Classical Conditioning Essay

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Classical Conditioning Melissa Hayes July 31, 2011 The theory of classical conditioning started with Ivan Pavlov a psychologist. Pavlov studied physiology after being a priest was something he did not like. Pavlov studied the digestive system using dogs. Pavlov led a study on the canine digestive stem by utilizing data from dog’s salivation; on these studies, he unintentionally learned that particular behaviors can be conditioned (Riskind, & Manos). Pavlov learned that some people’s reactions can come from experiences they have been threw. In his study he compared individual’s reaction with dog’s reaction. One example he used with dogs, he would use meat to get a dog’s attention. The dogs knew when the worker would have the meat. The dog began to recognize that worker would bring meat every single time. Pavlov learned that certain sounds and lights would make the dog prepare for the arrival of the meat. Pavlov had it set up that he would ring a bell to let the dog know there was food. After a couple of times doing that the worker would then show up with no meat. The dog would still respond as the worker was coming with the meat. This research was listed as classical conditioning. Natural stimulus is when an object would trigger a certain reaction. Unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response which is the reaction is when reacting is learned. The natural stimulus is a conditioned stimulus where an individual has developed a conditioned response (Olson & Hergenhahn). We bought a dog for our kids. One way that we prepared the dog was to have certain feeding times a day. The dog exactly what time he goes out and what time he gets feed. We also have a training pen that we put him in at night. We use this to prepare him for being an outside or inside dog. He has become a very good guard dog barking when needed around people that are not part
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