And that's the difference between classical conditioning (the dogs being trained to sensory input by Pavlov) and operant conditioning (Pavlov training himself through his own behavior).
While it’s certainly possible that Pavlov ended up ‘doing’ operant conditioning on himself, I think something different is going on here. I think Pavlov is a victim of humanity’s language capabilities: we do not only link concepts on one direction (dogs -> bell) but do so bidirectionally (dogs <-> bell). There is a whole line of research that goes into how associations (which are the ones in classical and operant conditioning) are not the same as relations (which are the ones that we humans are proficient at, blessed with, and cursed with).
I'm not certain on the accuracy of everything it's saying, but other sources at least seem to agree he was originally studying digestion, and cut holes in the dogs' throats so the food would fall out when they ate.
Alright it’s been about ten years. Can we please go back to just saying shit, without all the extra shit?
Like in this case could the meme just be:
Pavlov probably thought about feeding his dogs anytime someone rang a bell.
Why’s everything gotta be a story about one time somebody said X and it changed me into a newt or whatever horseshit people need to encapsulate their idea with?