. He noticed the dogs salivating at the sight of an empty bowl and at the assistants' footsteps, calling these psychic secretions.
4. Classical conditioning was therefore discovered accidentally, during physiological research on the digestive system.
_Source: OpenStax Psychology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Learning", §6.2 Classical Conditioning_
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