What was the key finding of Pavlov's experiment with dogs?

The key finding of Pavlov's experiment with dogs was that animals can learn to associate an unrelated stimulus with food. This was demonstrated through his classic conditioning experiments where he paired the sound of a bell with the presentation of food. Over time, the dogs began to salivate in response to the sound of the bell alone, even when no food was presented. This highlighted the concept of classical conditioning, where a neutral stimulus (the bell) became associated with an unconditioned stimulus (food), leading to a conditioned response (salivation). This finding had profound implications for understanding learning processes in both animals and humans, illustrating that behaviors can be learned through associations.