Why are conditioned reflexes considered learned behaviors rather than true reflexes?

Conditioned reflexes are more accurately classified as complicated acts of learned behavior rather than true reflexes.1

While the term "reflex" traditionally describes an inborn, automatic, and stereotyped response mediated by a reflex arc—such as the pupillary light reflex or the withdrawal of a limb from a noxious stimulus—conditioned reflexes do not share these fundamental characteristics.12

True reflexes are inherited and function to maintain homeostasis without requiring conscious intervention. In contrast, conditioned reflexes are the result of learning and experience. As demonstrated by the experiments of Ivan Pavlov, these responses are developed when an organism associates a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus. Because this behavior is flexible, adaptable to new stimuli, and modified by exposure and reinforcement, it transcends the fixed, inherited nature of a true reflex.123