Which process involves an organism learning to link a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus?

The process of linking a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus is known as classical conditioning. In this type of learning, a previously neutral stimulus eventually elicits a response after being paired repeatedly with an unconditioned stimulus, which naturally triggers that response. A classic example of this is Pavlov’s experiments with dogs, where the sound of a bell (neutral stimulus) was paired with the presentation of food (unconditioned stimulus). Over time, the dogs learned to associate the bell with food, leading them to salivate merely at the sound of the bell.

In contrast, operant conditioning focuses on the association between behaviors and their consequences, such as rewards or punishments, rather than the pairing of stimuli. Social conditioning generally refers to learning through observation within social contexts, while behavioral conditioning is a more general term that may encompass both classical and operant conditioning, but does not specifically define the linking process as accurately as classical conditioning does.