What trend did Pavlov notice that eventually became the focus of his research?

• A. Dogs had the cognitive skills to show preference for certain foods.
• B. Dogs displayed taste aversions that were individual to each dog and later supported by genetic markers.
• C. The dogs would salivate in anticipation of the food when certain environmental cues were present.
• D. The doges seemed to have a stronger appetite around certain caretakers.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Begin by understanding the context of Pavlov's research, which was primarily focused on classical conditioning.
2. Recognize that Pavlov's experiments involved measuring the salivation response in dogs when they were presented with food.
3. Identify the key observation that led to Pavlov's research focus: dogs began to salivate not only when food was presented but also when they were exposed to certain environmental cues associated with food, such as the sound of a bell.
4. Understand that this observation indicated a learned association between the environmental cue (e.g., the bell) and the food, which is a fundamental concept in classical conditioning.
5. Conclude that Pavlov's research demonstrated that dogs could be conditioned to respond to a previously neutral stimulus (the bell) by associating it with an unconditioned stimulus (the food), leading to the conditioned response (salivation).