Chapter 3: Pavlovian Conditioning
Who is Ivan pavlov?
➢“Experimenter from head to foot” (Wells, 1956)
➢Russian physiologist studying the digestive system
➢Focusing on what substance helped to break food down into chemicals that can be then absorbed
into the blood
➢Developed method to precisely measure saliva production in dogs
What is serendipity in science?
➢Began observing dogs would salivate before receiving food
○ “It is as if the glands possessed a kind of intelligence”(Cuny, 1962)
○ Psychic secretions/reflexes” caused by thoughts, memories, wishes of the animal
What is pavlovian conditioning?
➢Also known as Pavlovian, classical, respondent conditioning, S-S learning
➢Based on physiological responses to environmental stimulation
➢Relationship between antecedent stimuli
What is respondent behavior?
➢Reflex: a relationship between a specific event and a simple response to that event
➢Involves autonomic nervous system:
○ Pupil contraction/dilation
○ Startle response
○ Heart rate
○ Respiration
○ Dry mouth
○ Muscle tension
➢Two types:
○ Unconditional reflexes (UR)-
■ hereditary, occur in all members of a species, usually permanent
○ Conditional reflexes (CR)
■ Acquired and not present at birth. It Depends on experience.
What is the classical conditioning paradigm?
➢Before conditioning:
○Unconditioned stimulus (US) →Unconditioned response(UR)
■ Meat powder – > Salivation
➢During conditioning:
○Neutral stimulus (NS) + (US) → UR
○Metronome + Meat powder → Salivation
➢Following conditioning:
○Conditioned stimulus (CS) → Conditioned response (CR)
