diagram of pavlov's dog experiment

Pavlov’s Dog: The Psychology Experiment That Changed Everything

Pavlov’s Dog is a well-known experiment in psychology that has been taught for decades. Ivan Pavlov , a Russian physiologist, discovered classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. He found that dogs could be trained to associate a sound with food, causing them to salivate at the sound alone.

The experiment began with Pavlov ringing a bell every time he fed his dogs. After a while, the dogs began to associate the sound of the bell with food and would salivate at the sound alone, even if no food was present. This became known as a conditioned response, where a previously neutral stimulus (the bell) became associated with a natural response (salivating).

The experiment has been used to explain many psychological phenomena, including addiction, phobias, and anxiety. It has also been applied in therapy, where patients can learn to associate positive experiences with previously negative stimuli. The Pavlov’s Dog experiment is a crucial part of psychology’s history and continues to be studied today.

Pavlov’s Life and Career

Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist who lived from 1849 to 1936. He is best known for his work in classical conditioning, a type of learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus is consistently paired with a stimulus that elicits a response. Pavlov was born in Ryazan, Russia, and studied at the University of St. Petersburg, where he received his doctorate in 1879.

Pavlov’s early research focused on the digestive system, and he discovered that the secretion of gastric juice was not a passive process but rather a response to stimuli. This led him to develop the concept of the conditioned reflex, which he explored in detail in his famous experiments with dogs.

In these experiments, Pavlov trained dogs to associate the sound of a bell with food presentation. Over time, the dogs began to salivate at the sound of the bell, even when no food was present. This demonstrated that a neutral stimulus (the bell) could become associated with a natural response (salivation) through repeated pairings with a stimulus that elicits that response (food).

Pavlov’s work had a profound impact on the field of psychology, and his ideas continue to influence research today. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1904 for his work on the physiology of digestion. Still, his legacy is best remembered for his contributions to the study of learning and behavior.

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is a type of learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with a stimulus that naturally elicits a response. Over time, the neutral stimulus becomes associated with the natural stimulus and begins to produce the same response. Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov first studied this type of learning in the late 1800s.

One of the most famous examples of classical conditioning is Pavlov’s experiment with dogs. In this experiment, Pavlov rang a bell every time he fed the dogs. Eventually, the dogs began to salivate at the sound of the bell, even when no food was present. The sound of the bell had become associated with the food, and the dogs had learned to associate the two stimuli.

Classical conditioning can be used to explain a variety of behaviors and responses. For example, a person who has been in a car accident may develop a fear of driving. The sound of screeching tires or the sight of a car may become associated with the traumatic experience, causing the person to feel anxious or fearful when driving.

Classical conditioning can also be used to treat certain types of phobias and anxiety disorders. By gradually exposing a person to the feared stimulus in a safe and controlled environment, the person can learn to associate the stimulus with safety and relaxation rather than fear and anxiety.

Classical conditioning is a powerful tool for understanding how we learn and respond to environmental stimuli. By understanding the principles of classical conditioning, we can better understand our behaviors and emotions, as well as those of others around us.

Pavlov’s Experiments

Pavlov’s experiments with dogs revolutionized the field of psychology and laid the foundation for the study of classical conditioning. In this section, we will explore two aspects of his experiments: salivating dogs and conditioned responses.

Salivating Dogs

Pavlov observed that dogs would salivate when presented with food. However, he also noticed that the dogs would start salivating before the food was presented. This led him to hypothesize that the dogs were responding not just to the food but to other associated stimuli, such as the sound of the food being prepared or the sight of the person who fed them.

To test his hypothesis, Pavlov began a series of experiments where he would ring a bell before presenting the dogs with food. After a few repetitions, the dogs began to salivate at the sound of the bell alone, even when no food was present. This demonstrated that the dogs had learned to associate the sound of the bell with the presence of food and were responding accordingly.

Conditioned Response

Pavlov’s experiments with dogs led to the discovery of the conditioned response, the learned response to a previously neutral stimulus. In the case of Pavlov’s dogs, the sound of the bell was originally a neutral stimulus. Still, it became associated with food and, therefore, elicited a response (salivation) from the dogs.

The conditioned response is an essential concept in psychology, as it helps to explain how we learn to respond to various stimuli in our environment. For example, if we have a positive experience with a particular food, we may develop a conditioned response to the sight or smell of that food, even if we are not hungry.

Pavlov’s experiments with dogs were groundbreaking in psychology and led to the discovery of classical conditioning and the conditioned response. By demonstrating that animals (and humans) can learn to respond to previously neutral stimuli, Pavlov paved the way for further research into the mechanisms of learning and behavior.

Significance in Psychology

Pavlov’s dog experiment has been a significant discovery in psychology. It has paved the way for developing various theories and has been instrumental in understanding human behavior. In this section, we will discuss the significance of Pavlov’s dog experiment in the context of behaviorism and learning theories.

Behaviorism

Pavlov’s dog experiment has been a cornerstone in the development of behaviorism. Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology that emphasizes the importance of observable behavior rather than internal mental states. Pavlov’s experiment demonstrated how a stimulus-response connection could be formed through conditioning. This concept has been used to explain various behaviors, such as phobias and addictions.

Learning Theories

Pavlov’s dog experiment has also been significant in developing learning theories . Learning theories are concerned with how people acquire new knowledge and skills. Pavlov’s experiment demonstrated how classical conditioning could teach animals new behaviors. This concept has been used to explain various learning phenomena, such as the acquisition of language and the development of social skills.

In conclusion, Pavlov’s dog experiment has been a significant discovery in psychology. It has been instrumental in the development of behaviorism and learning theories. By understanding the principles of classical conditioning, we can better understand human behavior and how we learn new skills and behaviors.

Implications in Modern Psychology

Pavlov’s dog experiments have had a significant impact on modern psychology. His theory of classical conditioning has become a cornerstone of behaviorism, a school of thought that dominated psychology in the early 20th century. Today, it continues to influence psychologists and researchers in various fields.

One of the most significant implications of Pavlov’s work is the understanding of how learning takes place. His experiments showed that animals, including humans, can learn through association. This concept has been applied in many areas of modern psychology, including education, advertising, and even politics.

For example, in education, classical conditioning can improve students’ learning by associating positive experiences with specific subjects or activities. In advertising, classical conditioning can create positive associations between a product and a particular emotion or experience, influencing consumers’ purchasing decisions.

Moreover, Pavlov’s work has also contributed to developing other learning theories, such as operant conditioning, which focuses on the consequences of behavior rather than the stimuli that precede it. These theories have been used to explain various human behaviors, from addiction to language acquisition.

Pavlov’s dog experiments have had a lasting impact on modern psychology. His theory of classical conditioning has contributed to our understanding of how learning takes place and has been applied in various fields, from education to advertising. His work has also influenced the development of other learning theories, making it a crucial part of studying human behavior.

Criticism and Controversies

While Pavlov’s experiments have been foundational in psychology, they have also been subject to criticism and controversy. Here are a few examples:

• Animal cruelty:  Some critics argue that Pavlov’s experiments on dogs were cruel and unethical. The dogs were often subjected to painful surgeries and kept in small cages for long periods. While these practices were common in the early 20th century, they would not be acceptable by today’s ethical standards.
• Oversimplification of behavior:  Pavlov’s experiments focused on classical conditioning, which suggests that behavior is determined solely by external stimuli. However, this oversimplifies the complex nature of human behavior, which is influenced by various factors, including genetics, environment, and personal experience.
• Limited generalizability:  Pavlov’s experiments were conducted on dogs, which may not accurately reflect human behavior. While some of the principles of classical conditioning may apply to humans, it is essential to recognize that there are also significant differences between species.
• Misinterpretation of results:  Pavlov’s work has been subject to misinterpretation over the years. For example, many people believe that Pavlov’s dogs learned to salivate at the sound of a bell because they associated it with food. However, this is only partially accurate. The dogs learned to associate the sound of the bell with the experimenter’s presence, who would then provide the food.

Frequently Asked Questions

What were the basic features of classical conditioning discovered by pavlov.

Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, resulting in a behavioral response. Pavlov discovered that when a neutral stimulus (such as a bell) was repeatedly paired with a meaningful stimulus (such as food), the neutral stimulus alone could elicit the same response (such as salivation) as the meaningful stimulus.

What was the purpose of Pavlov’s dog experiment?

Pavlov’s dog experiment was designed to study the process of classical conditioning. He wanted to understand how dogs learn to associate a neutral stimulus (such as a bell) with a meaningful stimulus (such as food) and how this association leads to a behavioral response (such as salivation).

How did Pavlov’s experiments contribute to the development of psychology?

Pavlov’s experiments were groundbreaking in the field of psychology. They provided evidence for the concept of classical conditioning, which has since been used to explain a wide range of human and animal behaviors. Pavlov’s work also paved the way for the development of behaviorism, a school of psychology that emphasizes the importance of observable behavior in understanding human and animal psychology.

What is the Pavlovian response and how does it work?

The Pavlovian response is a learned response to a previously neutral stimulus. It works by pairing the neutral stimulus with a meaningful stimulus, which leads to the formation of an association between the two. Once the association is formed, the neutral stimulus alone can elicit the same response as the meaningful stimulus.

How is Pavlovian conditioning used in dog training?

Pavlovian conditioning is often used in dog training to teach dogs new behaviors or to modify existing ones. For example, a trainer might use a clicker (a neutral stimulus) to signal to a dog that it has performed a desired behavior (a meaningful stimulus), and then reward the dog with a treat. Over time, the dog will learn to associate the clicker with the reward and will perform the desired behavior without the need for a treat.

What is the Pavlovian response in humans and how is it studied?

The Pavlovian response in humans is similar to that in dogs: it involves the formation of an association between a neutral stimulus and a meaningful stimulus, resulting in a learned response. This response has been studied in a variety of contexts, including addiction, phobias, and taste aversions. Researchers use a variety of methods to study the Pavlovian response in humans, including brain imaging techniques and behavioral experiments.

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Classical Conditioning: How It Works With Examples

Saul Mcleod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul Mcleod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is learning through association and was discovered by Pavlov , a Russian physiologist. In simple terms, two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a person or animal.

John Watson proposed that the process of classical conditioning (based on Pavlov’s observations) was able to explain all aspects of human psychology.

If you pair a neutral stimulus (NS) with an unconditioned stimulus (US) that already triggers an unconditioned response (UR) that neutral stimulus will become a conditioned stimulus (CS), triggering a conditioned response (CR) similar to the original unconditioned response.

Everything from speech to emotional responses was simply patterns of stimulus and response. Watson completely denied the existence of the mind or consciousness. Watson believed that all individual differences in behavior were due to different learning experiences.

Watson (1924, p. 104) famously said:

Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and the race of his ancestors.

How Classical Conditioning Works

There are three stages of classical conditioning. At each stage, the stimuli and responses are given special scientific terms:

Stage 1: Before Conditioning:

In this stage, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) produces an unconditioned response (UCR) in an organism.

In basic terms, this means that a stimulus in the environment has produced a behavior/response that is unlearned (i.e., unconditioned) and, therefore, is a natural response that has not been taught. In this respect, no new behavior has been learned yet.

For example, a stomach virus (UCS) would produce a response of nausea (UCR). In another example, a perfume (UCS) could create a response of happiness or desire (UCR).

This stage also involves another stimulus that has no effect on a person and is called the neutral stimulus (NS). The NS could be a person, object, place, etc.

The neutral stimulus in classical conditioning does not produce a response until it is paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

Stage 2: During Conditioning:

During this stage, a stimulus which produces no response (i.e., neutral) is associated with the unconditioned stimulus, at which point it now becomes known as the conditioned stimulus (CS).

For example, a stomach virus (UCS) might be associated with eating a certain food such as chocolate (CS). Also, perfume (UCS) might be associated with a specific person (CS).

For classical conditioning to be effective, the conditioned stimulus should occur before the unconditioned stimulus, rather than after it, or during the same time. Thus, the conditioned stimulus acts as a type of signal or cue for the unconditioned stimulus.

In some cases, conditioning may take place if the NS occurs after the UCS (backward conditioning), but this normally disappears quite quickly. The most important aspect of the conditioning stimulus is the it helps the organism predict the coming of the unconditional stimulus.

Often during this stage, the UCS must be associated with the CS on a number of occasions, or trials, for learning to take place.

However, one trial learning can happen on certain occasions when it is not necessary for an association to be strengthened over time (such as being sick after food poisoning or drinking too much alcohol).

Stage 3: After Conditioning:

The conditioned stimulus (CS) has been associated with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to create a new conditioned response (CR).

For example, a person (CS) who has been associated with nice perfume (UCS) is now found attractive (CR). Also, chocolate (CS) which was eaten before a person was sick with a virus (UCS) now produces a response of nausea (CR).

Classical Conditioning Examples

Pavlov’s dogs.

The most famous example of classical conditioning was Ivan Pavlov’s experiment with dogs , who salivated in response to a bell tone. Pavlov showed that when a bell was sounded each time the dog was fed, the dog learned to associate the sound with the presentation of the food.

He first presented the dogs with the sound of a bell; they did not salivate so this was a neutral stimulus. Then he presented them with food, they salivated. The food was an unconditioned stimulus, and salivation was an unconditioned (innate) response.

He then repeatedly presented the dogs with the sound of the bell first and then the food (pairing) after a few repetitions, the dogs salivated when they heard the sound of the bell. The bell had become the conditioned stimulus and salivation had become the conditioned response.

Fear Response

Watson & Rayner (1920) were the first psychologists to apply the principles of classical conditioning to human behavior by looking at how this learning process may explain the development of phobias.

They did this in what is now considered to be one of the most ethically dubious experiments ever conducted – the case of Little Albert . Albert B.’s mother was a wet nurse in a children’s hospital. Albert was described as ‘healthy from birth’ and ‘on the whole stolid and unemotional’.

When he was about nine months old, his reactions to various stimuli (including a white rat, burning newspapers, and a hammer striking a four-foot steel bar just behind his head) were tested.

Only the last of these frightened him, so this was designated the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and fear the unconditioned response (UCR). The other stimuli were neutral because they did not produce fear.

When Albert was just over eleven months old, the rat and the UCS were presented together: as Albert reached out to stroke the animal, Watson struck the bar behind his head.

This occurred seven times in total over the next seven weeks. By this time, the rat, the conditioned stimulus (CS), on its own frightened Albert, and fear was now a conditioned response (CR).

The CR transferred spontaneously to the rabbit, the dog, and other stimuli that had been previously neutral. Five days after conditioning, the CR produced by the rat persisted. After ten days, it was ‘much less marked’, but it was still evident a month later.

Carter and Tiffany (1999) support the cue reactivity theory, they carried out a meta-analysis reviewing 41 cue-reactivity studies that compared responses of alcoholics, cigarette smokers, cocaine addicts and heroin addicts to drug-related versus neutral stimuli.

They found that dependent individuals reacted strongly to the cues presented and reported craving and physiological arousal.

Panic Disorder

Classical conditioning is thought to play an important role in the development of Pavlov (Bouton et al., 2002).

Panic disorder often begins after an initial “conditioning episode” involving an early panic attack. The panic attack serves as an unconditioned stimulus (US) that gets paired with neutral stimuli (conditioned stimuli or CS), allowing those stimuli to later trigger anxiety and panic reactions (conditioned responses or CRs).

The panic attack US can become associated with interoceptive cues (like increased heart rate) as well as external situational cues that are present during the attack. This allows those cues to later elicit anxiety and possibly panic (CRs).

Through this conditioning process, anxiety becomes focused on the possibility of having another panic attack. This anticipatory anxiety (a CR) is seen as a key step in the development of panic disorder, as it leads to heightened vigilance and sensitivity to bodily cues that can trigger future attacks.

The presence of conditioned anxiety can serve to potentiate or exacerbate future panic attacks. Anxiety cues essentially lower the threshold for panic. This helps explain how panic disorder can spiral after the initial conditioning episode.

Evidence suggests most patients with panic disorder recall an initial panic attack or conditioning event that preceded the disorder. Prospective studies also show conditioned anxiety and panic reactions can develop after an initial panic episode.

Classical conditioning processes are believed to often occur outside of conscious awareness in panic disorder, reflecting the operation of emotional neural systems separate from declarative knowledge systems.

Cue reactivity is the theory that people associate situations (e.g., meeting with friends)/ places (e.g., pub) with the rewarding effects of nicotine, and these cues can trigger a feeling of craving (Carter & Tiffany, 1999).

These factors become smoking-related cues. Prolonged use of nicotine creates an association between these factors and smoking based on classical conditioning.

Nicotine is the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), and the pleasure caused by the sudden increase in dopamine levels is the unconditioned response (UCR). Following this increase, the brain tries to lower the dopamine back to a normal level.

The stimuli that have become associated with nicotine were neutral stimuli (NS) before “learning” took place but they became conditioned stimuli (CS), with repeated pairings. They can produce the conditioned response (CR).

However, if the brain has not received nicotine, the levels of dopamine drop, and the individual experiences withdrawal symptoms therefore is more likely to feel the need to smoke in the presence of the cues that have become associated with the use of nicotine.

Classroom Learning

The implications of classical conditioning in the classroom are less important than those of operant conditioning , but there is still a need for teachers to try to make sure that students associate positive emotional experiences with learning.

If a student associates negative emotional experiences with school, then this can obviously have bad results, such as creating a school phobia.

For example, if a student is bullied at school they may learn to associate the school with fear. It could also explain why some students show a particular dislike of certain subjects that continue throughout their academic career. This could happen if a student is humiliated or punished in class by a teacher.

Principles of Classical Conditioning

Neutral stimulus.

In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus (NS) is a stimulus that initially does not evoke a response until it is paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

For example, in Pavlov’s experiment, the bell was the neutral stimulus, and only produced a response when paired with food.

Unconditioned Stimulus

Unconditioned response.

In classical conditioning, an unconditioned response is an innate response that occurs automatically when the unconditioned stimulus is presented.

Pavlov showed the existence of the unconditioned response by presenting a dog with a bowl of food and measuring its salivary secretions.

Conditioned Stimulus

Conditioned response.

In classical conditioning, the conditioned response (CR) is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus.

In Ivan Pavlov’s experiments in classical conditioning, the dog’s salivation was the conditioned response to the sound of a bell.

Acquisition

The process of pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response.

In the initial learning period, acquisition describes when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

In psychology, extinction refers to the gradual weakening of a conditioned response by breaking the association between the conditioned and the unconditioned stimuli.

The weakening of a conditioned response occurs when the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.

For example, when the bell repeatedly rang, and no food was presented, Pavlov’s dog gradually stopped salivating at the sound of the bell.

Spontaneous Recovery

Spontaneous recovery is a phenomenon of Pavlovian conditioning that refers to the return of a conditioned response (in a weaker form) after a period of time following extinction.

It is the reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period when the conditioned stimulus is presented alone.

For example, when Pavlov waited a few days after extinguishing the conditioned response, and then rang the bell once more, the dog salivated again.

Generalization

In psychology, generalization is the tendency to respond in the same way to stimuli similar (but not identical) to the original conditioned stimulus.

For example, in Pavlov’s experiment, if a dog is conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell, it may later salivate to a higher-pitched bell.

Discrimination

In classical conditioning, discrimination is a process through which individuals learn to differentiate among similar stimuli and respond appropriately to each one.

For example, eventually, Pavlov’s dog learns the difference between the sound of the 2 bells and no longer salivates at the sound of the non-food bell.

Higher-Order Conditioning

Higher-order conditioning is when a conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus to create a second conditioned stimulus. For example, a bell (CS1) is paired with food (UCS) so that the bell elicits salivation (CR). Then, a light (NS) is paired with the bell.

Eventually, the light alone will elicit salivation, even without the presence of food. This demonstrates higher-order conditioning, where the conditioned stimulus (bell) serves as an unconditioned stimulus to condition a new stimulus (light).

Critical Evaluation

Practical applications.

The principles of classical conditioning have been widely and effectively applied in fields like behavioral therapy, education, and advertising. Therapies like systematic desensitization use classical conditioning to help eliminate phobias and anxiety.

The behaviorist approach has been used in the treatment of phobias, and systematic desensitization . The individual with the phobia is taught relaxation techniques and then makes a hierarchy of fear from the least frightening to the most frightening features of the phobic object.

He then is presented with the stimuli in that order and learns to associate (classical conditioning) the stimuli with a relaxation response. This is counter-conditioning.

Explaining involuntary behaviors

Classical conditioning helps explain some reflexive or involuntary behaviors like phobias, emotional reactions, and physiological responses. The model shows how these can be acquired through experience.

The process of classical conditioning can probably account for aspects of certain other mental disorders. For example, in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sufferers tend to show classically conditioned responses to stimuli present at the time of the traumatizing event (Charney et al., 1993).

However, since not everyone exposed to the traumatic event develops PTSD, other factors must be involved, such as individual differences in people’s appraisal of events as stressors and the recovery environment, such as family and support groups.

Supported by substantial experimental evidence

There is a wealth of experimental support for basic phenomena like acquisition, extinction, generalization, and discrimination. Pavlov’s original experiments on dogs and subsequent studies have demonstrated classical conditioning in animals and humans.

There have been many laboratory demonstrations of human participants acquiring behavior through classical conditioning. It is relatively easy to classically condition and extinguish conditioned responses, such as the eye-blink and galvanic skin responses.

A strength of classical conditioning theory is that it is scientific . This is because it’s based on empirical evidence carried out by controlled experiments . For example, Pavlov (1902) showed how classical conditioning could be used to make a dog salivate to the sound of a bell.

Supporters of a reductionist approach say that it is scientific. Breaking complicated behaviors down into small parts means that they can be scientifically tested. However, some would argue that the reductionist view lacks validity . Thus, while reductionism is useful, it can lead to incomplete explanations.

Ignores biological predispositions

Organisms are biologically prepared to associate certain stimuli over others. However, classical conditioning does not sufficiently account for innate predispositions and biases.

Classical conditioning emphasizes the importance of learning from the environment, and supports nurture over nature.

However, it is limiting to describe behavior solely in terms of either nature or nurture , and attempts to do this underestimate the complexity of human behavior. It is more likely that behavior is due to an interaction between nature (biology) and nurture (environment).

Lacks explanatory power

Classical conditioning provides limited insight into the cognitive processes underlying the associations it describes.

However, applying classical conditioning to our understanding of higher mental functions, such as memory, thinking, reasoning, or problem-solving, has proved more problematic.

Even behavior therapy, one of the more successful applications of conditioning principles to human behavior, has given way to cognitive–behavior therapy (Mackintosh, 1995).

Questionable ecological validity

While lab studies support classical conditioning, some question how well it holds up in natural settings. There is debate about how automatic and inevitable classical conditioning is outside the lab.

In normal adults, the conditioning process can be overridden by instructions: simply telling participants that the unconditioned stimulus will not occur causes an instant loss of the conditioned response, which would otherwise extinguish only slowly (Davey, 1983).

Most participants in an experiment are aware of the experimenter’s contingencies (the relationship between stimuli and responses) and, in the absence of such awareness often fail to show evidence of conditioning (Brewer, 1974).

Evidence indicates that for humans to exhibit classical conditioning, they need to be consciously aware of the connection between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US). This contradicts traditional theories that humans have two separate learning systems – one conscious and one unconscious – that allow conditioning to occur without conscious awareness (Lovibond & Shanks, 2002).

There are also important differences between very young children or those with severe learning difficulties and older children and adults regarding their behavior in a variety of operant conditioning and discrimination learning experiments.

These seem largely attributable to language development (Dugdale & Lowe, 1990). This suggests that people have rather more efficient, language-based forms of learning at their disposal than just the laborious formation of associations between a conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

Ethical concerns

The principles of classical conditioning raise ethical concerns about manipulating behavior without consent. This is especially true in advertising and politics.

• Manipulation of preferences – Classical conditioning can create positive associations with certain brands, products, or political candidates. This can manipulate preferences outside of a person’s rational thought process.
• Encouraging impulsive behaviors – Conditioning techniques may encourage behaviors like impulsive shopping, unhealthy eating, or risky financial choices by forging positive associations with these behaviors.
• Preying on vulnerabilities – Advertisers or political campaigns may exploit conditioning techniques to target and influence vulnerable demographic groups like youth, seniors, or those with mental health conditions.
• Reduction of human agency – At an extreme, the use of classical conditioning techniques reduces human beings to automata reacting predictably to stimuli. This is ethically problematic.

Deterministic theory

A final criticism of classical conditioning theory is that it is deterministic . This means it does not allow the individual any degree of free will. Accordingly, a person has no control over the reactions they have learned from classical conditioning, such as a phobia.

The deterministic approach also has important implications for psychology as a science. Scientists are interested in discovering laws that can be used to predict events.

However, by creating general laws of behavior, deterministic psychology underestimates the uniqueness of human beings and their freedom to choose their destiny.

The Role of Nature in Classical Conditioning

Behaviorists argue all learning is driven by experience, not nature. Classical conditioning exemplifies environmental influence. However, our evolutionary history predisposes us to learn some associations more readily than others. So nature also plays a role.

For example, PTSD develops in part due to strong conditioning during traumatic events. The emotions experienced during trauma lead to neural activity in the amygdala , creating strong associative learning between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli (Milad et al., 2009).

Individuals with PTSD show enhanced fear conditioning, reflected in greater amygdala reactivity to conditioned threat cues compared to trauma-exposed controls. In addition to strong initial conditioning, PTSD patients exhibit slower extinction to conditioned fear stimuli.

During extinction recall tests, PTSD patients fail to show differential skin conductance responses to extinguished versus non-extinguished cues, indicating impaired retention of fear extinction. Deficient extinction retention corresponds to reduced activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus and heightened dorsal anterior cingulate cortex response during extinction recall in PTSD patients.

In influential research on food conditioning, John Garcia found that rats easily learned to associate a taste with nausea from drugs, even if illness occurred hours later.

However, conditioning nausea to a sight or sound was much harder. This showed that conditioning does not occur equally for any stimulus pairing. Rather, evolution prepares organisms to learn some associations that aid survival more easily, like linking smells to illness.

The evolutionary significance of taste and nutrition ensures robust and resilient classical conditioning of flavor preferences, making them difficult to reverse (Hall, 2002).

Forming strong and lasting associations between flavors and nutrition aids survival by promoting the consumption of calorie-rich foods. This makes flavor conditioning very robust.

Repeated flavor-nutrition pairings in these studies lead to overlearning of the association, making it more resistant to extinction.

The learning is overtrained, context-specific, and subject to recovery effects that maintain the conditioned behavior despite extinction training.

Classical vs. operant condioning

In summary, classical conditioning is about passive stimulus-response associations, while operant conditioning is about actively connecting behaviors to consequences. Classical works on reflexes and operant on voluntary actions.

• Stimuli vs consequences : Classical conditioning focuses on associating two stimuli together. For example, pairing a bell (neutral stimulus) with food (reflex-eliciting stimulus) creates a conditioned response of salivation to the bell. Operant conditioning is about connecting behaviors with the consequences that follow. If a behavior is reinforced, it will increase. If it’s punished, it will decrease.
• Passive vs. active : In classical conditioning, the organism is passive and automatically responds to the conditioned stimulus. Operant conditioning requires the organism to perform a behavior that then gets reinforced or punished actively. The organism operates on the environment.
• Involuntary vs. voluntary : Classical conditioning works with involuntary, reflexive responses like salivation, blinking, etc. Operant conditioning shapes voluntary behaviors that are controlled by the organism, like pressing a lever.
• Association vs. reinforcement : Classical conditioning relies on associating stimuli in order to create a conditioned response. Operant conditioning depends on using reinforcement and punishment to increase or decrease voluntary behaviors.

Learning Check

• In Ivan Pavlov’s famous experiment, he rang a bell before presenting food powder to dogs. Eventually, the dogs salivated at the mere sound of the bell. Identify the neutral stimulus, unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned response in Pavlov’s experiment.
• A student loves going out for pizza and beer with friends on Fridays after class. Whenever one friend texts the group about Friday plans, the student immediately feels happy and excited. The friend starts texting the group on Thursdays when she wants the student to feel happier. Explain how this is an example of classical conditioning. Identify the UCS, UCR, CS, and CR.
• A college student is traumatized after a car accident. She now feels fear every time she gets into a car. How could extinction be used to eliminate this acquired fear?
• A professor always slams their book on the lectern right before giving a pop quiz. Students now feel anxiety whenever they hear the book slam. Is this classical conditioning? If so, identify the NS, UCS, UCR, CS, and CR.
• Contrast classical conditioning and operant conditioning. How are they similar and different? Provide an original example of each type of conditioning.
• How could the principles of classical conditioning be applied to help students overcome test anxiety?
• Explain how taste aversion learning is an adaptive form of classical conditioning. Provide an original example.
• What is second-order conditioning? Give an example and identify the stimuli and responses.
• What is the role of extinction in classical conditioning? How could extinction be used in cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders?

Bouton, M. E., Mineka, S., & Barlow, D. H. (2001). A modern learning theory perspective on the etiology of panic disorder .  Psychological Review ,  108 (1), 4.

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Pavlov's Dogs and Classical Conditioning

How pavlov's experiments with dogs demonstrated that our behavior can be changed using conditioning..

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What’s Wrong With This Picture? Just About Everything

• Pavlovian Conditioning

The diagram below, or something like it, is frequently used to introduce students to the type of learning research pioneered by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Pavlovian conditioning remains a popular and important form of learning more than a century after Pavlov accepted the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his work on the digestive system. Unfortunately, this diagram does not convey why Pavlovian conditioning remains a core phenomenon in psychology. The diagram also perpetuates numerous misconceptions about Pavlovian conditioning.  

Pavlov did not ring a bell as a conditioned stimulus (CS). The initial experiments on salivary conditioning were carried out by Pavlov’s research assistants, Sigizmund Vul’fson and Anton Snarskii, who used a visual rather than auditory cue as the CS. The experimental protocol was relatively simple. A substance such as dry food, sand, or sour water was placed in a dog’s mouth on repeated trials. These substances elicited salivation without training, or unconditionally. The novel finding was that after a number of trials, the dogs started salivating at the sight of the substance that was to be placed in their mouth. The source of the visual CS in the original experiments is highly significant and has broad implications for how Pavlovian conditioning occurs in the natural environment.  

In a typical diagram, the CS (in this case, a bell) is characterized as a “neutral” stimulus that is initially unrelated to the unconditioned stimulus (US; in this case, a steak). However, that was not the case in Vul’fson’s and Snarskii’s experiments. The dogs in their experiments learned a relationship between different features of the substances or objects that were placed in their mouths. Those objects had features that elicited salivation unconditionally and visual features that came to elicit salivation through association with the US features. The fact that the CS and the US were features of the same object ensured that the two stimuli would be experienced in close temporal proximity, which facilitated their association.  

Pavlovian conditioning requires repeated pairings of a CS with a US. Such pairings occur outside the lab only if there is an inherent relationship between the CS and the US. Thus, Pavlovian conditioning in the natural environment involves the type of arrangement that Vul’fson and Snarskii created. Most naturally occurring examples of Pavlovian conditioning involve learning about a CS that has an inherent or pre-existing relation to the US and therefore is not “neutral” or “arbitrary.” When a child becomes fearful of dogs after a dog bite, they are forming the type of within-object association that Vul’fson and Snarskii originally demonstrated. One feature of the dog (its visual appearance or bark) comes to elicit fear because it is associated with other aspects of the dog (the dog’s bite). Social phobias, fear of public speaking, and fear of intimacy are all learned in the same fashion: The presence of others becomes a signal, or CS, for an aversive outcome, or US, in certain social situations.   

Most naturally occurring examples of Pavlovian conditioning involve learning about a CS that has an inherent or pre-existing relation to the US and therefore is not “neutral” or “arbitrary.”

Learning to link together different features of an object or situation extends the scope of Pavlovian mechanisms well beyond conditioned salivation. However, the emphasis on conditioned salivation in teaching about Pavlovian conditioning has promoted the misconception that Pavlovian learning is limited to glandular responses that are of little psychological interest. B. F. Skinner reflected that line of thinking in his landmark book, Science and Human Behavior (1953), in which he seemed to take pleasure in Bernard Shaw’s irreverent description of Pavlov’s work as just having to do with “the spittle of dogs.” Unfortunately, Skinner’s take on Pavlovian conditioning remains evident in contemporary books on behavior analysis. The latest edition of the comprehensive text Applied Behavior Analysis (Cooper et al., 2020), for example, includes Skinner’s claim that “reflexes, conditioned or otherwise, are mainly concerned with the internal physiology of the organism” (1953, p. 59). This claim ignores research on different forms of Pavlovian conditioning such as sign tracking, goal tracking, sexual conditioning, and conditioning of various forms of defensive behavior that promote effective interactions with the external environment rather than “internal physiology.”   

The common diagram of Pavlovian conditioning also promotes the misconception that a discrete conditioned reflex is the primary outcome of Pavlovian learning. However, Pavlovian conditioning is also involved in the learning of emotions, preferences and aversions, and likes and dislikes that can be expressed in a variety of different ways. In many cases, moreover, the most important outcome of conditioning is not the emergence of a new response to the CS but the capacity of the CS to change how the individual responds to the US. The conditioned salivation that Vul’fson and Snarskii observed was important because it enabled the dog to respond more effectively to the dry food or sand that was about to go in its mouth. In a similar fashion, studies have shown that conditioned stimuli enable organisms to cope more quickly and more effectively with a variety of different unconditioned stimuli such as food, an aggressive intruder, or a potential sexual partner. Conditioned modifications of the response to the US are also critical when the US is the administration of a drug: Learning to anticipate the drug allows individuals to make homeostatic compensatory adjustments that reduce the drug’s effects. These conditioned compensatory responses are missing if the drug is taken in the absence of the usual drug-predictive cues, and that can result in drug overdose. Thus, rather than being concerned just with the “spittle of dogs,” Pavlovian conditioning can be a matter of life or death.  

We have learned a lot since the pioneering experiments of Vul’fson and Snarskii. No one diagram can be expected to accurately capture the richness of contemporary knowledge about Pavlovian conditioning. However, I hope that diagrams can be developed that will at least represent the original experiment correctly and show Pavlovian conditioning as the pervasive natural learning phenomenon that it is rather than a creation of laboratory scientists who misleadingly label a CS as “neutral” or “arbitrary.”

Feedback on this article? Email [email protected] or scroll down to comment .

Thank you for a very informative article and for “setting the record straight” on the original procedures used in Pavlov’s Lab. I may have missed it but, is there any reference cited that was used to provide details of the original research (assistant’s names, stimuli used, etc). I would be very interested in getting any available material on Pavlov’s original work (most published in Russian or German perhaps Journals? ) Thank you

The most important response that is conditioned during classical conditioning is not one of the simple physiological reflexes, but the emotional reaction to signals that appear to predict something good or something bad. In the case of food, this reflex is enthusiasm (positive excitement plus approach tendencies). In natural situations, this response helps to emit unlearned and learned responses to get and consume the food, and it remains the most important part of the conditioned reflex. In classical conditioning, however, the dog is restrained, cannot emit such approach responses. Hence, these are to no avail and are extinguished in the course of a number of trials, and nothing remains but the physiological salivary reflex, which are still useful because they help with swallowing and digesting the food.

In the case of negative classical conditioning, the main thing conditioned is the emotional fear of a repetition of the shock, not the physiological reflexes to the shock. In natural situations, this fear response does much to motivate potentially effective escape and avoidance responses.

Psychological instruction would be helped if these anticipatory emotional responses, preparing the subject for instrumental action toward the challenge, will be stressed instead of minor physiological responses, when classical conditioning is discussed.

The point about CS not being neutral, but having biological significance in of itself, points to sensory modality and prior experiences. A “neutral” light CS has photons, or waves, exciting the underlying neuroanatomy, neurochemistry and physiology. And depending on prior experience with different light variables, including its intensity and internal spread of activation, the light would no longer be neutral- given its internal association / spread to affectively – biologically significant circuitry and prior external associations- being that light is everywhere. A neutral state such as texas would no longer be considered neutral had someone would had been harmed and kidnapped there, for example.

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About the Author

Michael Domjan , an APS Fellow, is professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Principles of Learning and Behavior (7th edition, Cengage, 2015) and Essentials of Conditioning and Learning (4th edition, American Psychological Association, 2018).

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Ivan Pavlov and the Theory of Classical Conditioning

Key Principles of Classical Conditioning in Psychology

What is the difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning, frequently asked questions.

Discovered by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov , classical conditioning is a type of unconscious or automatic learning. This learning process creates a conditioned response through associations between an unconditioned stimulus and a neutral stimulus. In simple terms, classical conditioning involves placing a neutral stimulus before a naturally occurring reflex.

One of the best-known examples of classical conditioning is Pavlov's classic experiments with dogs. In these experiments, the neutral signal was the sound of a tone and the naturally occurring reflex was salivating in response to food. By associating the neutral stimulus (sound) with the unconditioned stimulus (food), the sound of the tone alone could produce a salivation response.

Although classical conditioning was not discovered by a psychologist, it has had a tremendous influence over the school of thought in psychology known as behaviorism . Behaviorism assumes that all learning occurs through interactions with the environment and that environment shapes behavior.

Classical Conditioning Definitions

Classical conditioning—also sometimes referred to as Pavlovian conditioning—uses a few different terms to help explain the learning process. Knowing these basics will help you understand classical conditioning.

Unconditioned Stimulus

An unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus or trigger that leads to an automatic response. If a cold breeze makes you shiver, for instance, the cold breeze is an unconditioned stimulus; it produces an involuntary response (the shivering).

Neutral Stimulus

A neutral stimulus is a stimulus that doesn't initially trigger a response on its own. If you hear the sound of a fan but don't feel the breeze, for example, it wouldn't necessarily trigger a response. That would make it a neutral stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus

A conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that was once neutral (didn't trigger a response) but now leads to a response. If you previously didn't pay attention to dogs, but then got bit by one, and now you feel fear every time you see a dog, the dog has become a conditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned Response

An unconditioned response is an automatic response or a response that occurs without thought when an unconditioned stimulus is present. If you smell your favorite food and your mouth starts watering, the watering is an unconditioned response.

Conditioned Response

A conditioned response is a learned response or a response that is created where no response existed before. Going back to the example of being bit by a dog, the fear you experience after the bite is a conditioned response.

Click Play to Learn More About Classical Conditioning

This video has been medically reviewed by Ann-Louise T. Lockhart, PsyD, ABPP .

How Classical Conditioning Works

Classical conditioning involves forming an association between two stimuli, resulting in a learned response. There are three basic phases of this process.

Phase 1: Before Conditioning

The first part of the classical conditioning process requires a naturally occurring stimulus that will automatically elicit a response. Salivating in response to the smell of food is a good example of a naturally occurring stimulus.

During this phase of the process, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) results in an unconditioned response (UCR). Presenting food (the UCS) naturally and automatically triggers a salivation response (the UCR).

At this point, there is also a neutral stimulus that produces no effect—yet. It isn't until the neutral stimulus is paired with the UCS that it will come to evoke a response.

Let's take a closer look at the two critical components of this phase of classical conditioning:

• The unconditioned stimulus is one that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers a response. For example, when you smell one of your favorite foods, you may immediately feel hungry. In this example, the smell of the food is the unconditioned stimulus.
• The unconditioned response is the unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the unconditioned stimulus. In our example, the feeling of hunger in response to the smell of food is the unconditioned response.

In the before conditioning phase, an unconditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned response. A neutral stimulus is then introduced.

Phase 2: During Conditioning

During the second phase of the classical conditioning process, the previously neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with the unconditioned stimulus. As a result of this pairing, an association between the previously neutral stimulus and the UCS is formed.

At this point, the once neutral stimulus becomes known as the conditioned stimulus (CS). The subject has now been conditioned to respond to this stimulus. The conditioned stimulus is a previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response.

In our earlier example, suppose that when you smelled your favorite food, you also heard the sound of a whistle. While the whistle is unrelated to the smell of the food, if the sound of the whistle was paired multiple times with the smell, the whistle sound would eventually trigger the conditioned response. In this case, the sound of the whistle is the conditioned stimulus.

The during conditioning phase involves repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus. Eventually, the neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus.

Phase 3: After Conditioning

Once the association has been made between the UCS and the CS, presenting the conditioned stimulus alone will come to evoke a response—even without the unconditioned stimulus. The resulting response is known as the conditioned response (CR).

The conditioned response is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus. In our example, the conditioned response would be feeling hungry when you heard the sound of the whistle.

In the after conditioning phase, the conditioned stimulus alone triggers the conditioned response.

Behaviorists have described a number of different phenomena associated with classical conditioning. Some of these elements involve the initial establishment of the response while others describe the disappearance of a response. Here is a closer look at five key principles of classical conditioning.

Acquisition

Acquisition is the initial stage of learning, when a response is first established and gradually strengthened. During the acquisition phase of classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

As you may recall, an unconditioned stimulus is something that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any learning. After an association is made, the subject will begin to emit a behavior in response to the previously neutral stimulus, which is now known as a conditioned stimulus. It is at this point that we can say that the response has been acquired.

Once the response has been established, you can gradually reinforce the response to make sure the behavior is well learned.

Extinction is when the occurrences of a conditioned response decrease or disappear. In classical conditioning, this happens when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

For example, if the smell of food (the unconditioned stimulus) had been paired with the sound of a whistle (the conditioned stimulus), the sound of the whistle would eventually come to evoke the conditioned response of hunger.

However, if the smell of food were no longer paired with the whistle, eventually the conditioned response (hunger) would disappear.

Spontaneous Recovery

Sometimes a learned response can suddenly reemerge, even after a period of extinction. This is called spontaneous recovery.

For example, imagine that after training a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell, you stop reinforcing the behavior and the response becomes extinct. After a rest period during which the conditioned stimulus is not presented, you ring the bell and the animal spontaneously recovers the previously learned response.

If the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are no longer associated, extinction will return very rapidly after a spontaneous recovery.

Generalization

Stimulus generalization is the tendency for a conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response has been conditioned. For example, if a dog has been conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell, the animal may also exhibit the same response to a sound that's similar to the bell.

In John B. Watson's famous  Little Albert Experiment , for example, a small child was conditioned to fear a white rat. The child demonstrated stimulus generalization by also exhibiting fear in response to other fuzzy white objects, including stuffed toys and Watson's own hair.

Discrimination

Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.  

For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned stimulus, discrimination would involve being able to tell the difference between the bell tone and other similar sounds. Because the subject is able to distinguish between these stimuli, they will only respond when the conditioned stimulus is presented.

What Are Examples of Classical Conditioning?

It can be helpful to look at a few examples of how the classical conditioning process operates both in experimental and real-world settings.

Fear Response

John B. Watson's experiment with Little Albert is an example of the fear response. The child initially showed no fear of a white rat, but after the rat was paired repeatedly with loud, scary sounds, the child began to cry when the rat was present.

Prior to the conditioning, the white rat was a neutral stimulus. The unconditioned stimulus was the loud, clanging sounds, and the unconditioned response was the fear response created by the noise.

By repeatedly pairing the rat with the unconditioned stimulus, the white rat (now the conditioned stimulus) came to evoke the fear response (now the conditioned response).

This experiment illustrates how phobias can form through classical conditioning. In many cases, a single pairing of a neutral stimulus (a dog, for example) and a frightening experience (being bitten by the dog) can lead to a lasting phobia (being afraid of dogs).

Taste Aversions

Another example of classical conditioning is the development of conditioned taste aversions . Researchers John Garcia and Bob Koelling first noticed this phenomenon when they observed how rats that had been exposed to nausea-causing radiation developed an aversion to flavored water after the radiation and water were presented together.

In this example, the radiation represents the unconditioned stimulus and nausea represents the unconditioned response. After the pairing of the two, the flavored water is the conditioned stimulus, while nausea that formed when exposed to the water alone is the conditioned response.

Later research demonstrated that such classically conditioned aversions could be produced through a single pairing of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus.

Researchers also found that such aversions can even develop if the conditioned stimulus (the taste of the food) is presented several hours before the unconditioned stimulus (the nausea-causing stimulus).

Why do such associations develop so quickly? Forming such associations can have survival benefits. If an animal eats something that makes it ill, it needs to avoid eating the same food in the future to avoid sickness or even death.

This is an example of biological preparedness . Some associations form more readily because they aid in survival.

In one famous field study, researchers injected sheep carcasses with a poison that would make coyotes sick but not kill them. The goal was to help sheep ranchers reduce the number of sheep lost to coyote killings.

Not only did the experiment work by lowering the number of sheep killed, it also caused some of the coyotes to develop such a strong aversion to sheep that they would actually run away at the scent or sight of a sheep.

Organizational Behavior

Classical conditioning can also have applications in business and marketing. For example, it can be used to help people form favorable attitudes toward products, businesses, or brands.

While there may not be a direct link between the item and the consumer response, creating this association may help motivate people to purchase certain products because they have developed a favorable opinion of them due to classical conditioning.

Operant conditioning is a learning method in which a specific behavior is associated with either a positive or negative consequence. This form of learning links voluntary actions with receiving either a reward or punishment, often to strengthen or weaken those voluntary behaviors.

Classical conditioning is a learning process focused more on involuntary behaviors, using associations with neutral stimuli to evoke a specific involuntary response.

Criticisms of Classical Conditioning

Some psychologists maintain that classical conditioning represents a reductive, mechanical explanation for some behaviors. Some other criticisms of classical conditioning center on the fact that:

• Classical conditioning does not take human individuality and free will into account
• It generally does not predict human behavior; people can form associations but still not act upon them
• Many different factors can impact the associations and outcomes
• People can choose to not act on the associations they have made through classical conditioning

However, the approach still holds great fascination for researchers and relevance in modern psychology.

In reality, people do not respond exactly like Pavlov's dogs . There are, however, numerous real-world applications for classical conditioning. For example, many dog trainers use classical conditioning techniques to help people train their pets.

These techniques are also useful for helping people cope with phobias or anxiety problems . Therapists might, for example, repeatedly pair something that provokes anxiety with relaxation techniques in order to create an association.

Teachers can apply classical conditioning in the class by creating a positive classroom environment to help students overcome anxiety or fear. Pairing an anxiety-provoking situation, such as performing in front of a group, with pleasant surroundings helps the student learn new associations. Instead of feeling anxious and tense in these situations, the child will learn to stay relaxed and calm.

Ivan Pavlov discovered classical conditioning. Pavlov was passionate about physiology, even earning gold medals for his work in this field. It was in his position as director of a physiological laboratory that he began to connect physiological research with reflex response and regulation.

Implicit memory is a memory that you can recall effortlessly or without thought. Classical conditioning uses this automatic memory to create associations with a neutral stimulus. The association is learned without conscious awareness.

Behavioral therapies use the principles of classical conditioning to help people change negative behaviors. The thought behind these therapies is that we learn from our environment. Cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapy are two types of behavioral therapy.

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By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

• Mental Health

Classical Conditioning: How It Works and Examples

What Is Classical Conditioning?

Classical conditioning, also called Pavlovian conditioning or respondent conditioning, is learning through association. This behavioral learning method was first studied in the late 19th century by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. 

Pavlov’s dog experiment

In the 1890s, Pavlov was experimenting with dogs, ringing a bell whenever they were fed. Over time, the dogs learned to associate a neutral stimulus (bell ringing) with a positive one (food). Pavlov also noticed that his dogs would often begin to salivate whenever they heard the footsteps of his assistant bringing them the food. This is called a conditioned response. Pavlov's experiment and its association between positive and neutral stimuli became the foundation of classical conditioning theory.

Eventually, Pavlov linked these behavioral associations to humans. He spent the remainder of his career studying the phenomenon.

Terms to Know

To understand how classical conditioning works, it's helpful to understand the following terms.

• Neutral stimulus. A stimulus is something that triggers a physical or behavioral change. A neutral stimulus produces no response. At first, Pavlov's dogs had no response to the bell.
• Unconditioned stimulus. This is what leads to an automatic response. In Pavlov’s experiment, it's the food.
• Unconditioned response . A normal process, like salivating when you smell food, is an unconditioned response.
• Conditioned stimulus. This is when a formerly neutral stimulus, like the bell in Pavlov's experiment, mimics an unconditioned response, as when the dogs began to associate the bell with food and salivate.
• Conditioned response. The learned behavior, such as relating the bell to food, is called a conditioned response.  

What Is Classical Conditioning Theory?

Classical conditioning theory says that behaviors are learned by connecting a neutral stimulus with a positive one, such as when Pavlov's dogs heard a bell (neutral) and expected food (positive).  

There are essentially three stages in classical conditioning:.

Before conditioning. Something in the environment triggers a natural response in the subject. During this stage, no new behavior has been learned yet. This stage also includes a neutral stimulus, which doesn't affect the subject. To create a response to a neutral stimulus, it must be linked to an unconditioned stimulus -- like the bell to food. 

During conditioning. This is the stage in which the subject starts to associate the neutral stimulus with the positive stimulus that caused the response during the first stage. In Pavlov's experiment, this stage involved ringing a bell when the dogs were fed. Over time, the dogs began to associate the bell with food.

For this to work, the neutral stimulus should come before the positive (unconditioned) stimulus. It creates a cue for what comes next. Doing this over and over makes the conditioning stick. But sometimes it only takes one time to make an association, such as a hangover after too much drinking. 

After conditioning. During the final stage of conditioning, the subject firmly associates the neutral stimulus with the unconditioned response. This creates a new behavior, or what's known as the conditioned response. If the link between the two weakens or breaks, this leads to what's called extinction. When Pavlov's dogs no longer got food after hearing the bell, they eventually stopped associating the bell with food.

What Is the Little Albert Experiment?

Considered one of the "most ethically dubious experiments ever conducted," the Little Albert experiment was developed by psychologists John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner, who first applied Pavlov's classical conditioning principles to human behavior.

In 1920, Watson and Rayner began their behavioral learning experiment with a 9-month-old boy named Albert. They tested his reactions to various things in his environment, including a white rat, burning newspapers, and a hammer striking a 4-foot steel bar just behind Albert's head. Because the sound of the hammer frightened Albert, it became the unconditioned stimulus, and fear became the unconditioned response.

When Albert was 11 months old, he was presented with the white rat. When he tried to pet it, the pipe was struck with the hammer, causing him to feel fear. The researchers did this over the next few weeks and eventually Albert saw the rat and showed a fearful response. 

They reproduced these results with a rabbit, a dog, and several other stimuli that were previously neutral. At the end of the experiment, Albert showed a fear response for all of them.

Classical Conditioning vs. Operant Conditioning

Classical conditioning relies on associating one stimulus with another, such as the sound of a bell with food. Learning through operant conditioning relies on what comes after behaviors. These are the consequences that reinforce or punish behaviors.

In operant conditioning, either positive or negative reinforcement is used to affect whether a behavior is likely to happen again.  

When you give your dog a treat after they follow a command, that's positive reinforcement. It encourages them to repeat the behavior. When you yell (punishment) after your dog grabs food off the counter, that's punishment or negative reinforcement. Like classical conditioning, operant conditioning requires repetition for learning to take place. 

Classical Conditioning Principles

Classical conditioning includes several steps:

Acquisition. The point at which the neutral stimulus and unconditioned stimulus become linked. In other words, the dog learns to relate the sound of the bell with food.  

Extinction. Extinction breaks the conditioned bonds between the stimuli. If the dog no longer sees food after hearing the bell, it will gradually stop associating the bell with food.

Spontaneous recovery. If, after extinction, the conditioned stimulus and neutral stimulus again appear in relationship to one another, the conditioned response will return. After the extinction of the conditioned response in his dogs, Pavlov rang the bell before producing the food a few days later. His dogs began to salivate at the sound of the bell again.

Generalization. A conditioned response may be produced with stimuli that are similar but not the same. For example, if Pavlov's dogs heard a bell that rang at a lower pitch and still salivated, that's generalization.

Discrimination. Discrimination is the ability to understand that two or more stimuli are different from one another. In Pavlov's experiment, he later introduced the dogs to two bell sounds. Food appeared only after one. The dogs soon learned the difference. 

Classical Conditioning Examples

Classical conditioning isn't just related to food or fear. You see examples of this type of conditioning every day, though you may not know it or consciously think about it. Here are some examples of classical conditioning in daily life.

• Every time you put on your shoes, your dog gets excited and runs to the front door. Your dog associates you putting on shoes with a walk, or maybe going for a car ride.
• You always buy the same type of crackers for your baby's morning snack. When you pull the box of crackers out of the cupboard, your baby gets excited and reaches toward the box because they associate that box with snack time.
• A certain perfume reminds you of your late grandmother. After her passing, smelling that perfume or similar scents make you sad because of its association with your grandmother.
• Your demanding boss occasionally berates underperforming employees in his office. You feel nervous or agitated whenever your boss asks one of your co-workers into his office and closes the door because that's what he does whenever someone's in trouble.
• You listen to your favorite music when you exercise. You don't generally enjoy working out, but eventually, you begin to relate the positive feelings you get from your playlist to working out.
• Advertising. You see an ad showing a cold, wet can of soda while pumping your gas. You start feeling thirsty and think about running inside and buying this soft drink. 

Classical Conditioning Uses

Psychologists consider classical conditioning a key type of learning. It can create changes in mental and physical health, emotions, and drive. Its uses include: 

• Phobias. Repeated exposure to the object of a phobia, such as frequently flying when you're afraid of planes, can reduce fears.
• Drug use. Counselors often urge former addicts to stay away from people and places associated with their drug use.
• Classroom learning. Teachers might use classical conditioning to associate learning with positive emotions rather than negative ones like fear or shame.
• Pet training. Classical conditioning taught Pavlov's dogs what to expect after they heard the bell: food. Your dog also learns to positively associate actions like picking up a leash with going for a walk or going out to pee.
• Food aversions. We're born favoring certain tastes more than others (like sweet vs. bitter). If you eat something and become sick, you might learn to avoid the food and even feel sick at the sight of it. 
• PTSD  For people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , classical conditioning may not cure their condition but contribute to it. PTSD is a type of anxiety that comes from associating certain triggers with fearful experiences. For example, loud noises may remind a veteran of the sounds of war. 

Criticisms of Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning stresses outward learning over traits we're born with. Some criticisms of classical conditioning include:

• It fails to consider complex human actions like thinking, reason, and memory that produce learning, too. 
• It takes a long time to make the associations that create learning.
• It assumes a lack of free will -- that people have no control over their reactions to stimuli.

Classical conditioning is a type of learning by association. It takes several steps to associate a neutral stimulus with a positive outcome. Classical conditioning is used to treat psychological problems such as drug addiction and phobias. But it's also the basis for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Classical conditioning appears in everyday life in advertising and in our sensory associations with good and bad events. 

Classical Conditioning FAQs

• What is the simple definition of classical conditioning? Classical conditioning is learning through association.  
• What is an example of classical conditioning? Listening to your favorite music during workouts is an example of associating exercise with a positive neutral stimulus.  
• What are the five elements of classical conditioning?  Elements of classical conditioning include acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.

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Pavlovian Conditioning: Ivan Pavlov’s Dogs Experiment

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936) lived during a golden age of scientific discovery.

Born into the Russian Empire, and known within his family for being intellectually curious and unusually energetic from a young age, Pavlov won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1904 for his work on the physiology of digestion, making him the first Russian Nobel laureate. Despite this, Pavlov’s most well-known contribution to science was through his dogs experiments, which became the basis for Pavlovian conditioning (also known as classical conditioning).

In this article, I’m going to look into Pavlov’s dogs experiment, followed by a detailed look at Pavlovian conditioning and Pavlovian response, before moving on to a section on further reading for anyone interested in learning more about this field.

What is Pavlov’s Dogs Experiment?

Ivan Pavlov’s dogs experiment is an experiment that took place in the 1890s in which the Russian physiologist surgically implanted small tubes into the cheeks of dogs to measure the buildup of saliva that took place under a variety of conditions.

Pavlov’s dogs experiment came about as part of an accidental discovery. Pavlov had at the time been conducting research experiments into the dogs’ gastric systems. As part of this research, Pavlov and his assistants would enter the room where the dogs were housed with a variety of edible and non-edible items, with the intention of measuring the amount of saliva that each dog produced when each item was placed in front of them.

Pavlov prediction that the dogs would salivate when presented with edible items was soon proved correct. This represents an unconditioned response in the animals, in which the sight and smell of the food causes them to salivate. Pavlov couldn’t have predicted what happened next.

A Pavlovian Response

While conducting his gastric experiment, Pavlov began to notice something peculiar. He noticed that the dogs would begin salivating not when food was placed in front of them, but when they heard the footsteps of one of Pavlov’s assistants coming down the hall to bring the food to them.

Pavlov soon realized that he could teach his dogs to associate almost any sound, item, or event with the reward of food. To put this another way, it became clear that salivation was a learned response. The most famous item used in Pavlov’s dogs experiment was that of a bell—Pavlov or one of his assistants would ring a bell before feeding his dogs. Soon enough, the single act of ringing the bell would be enough for the dogs to associate this seemingly neutral act with the promise of food.

Pavlovian conditioning was born, and Pavlov’s dogs experiment became his life’s work.

Pavlovian Conditioning

With its genesis in Pavlov’s dogs experiment, Pavlovian conditioning is defined as a form of behavioral psychology (or behaviorism) in which an animal, or human, can be conditioned to respond in a certain way to a stimulus that, had it not been conditioned, should in no way be associated with the act in question.

Let me show you what I mean:

An Unconditioned Stimulus Causes an Unconditioned Response

Prior to Pavlov’s experiment and the discovery of Pavlovian conditioning, it was well-known in the scientific world that an unconditioned stimulus causes an unconditioned response.

An example of this in terms of Pavlov’s dogs experiment would be the food being placed directly in front of the dogs, causing them to salivate. The unconditioned stimulus in this example is the food, and the unconditioned response is the salivation. Pavlov’s dogs’ response (to salivate) was unconditioned because they didn’t need to be trained to respond to the food in this way—it simply happened naturally.

A Neutral Stimulus Causes No Response

In the same way that an unconditioned stimulus causes an unconditioned response, Pavlov confirmed the commonly agreed-upon theory that a neutral stimulus causes no response.

An example of this in terms of Pavlov’s dogs experiment would be the act of Pavlov or one of his assistants ringing a bell before feeding the dogs, before they had taken the time to condition the bell as a stimulus to the food. If they were to ring the bell while it was still a neutral stimulus, no response, conditioned or unconditioned, would have occurred. (Depending on how loud the bell was, the dogs may have been startled the first few times it rang, but this is superfluous to the experiment.)

A Conditioned Stimulus Causes a Conditioned Response

Finally, Pavlov discovered through the course of his experiment that a conditioned stimulus causes a conditioned response.

An example of this in terms of Pavlov’s dogs experiment would be the act of Pavlov or one of his assistants ringing a bell before feeding the dogs, after they have already conditioned the sound of the bell to the promise of food. In this case, the sound of the bell has graduated from being a neutral stimulus to a conditioned stimulus, therefore the dogs’ response (to salivate) became a conditioned response.

Further Reading

In this article I have introduced Pavlov’s dogs experiment and Pavlovian conditioning. The field of classical conditioning and behavioral psychology is vast, and if you found this article interesting I recommend you take a look at some of the following:

• Behaviorism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• A Short History of Behaviorism, Washington State University
• Behavioral Principles: Classical Conditioning, St. Cloud University

Ivan Pavlov’s dogs experiment and the birth of Pavlovian conditioning was an instrumental scientific discovery at its time that deserves the acclaim and spirited conversation that it entails to this day.

If you’re interested in hearing more from me, be sure to subscribe to my free email newsletter , and if you enjoyed this article, please share it on social media, link to it from your website, or bookmark it so you can come back to it often. ∎

Benjamin Spall

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Classical Conditioning – The Pavlov’s Dogs Experiment

Have you ever heard a song or tune from your childhood and felt an instant rush of nostalgia or happiness? That tune and the happiness/nostalgic feeling are interconnected by association, which we call Classical Conditioning.

Classical Conditioning is a psychological phenomenon in which one learns by pairing two or more stimuli to create an association. It is the process of creating a link between a conditioned stimulus and a conditioned response.

Who Discovered Classical Conditioning ?

The phenomenon of Classical Conditioning was discovered by Ivan Pavlov. Ivan Pavlov was a Russian Physiologist who was interested in understanding canine physiology and was especially interested in their digestive systems.

He began to observe dogs and their eating patterns to identify when they begin to salivate. Through his observations, he believed that dogs begin to salivate when they heard the bell that was rung before the food was presented.

To prove his theory, Pavlov built a machine that would accurately determine and measure the amount of saliva produced when the food was presented. Thus began the infamous Pavlov’s dogs experiment.

What is the Pavlov’s Dogs Experiment ?

Pavlov initially placed the food in front of the dog and recorded the level of salivation. He did this a couple of times to measure and assess why the dog was salivating.

After the first couple of trials, he began to ring a bell. He would ring the bell and wait approximately 5 seconds before presenting the food. The dogs continued to salivate only when the food was present. However, after repetitive exposure to the bell and the food, the dogs began to salivate upon hearing the bell.

This means that the dog began to associate the bell with food. This leads to salivation when hearing the bell.

Core Concept Of Classical Conditioning

This experiment led to the discovery of a type of learning called Classical Conditioning (as termed by Pavlov). The experiment was conducted in 1906 and was a major catalyst in the development and understanding of learning and behaviour theories.

The experiment consists of 4 different elements. These are:

1) Unconditioned Stimulus

This is a certain object or stimulus that triggers an automatic/involuntarily bodily response. This is an unconscious process and has not been previously learnt. In this case, the food is considered to be the unconditioned stimuli.

For example, for a student, the smell of the food from the mess/canteen is considered to be the unconditioned stimuli.

2) Unconditional Response

This is the automatic and involuntary response that occurs when presented with the object or the stimulus. This response is generally unlearnt and usually occurs due to the processes of the Central Nervous System (CNS). In this case, the salivation of the dogs is the Unconditioned Response.

For example, the hunger and salivation of the student are considered to be the unconditioned response.

3) Conditioned Stimulus

This is also known as the Neutral Stimulus. This stimulus is presented repeatedly until the association between the object and the response is formed. If the object is repeatedly presented (in this case the food), it will start to evoke the same response. In this case, the bell is considered to be the conditioned stimulus.

For example, the lunch bell is paired with the smell of the food. Hence the bell is associated with lunchtime. Therefore, the bell becomes the conditioned stimulus.

4) Conditioned Response

This is the response obtained after repeated exposure to the conditioned stimulus (which is the bell). This is the response that occurs once the stimulus and response have been associated. The conditioned response is salivating upon hearing the bell.

For example, the bell is now associated with the food from the mess/canteen. Hence, the student may get hungry/salivate upon hearing the sound of the bell. This indicates that classical conditioning has occurred.

Common Example – Conditioning Theory Of Learning

A great example of this is when you smell your mom’s perfume. You may have grown up used to the smell of your mom’s perfume. The perfume reminds you of your mother and the great times you shared when you were growing up. You are exposed to the perfume several times while growing up; you begin to associate it with happiness.

Several years later, if you catch a sniff of the perfume in a supermarket, you may associate it with happiness without actually consciously thinking of your childhood or your mother. This is due to learning by association otherwise known as Classical Conditioning.

There are three other aspects that we must understand and take into account when learning about classical conditioning. They are:

a) Extinction

This is a phenomenon in which the conditioned stimulus (i.e. the bell) is presented excessively without the unconditioned stimulus (i.e. dog food). This overexposure results in the process of unlearning. Eventually, the bell will no longer result in a conditioned response.

For example, while training children to potty train, the parents might give a reward every time the child uses the toilet. However, over time as the child continues to use the toilet, the parent will stop providing the rewards. Due to the overexposure, the child will eventually continue the behavior without association.

b) Generalization

This occurs when the conditioned stimulus is generalized, and therefore causes a conditioned response. For example, the dog may generalize the sound of other bells and may begin to salivate.

This can be found in the case of Little Albert. He was taught to fear a white rabbit using classical conditioning. However, he began to generalize that phobia to other objects of similar shape, size and colour. He also began to fear other objects such as mice, hamsters etc. This is known as generalization.

c) Discrimination

This is the opposite response to Generalization. This occurs when the person/ animal can discriminate between different stimuli and therefore will not produce the same reaction to the different stimuli.

This can be seen when one has a very certain phobia. For example, a person who has a phobia of cockroaches may not have a phobia of spiders or other insects even though they are similar.

What are the applications of Classical Conditioning in Psychology ?

Classical Conditioning has helped several psychologists understand how people learn and behave. Classical Conditioning helped pave the way for understanding certain pathological conditions (i.e. phobias, drug dependency and aversions) and their treatments. These include:

a) Phobias and Systematic Desensitization

A famous experiment conducted by John B Watson called Little Albert helps us understand how phobias are formed. Watson used the same method of classical conditioning to instil fear in a little boy named Albert. Albert was initially presented with a small rat for the first few trials.

After the first few trials, the rat was presented with a loud noise. Although Albert was initially not afraid of the rat, the association between the rat and the loud noise was formed. This resulted in causing him extreme fear when he saw the rat. This resulted in Albert having a phobia of rats.

Classical Conditioning can also be used to help get ready for phobias. This is usually done using a method of Systematic Desensitization. This treatment works by creating a hierarchy of fear. The client will identify and rank their fears from lowest to highest.

For example, a client who has a fear of lizards may feel fear at 10% while talking about them, 30% fear while looking at a picture, 50% watching a video of a lizard and 70% of fear while one is in the room.

The therapist then begins to work up the hierarchy while pairing deep breathing exercises.

For example, the therapist shows the client an image of a lizard and then guides them through deep breathing. This is repeated several times until the client no longer feels scared to see an image. They then move on to the next stage of the hierarchy.

This is what the hierarchy for herpetophobia (Fear of Lizards) would look like.

Vicarious Conditioning is the occurrence of developing fear and becoming conditioned due to watching someone else.

For example, if you watch your mother running away from a spider, you may also become conditioned into thinking that spiders are something that evokes fear. This may lead to arachnophobia later on.

b) Drug Dependency and Aversion Therapy

Drugs cause a feeling of “ecstasy” or a “high”. This feeling of high results in the user repeatedly using. The feeling of ecstasy and the substance become paired, thus the user will continue to use the substance. They may even become extremely dependent on it, resulting in an abuse disorder.

Aversion Therapy is a treatment method used to combat abuse disorder. This is behavioural therapy method in which there is a pairing between unwanted behaviour and discomfort.

For example, someone who is addicted to alcohol may be required to snap a rubber band on their wrist every time they think of alcohol.

c) Classical Conditioning and Attitude Formation

Classical Conditioning has shown a significant outcome in attitude formation. Classical Conditioning has shown the ability to determine and change a person’s attitude/ feelings towards a particular object.

For example, a child grows up seeing her mother react negatively to Native Americans. Every time her mother comes across someone of Native American descent, she gets angry. She begins to associate anger with the Native Americans. She may begin to view them negatively and may even grow up and treat them the same.

Hence, classical conditioning has affected her attitude towards a certain race. This is attitude formation.

Ivan Pavlov’s experimentation with learning and behaviour caused a ripple effect throughout the psychological community. It promoted the development of several other theories of learning. It also helped us understand human behaviour and helped in the evolution of treatment methods.

So next time you come across Pavlov and Classical Conditioning, I hope this article rings a bell.

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Classical Conditioning

Last updated 22 Mar 2021

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Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which an existing involuntary reflex response is associated with a new stimulus.

Introduction to Classical Conditioning

The new stimulus is presented at the same time as another stimulus that already produces the response. After the two have been presented together many times, the new stimulus should produce the response even if the original stimulus is not present.

Classical conditioning was discovered by Ivan Pavlov while he was studying salivation in dogs. He observed that his dogs salivated when his assistants opened the doors to their cages and inferred that they must have learned to associate the opening of the doors with food.

He tested this by associating the ringing of a bell with the food so that the dogs would salivate when they heard the bell and spent many years studying the factors that affected the speed and strength of learning of this association as well as how it might explain apparently complex behaviour like neurosis in humans.

In a typical experiment done by Pavlov, the dog would be strapped in a harness with an apparatus that allowed precise measurement of the amount of saliva it produced. A bell would be rung and the amount of saliva measured. Food would be presented and the amount of saliva measured. Then the bell and food would be presented at the same time and the amount of saliva measured. This would be repeated a set number of times, then the bell would be rung without presentation of the food, and the amount of saliva would be measured to test the strength of the conditioned response that had been learned.

To explain the process of classical conditioning, you need to be aware of several key terms:

Neutral stimulus (NS)

An event that does not produce a response

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

An event that produces an innate, unlearned reflex response

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

An event that produces a learned response

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

An innate, unlearned reflex behaviour that an organism produces when exposed to an unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned physical reflex behaviour that an organism produces when exposed to a conditioned stimulus

The process of classical conditioning is best represented like this:

Here are examples of this chart applied to Pavlov’s own research and to Watson and Rayner (1920) who demonstrated the learning of a phobia through classical conditioning in a boy called Little Albert.

Examples of Classical Conditioning

You can probably recognise classical conditioning in your own behaviour with ease. If your school or college rings bells at the end of lessons, you probably find it hard not to stand up, or if there are bells for lunch you probably find yourself hungry when they ring. You may also find that being given money makes you happy, and it can be argued that this response has been learned

Classical conditioning may also play a role in the learning of phobias. Behaviourists argue that phobias are learned when a neutral object is associated with a stimulus that already causes fear.

• Classical conditioning
• Operant Conditioning
• Stimulus-Response (S-R)

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Diagram illustrating Pavlov's experiments on a dog. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849-1936) was a Russian physiologist and experimental psychologist, who received the 1904 Nobel Prize for his work on the physiology of the digestive glands. He is best remembered for his work on conditioned reflexes, in which he conditioned dogs to salivate in anticipation of food by ringing a bell each meal time. Eventually, the bell alone provoked salivation. These experiments became the foundation of behaviourist psychology.

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