Every time Maricella goes to work in the morning, she notices that her dog sulks in the corner of the room and looks very sad. Over several weeks, she notices that the dog gets unhappy when she picks up her car keys, immediately before leaving the house. Which phenomenon of learning best describes the dog's behavior?
a. classical conditioningb. innate learningc. punishment by removald. instinctive drift

Classical conditioning is a phenomenon of learning developed by the Russian Psychologist known as Ivan Pavlov. Classical conditioning is a behaviorist theory of learning which describes learning as a process that involves forming of association. In order words, learning is through association.

Maricella’s dog would naturally feel sad by mere seeing Maricella leaving for work in the morning, this response is natural and termed unconditioned response, while her leaving for work is the unconditioned stimulus.

Since Maricella usually picks her when she leaves for work, the dog learns to become sad as it associates her picking of the keys to her leaving for work. Overtime, the picking of the key elicits a sad appearance in the dog even though she isn’t leaving for work. The car keys can be said to be the conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response in the dog making it sad.

This experience of the dog can be referred to as classical conditioning, in which the conditioned stimulus became associated with the unconditioned stimulus, thereby producing the conditioned response of the dog.