Pavlov 1927

• Pavlov‘s aim was to investigate the conditioned response and the conditioned reflex.
• 35 dogs of a variety of breeds, raised in kennels in the lab.
• Pavlov used a repeated measures design and studied the same dogs before and after conditioning
• The procedure involved measuring a baseline of their salivation when they ate the meat powder, then conditioning the dogs to associate a neutral stimulus with the food and remeasuring their salivation.
• The dogs were conditioned by pairing the Neutral Stimulus sound with the presentation of food (meat powder) several times.  Pavlov usually did this about 20 times but it depended on how attentive the dogs were
• Pavlov used scientific methods of a lab experiment, and carefully controlled the conditions using a soundproof room.  The dog was strapped into a harness to stop it moving about and its mouth was linked to a tube that drained saliva away into a measuring bottle.

  The CONTROL condition of the IV is the dogs’ natural reflexive behaviour of salivation when Pavlov presented the dogs with meat powder and the food is in their mouths.  This provided a baseline measurement of saliva for each dog.

   
• Another condition of the IV is the dogs’ behaviour AFTER they have been conditioned to associate food with a Neutral stimulus such as a metronome, tuning fork or electric buzzer.
• Further experiments investigated extinction and spontaneous recovery of salivation, for example, the NS (eg metronome) now a conditioned stimulus (CS) was presented several times without the food (UCS).

   
• Pavlov found that the conditioned dog started to salivate 9 seconds after hearing the CS sound, and by 45s had produced 11 drops of saliva.
• Extinction occurred if the CS was presented several times without the UCS of food and salivation reduced.

   
• There was some spontaneous recovery of salivation after extinction had happened, when some dogs spontaneously salivated at the sound of the stimulus which had previously been extinct
• Pavlov concluded that he had discovered how the brain links the UCS and NS which has become known as Classical Conditioning.  This is a type of learning which is caused by repeatedly pairing a Neutral stimulus of a sound, eg a metronome ticking, with an Unconditioned Stimulus (the meat powder)
• Pavlov called this learning signalisation and believed this explains how in the wild, animals learn survival behaviours such as running away from a stimulus which is associated with a reflex such as fear.
• In Conclusion, Pavlov deserves credit for documenting the discovery of Classical Conditioning and for systematically exploring it, uncovering phenomena like extinction and spontaneous recovery.  His procedures were well-controlled, and his conclusions largely supported by later research.  His work has important implications and has benefitted society through the development of treatments for phobias, however, there are controversial uses, and it should be remembered that it only explains one aspect of learning which only applies to reflex responses.
• Classical conditioning is still used today in various fields, including psychology, medicine, and education. In psychology, it is often used to treat phobias and other anxiety disorders. By gradually exposing patients to the feared object or situation while providing positive reinforcement, therapists aim to change the patient's associations and reduce their anxiety levels.