Crash Course Psychology Episode Worksheet | 11 - How to Train a Brain

Explain Ivan Pavlov's classical-conditioning experiments and their contribution to behaviorist psychology

Define associative learning and identify its components: unconditioned stimulus, neutral stimulus, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response

Describe classical conditioning as a form of adaptive learning that helps an animal survive

Play the linked video and have students complete the worksheet as they watch, since the questions follow the episode in chronological order

Use the final four questions (stimulus/response identification) as a quick formative check, since they isolate the experiment's core terms

Pair with a follow-up discussion connecting Pavlov's dogs to a familiar real-world example of a conditioned response

Video-based note-taking — students extract specific facts and definitions from a psychology video in response to sequential questions.

Scientific process comprehension — students trace why Pavlov studied dog digestion and how his incidental observation of salivation led to his conditioning experiments.

Conceptual application — students apply the terms unconditioned stimulus, neutral stimulus, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response to the specific details of Pavlov's experiment.