For years I was conditioned to pick up the phone as soon as it rang. I'm extremely curious as to how this happened. I doubt I was conditioned, but I never felt

For years I was conditioned to pick up the phone as soon as it rang. I'm extremely curious as to how this happened. I doubt I was conditioned, but I never felt the obligation to answer a ringing telephone. Perhaps this was a consequence of being a first-generation immigrant from a country without ubiquitous phones?