Final answer:
The Law of Contiguity is a principle in psychology that states that when two stimuli are repeatedly experienced together in close proximity, they become associated in the mind. This association results in the conditioned response being elicited by the conditioned stimulus alone, without the presence of the unconditioned stimulus. It is one of the fundamental principles underlying classical conditioning.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Law of Contiguity is a principle in psychology, specifically in the field of classical conditioning. It states that when two stimuli are repeatedly experienced together in close proximity, they become associated in the mind. This association results in the conditioned response being elicited by the conditioned stimulus alone, without the presence of the unconditioned stimulus.
For example, if a bell is repeatedly rung just before a dog is given food, the dog will eventually begin to salivate at the sound of the bell alone, even without the presence of food. The bell has become a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response.
The Law of Contiguity is one of the fundamental principles underlying classical conditioning, which is a type of learning in which an organism forms associations between stimuli and responses. It was first described by the psychologist Ivan Pavlov in his famous experiments with dogs.