One of the primary concepts in behaviorism is classical conditioning. This is a type of learning where something neutral, such as a sound or a light, becomes associated with something that naturally elicits a reaction, like food making a dog salivate. Over time, the neutral thing alone can trigger that reaction. Classical conditioning is all about learning through association, which helps explain how we acquire new behaviors from our surroundings.
A classic example of classical conditioning comes from the famous experiments by Ivan Pavlov. He noticed that dogs would naturally start to drool when they saw food. To test his idea, Pavlov rang a bell just before giving the dogs food. At first, the bell didn’t mean anything to the dogs. However, after hearing the bell and receiving food several times in a row, the dogs began to drool as soon as they listened to the bell, even if there was no food in sight. In this case, the dogs had learned to associate the sound of the bell with receiving food, so just the sound of the bell itself was enough to elicit a reaction.
There are a few key ideas that help explain how classical conditioning works:

At first, the neutral thing (like the bell in Pavlov’s experiment) doesn’t cause any special reaction.
The thing that naturally causes a reaction (like food making a dog drool) does so automatically, without any learning needed.
When neutral and natural things occur together repeatedly, the neutral thing begins to elicit a reaction on its own.
Now, the once-neutral thing (like the bell) makes the reaction happen on its own. For example, the dog starts to drool just because it hears the bell.
However, if the bell continues to ring and no food appears, the dog will eventually stop drooling at the sound of the bell. This is called extinction, which is when the learned reaction slowly fades away.

Classical conditioning is not limited to simple cases with animals but is evident in many aspects of human behavior and learning. For instance, a child who hears a particular song in a happy setting may later feel joy when hearing the song again, or someone may develop a fear response to a previously neutral situation paired with something traumatic. It also has practical applications in education, therapy, and behavior modification programs, as it systematically associates stimuli and responses to encourage or diminish specific behaviors.
This concept highlights behaviorism’s focus on observable behavior shaped by external stimuli rather than internal thoughts or feelings. Understanding classical conditioning helps explain how habits form, why specific fears develop, and how behavior can be changed through environmental control.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning
https://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html
https://www.verywellmind.com/classical-conditioning-2794859