Pavlov and Watson

• Classical conditioning


  Learning by association
• Ivan Pavlov

  1849-1946, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904, Major theorist in the development of classical conditioning
• Conditioning

  1. A process where learning takes place under certain conditions

  2. Involves learning by association - making a connection between two events
• Pavlov noticed dogs salivated whenever their keeper entered the room
• Pavlov believed the dogs associated their keeper with food and salivated
• Pavlov's experiment


  1. Each time food was produced, he rang a bell

  2. The dogs learned to associate the bell with food and salivated

  3. They would then salivate at the sound of the bell
• Bell

  Neutral stimulus (NS)
• Salivation

  Unconditioned Response (UCR)
• Bell


  Conditioned stimulus (CS)
• Salivation


  Conditioned response (CR)
• Food

  Unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
• How classical conditioning works

  1. Before conditioning

  2. During conditioning

  3. After conditioning

  4. Pairing
• Pavlov concluded that the dogs learned to salivate on hearing the bell - they associated the bell with food
• Behaviour can therefore be learned through association
• Conditioned response does not last forever
• Extinction


  If the bell was rung and no food appeared, the dogs eventually stopped salivating
• Being humiliated by a teacher could still be haunting you today


  • A math teacher embarrassed a student. That student may develop a dislike for the subject that follows them even into adulthood
• NS


  Student performs poorly in math class
• US

  Getting lectured by the math teacher
• UR


  Feeling embarrassed
• CR


  Feeling embarrassed
• Attention-getters


  • Turning off the lights, rhyming, student callbacks, hand signals, a bell, music, or when the teacher simply stops talking could be used to obtain students' attention
• Attention-getters


  • A teacher may say, "Class, class!" and the class is expected to call back, "Yes, yes!" and then wait for the teacher's next direction. Modelling this behaviour will be crucial to beginning the conditioning process
• Transition notifications


  • A bell, gong, chimes, music, or a clap may sometimes be used to notify students of a transition. As an example, a teacher may strike a gong to alert students it is time to stop work and move on to the next activity
• Positive feedback


  • Keeps the students on track while motivating students who are off-track to switch courses
  • Associate the activity they are being praised for with a good feeling. Most students will continue to demonstrate the behaviour
  • Students who may not be showing the desired behaviour may hear the positive feedback toward the other students and wish to receive the positive feedback as well. They will then, most likely, exhibit the desired behaviour
• Answer cueing


  • Provides students a procedure for answering questions, as well as giving them additional "think time"
  • Prevents students from shouting out the answers to questions before the other students can process the question and formulate an answer
  • A teacher may raise their hands up while asking the question, keep the hands up an extra few seconds, and then bring the hands down with palms facing upward, signalling students they are now permitted to answer the question
• While this "think time" typically lasts only 1.5 seconds, research has shown that waiting three seconds or more will benefit the students (Stahl, 1994). This additional processing time can encourage more students to contribute to the lesson and answer the question presented by the teacher
• "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select-- doctor, lawyer, merchant-chief, and yes, even beggarman and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors." (Watson, 1930)
• Inducing a phobia: Little Albert – Classical Conditioning in Humans

  • https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=587445564&rlz=1C1GCEA_en&q=John+Watson+Pequeno+Albert&tbm=vid&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiwqPyWm_OCAxW7UkEAHezCClkQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=1366&bih=619&dpr=1&safe=active&ssui=on#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:472ec971,vid:9hBfnXACsOI,st:0
• A practitioner can improve classroom instruction and behaviour management - be mindful not to condition children negatively, as it could lead to long-term effects
• Self-esteem is malleable, and teachers have the potential to elevate students' self-esteem through classical conditioning
• Teachers can apply extinction practices so that students no longer associate certain events with negative thoughts of themselves
• Praising a student
• Classical conditioning is observed through classroom behaviour management, classroom routines, or even the educational games that students play
• Classical conditioning is an excellent tool to reinforce learning, and learning can be delivered to an entire class