ABSTRACT
Most students have some general familiarity with Pavlov’s experiments. In a typical salivary conditioning experiment on dogs, the sound of the bell was followed a few seconds later by the presentation of some food. Several of these bell-food trials were administered and salivation to the bell was monitored. After several pairings, the dog began to salivate during the bell (Pavlov, 1927/1960, which is the standard reference to G. V. Anrep’s translation). Classical conditioning, or Pavlovian conditioning as this procedure is also known, suffers from something of a multiple-personality problem. On the one hand, it is considered to be a simple, almost reflexive form of learning that does not require sophisticated nervous system involvement. Conditioning simply transfers a response from one stimulus to another. These beliefs underlie popular culture references to someone who responds like “Pavlov’s dog,” a caricature promoted by writers such as Aldous Huxley (in his Brave New World) to the Rolling Stones.
