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Pavlov’s Theory
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Pavlov’s dog experiments played a critical role in the discovery of one of the most important concepts in psychology:Classical conditioning, sometimes called Pavlovian conditioning.
Pavlov’s Dogs: A Background
How did experiments on the digestive response in dogs lead to one of the most important discoveries in psychology?Ivan Pavlovwas a noted Russian physiologist who won the 1904 Nobel Prize for his work studying digestive processes.
While studying digestion in dogs, Pavlov noted an interesting occurrence: His canine subjects would begin to salivate whenever an assistant entered the room.
In his digestive research, Pavlov and his assistants would introduce a variety of edible and non-edible items and measure the saliva production that the items produced.
Salivation, he noted, is a reflexive process. It occurs automatically in response to a specific stimulus and is not under conscious control.
However, Pavlov noted that the dogs would often begin salivating in the absence of food and smell. He quickly realized that this salivary response was not due to an automatic, physiological process.
Pavlov’s Theory of Classical Conditioning
Based on his observations, Pavlov suggested that the salivation was a learned response. Pavlov’s dog subjects were responding to the sight of the research assistants' white lab coats, which the animals had come to associate with the presentation of food.
Unlike the salivary response to the presentation of food, which is an unconditioned reflex, salivating to the expectation of food is a conditioned reflex.
Pavlov then focused on investigating exactly how these conditioned responses are learned or acquired. In a series of experiments, he set out to provoke a conditioned response to a previously neutral stimulus.
He opted to use food as theunconditioned stimulus, or the stimulus that evokes a response naturally and automatically. The sound of a metronome was chosen to be the neutral stimulus.
The dogs would first be exposed to the sound of the ticking metronome, and then the food was immediately presented.
After several conditioning trials, Pavlov noted that the dogs began to salivate after hearing the metronome. “A stimulus which was neutral in and of itself had been superimposed upon the action of the inborn alimentary reflex,” Pavlov wrote of the results in 1927.
Ivan PavlovWe observed that, after several repetitions of the combined stimulation, the sounds of the metronome had acquired the property of stimulating salivary secretion.
Ivan Pavlov
We observed that, after several repetitions of the combined stimulation, the sounds of the metronome had acquired the property of stimulating salivary secretion.
In other words, the previously neutral stimulus (the metronome) had become what is known as aconditioned stimulusthat then provoked aconditioned response(salivation).
Key Elements of Classical Conditioning
To review, the following are some key components used in Pavlov’s theory:
Impact of Pavlov’s Research
Pavlov’s discovery of classical conditioning remains one of the most important in psychology’s history.
In addition to forming the basis of what would becomebehavioral psychology, the classical conditioning process remains important today for numerous applications, includingbehavioral modificationand mental health treatment.
Treatments for Mental Health Conditions
Principles of classical conditioning are used to treat the following mental health disorders:
For instance, a specific type of treatment calledexposure therapyuses conditioned responses to help people with anxiety or a specific phobia. A therapist will help a person face the object of their fear gradually—while helping them manage any fear responses that arise. Gradually, the person will form a neutral response to the object.
Pavlovian Conditioning and Taste Aversions
Pavlov’s work has also inspired research on how to apply classical conditioning principles totaste aversions. The principles have been used to prevent coyotes from preying on domestic livestock and to use neutral stimulus (eating some type of food) paired with anunconditioned response(negative results after eating the food) to create an aversion to a particular food.
Unlike other forms of classical conditioning, this type of conditioning does not require multiple pairings in order for an association to form. In fact, taste aversions generally occur after just a single pairing. Ranchers have found ways to put this form of classical conditioning to good use to protect their herds.
In one example, mutton was injected with a drug that produces severe nausea. After eating the poisoned meat, coyotes then avoided sheep herds rather than attack them.
This type of conditioning has also been utilized to help treat addictions.Antabuse (disulfiram)is a type of medication that causes nausea and vomiting if a person drinks alcohol after taking it. The goal is to help induce a condition aversion to alcohol.
Takeaways
While Pavlov’s discovery of classical conditioning formed an essential part of psychology’s history, his work continues to inspire further research today. His contributions to psychology have helped make the discipline what it is today and will likely continue to shape our understanding of human behavior for years to come.
Operant vs. Classical Conditioning
8 Sources
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Eelen P.Classical conditioning: Classical yet modern.Psychol Belg. 2018;58(1):196-211. doi:10.5334/pb.451Adams M.The kingdom of dogs: Understanding Pavlov’s experiments as human–animal relationships.Theory & Psychology. 2019;30(1):121-141. doi:10.1177/0959354319895597Honey RC, Dwyer DM.Higher-order conditioning: What is learnt and how it is expressed.Front Behav Neurosci. 2021;15:726218. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2021.726218Akpan B.Classical and operant conditioning—Ivan Pavlov; Burrhus Skinner. In: Akpan B, Kennedy TJ, eds.Science Education in Theory and Practice. Springer International Publishing; 2020:71-84. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-43620-9_6Fanselow MS, Wassum KM.The origins and organization of vertebrate Pavlovian conditioning.Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol.2015;8(1):a021717. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a021717Nees F, Heinrich A, Flor H.A mechanism-oriented approach to psychopathology: The role of Pavlovian conditioning.Int J Psychophysiol.2015;98(2):351-364. doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.05.005American Psychological Association.What is exposure therapy?Lin JY, Arthurs J, Reilly S.Conditioned taste aversions: From poisons to pain to drugs of abuse.Psychon Bull Rev. 2017;24(2):335-351. doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1092-8
Eelen P.Classical conditioning: Classical yet modern.Psychol Belg. 2018;58(1):196-211. doi:10.5334/pb.451
Adams M.The kingdom of dogs: Understanding Pavlov’s experiments as human–animal relationships.Theory & Psychology. 2019;30(1):121-141. doi:10.1177/0959354319895597
Honey RC, Dwyer DM.Higher-order conditioning: What is learnt and how it is expressed.Front Behav Neurosci. 2021;15:726218. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2021.726218
Akpan B.Classical and operant conditioning—Ivan Pavlov; Burrhus Skinner. In: Akpan B, Kennedy TJ, eds.Science Education in Theory and Practice. Springer International Publishing; 2020:71-84. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-43620-9_6
Fanselow MS, Wassum KM.The origins and organization of vertebrate Pavlovian conditioning.Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol.2015;8(1):a021717. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a021717
Nees F, Heinrich A, Flor H.A mechanism-oriented approach to psychopathology: The role of Pavlovian conditioning.Int J Psychophysiol.2015;98(2):351-364. doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.05.005
American Psychological Association.What is exposure therapy?
Lin JY, Arthurs J, Reilly S.Conditioned taste aversions: From poisons to pain to drugs of abuse.Psychon Bull Rev. 2017;24(2):335-351. doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1092-8
Gustafson, C.R., Kelly, D.J, Sweeney, M., & Garcia, J.Prey-lithium aversions: I. Coyotes and wolves.Behavioral Biology. 1976; 17:61-72.
Hock, R.R.Forty Studies That Changed Psychology: Explorations Into the History of Psychological Research. (4th ed.).New Jersey: Pearson Education; 2002.
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