Plain English Meaning
A famous experiment showing that animals (and people) can be trained to react automatically to a signal if that signal is repeatedly linked to something meaningful. The dogs heard a bell, then got food, over and over — eventually the bell alone made them drool.
Full Definition
A reference to the classical conditioning experiments of Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, in which dogs learned to salivate at the sound of a bell after the bell had been repeatedly paired with the presentation of food. In learning theory, it is used as the foundational example of conditioning — the process by which a neutral stimulus comes to produce a response because it has been consistently associated with another stimulus that already produces that response.
Context Anchor
Seen in aviation instructor training when discussing how students learn, form habits, and respond to repeated cues during flight training.