Which psychological principle was central to the Saavedra study?

The central principle of the Saavedra study is classical conditioning, which is a learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus. In the context of the Saavedra study, the research focused on how a phobia can develop through such associations. This study specifically examined a child's fear of buttons, exploring how the fear developed and how it could be modified.

Classical conditioning explains how an initially neutral stimulus (the buttons) can become a conditioned response (fear) when paired with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits a natural response (such as anxiety). This principle was crucial in analyzing the child's emotional responses and establishing therapeutic techniques used in the study to manage and reduce the fear through systematic desensitization.

The other choices, while related to psychological theories, do not align with the primary focus of the Saavedra study. Operant conditioning emphasizes reinforcement and punishment to shape behavior, cognitive restructuring deals with changing unhelpful thought patterns, and social learning theory focuses on learning through observation and imitation of others. None of these were the central psychological principle examined in the context of the Saavedra study.