Pavlov's dogs learned that it was the metronome and not other events in the laboratory that were associated with meat powder. According to a contingency view of classical conditioning, this is not only because the CS preceded the US but also because the __________.
A) experiments were well controlled and there were no other stimuli near the dog
B) dog was unable to make responses other than salivation because it was held in a harness
C) absence of the metronome predicted the absence of meat
D) all of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The contingency view of classical conditioning emphasizes that the conditioned stimulus (CS) must reliably predict the unconditioned stimulus (US) in order for learning to occur. In this case, the absence of the metronome (CS) led to the absence of meat (US), which further strengthened the association between the two stimuli. The other choices (A and B) do not directly relate to why the dogs learned the association between the metronome and meat powder.

Pavlov's Dogs Learned That It Was the Metronome and Not