Who is recognized as the inventor of Classical Conditioning?

Pavlov is recognized as the inventor of Classical Conditioning due to his pioneering experiments with dogs. In his work, he discovered that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell when it was consistently paired with the presentation of food. This process demonstrated how a neutral stimulus (the bell) could be associated with an unconditioned stimulus (the food) to produce a conditioned response (salivation). Pavlov's research laid the foundational principles of behaviorism and influenced a wide variety of therapeutic practices and educational methods.

B.F. Skinner, while a significant figure in psychology, is primarily known for his work on operant conditioning, which focuses on how behaviors can be shaped by reinforcement or punishment. John Watson is known for his contributions to behaviorism and for conducting studies on emotional responses, but he did not formulate the principles of Classical Conditioning. Albert Bandura is renowned for his Social Learning Theory, emphasizing learning through observation and imitation, rather than through conditioning processes. Each of these figures played crucial roles in the development of psychological theories, but Pavlov’s work specifically pinpointed the mechanisms of Classical Conditioning.