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Pavlov's Dog Study (1927) - Coggle Diagram
Pavlov's Dog Study (1927)
Aim
To find out if a reflexive behaviour can be produced in new situations through learning
In particular, to see if associating a reflex with a neutral stimulus (a sound) causing learning to take place, producing a conditioned reflex in new situations
IV
The independent variable of this study is the repeated measures design
DV
The dependent variable of Pavlov’s study is the amount of dog saliva he collected from the dogs as they produced saliva when the food
Sample
Pavlov used 35 dogs in this experiment that were a variety of breeds and all the dogs were raised in kennels
Procedure
Pavlov placed each dog in a sealed room and didn’t allow the dog to see, smell or hear anything outside (to prevent other stimuli affecting the dog). The dog was strapped into a harness to prevent movement and their mouth was linked to a tube to collect and measure their saliva.
Pavlov then presented the food through a hatch and the dog then salivated.
He then produced the metronome sound which the dog did not salivate at proving it is a neutral stimulus.
To condition the dog, Pavlov paired the food with the metronome sound. He usually did this around 20 times. After conditioning, the dog salivated at the sound of the metronome alone.
Results
Pavlov found out that the conditioned dog started to salivate after 9 seconds after hearing the sound and by 45 seconds the dogs had produced 11 drops of saliva. This was a result of the dogs being conditioned to salivate from just the sound and not the presentation of the food.
Conclusion
Pavlov had discovered Classical Conditioning where the neutral stimulus, after repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus (the food), producing the conditioned response (salivation) all by itself
Pavlov’s theory of Classical Conditioning explains how animals learn to their reflexes. Classical Conditioning explains learning through association.
Pavlov explains how the brain learns to see the new sound as a “signal” and links the reflex to it. This explains how animals in the wild learn how to hunt or escape being hunted: they learn to apply their reflexes to new situations based on experiences they’ve had before
Evaluation
Generalisation
Dogs cannot be generalised to humans
All dogs come from the same backgrounds so may not generalise to other dogs
Reliability
Standardised procedure
Tested different stimuli to make sure they are learning through association
Validity
Low ecological validity as the dogs were kept in an unusual setting
Ethics
Today it would be classed to be unethical
Also seen for the benefits to outweigh the costs
Application
Aversion therapy and helps people stop addictions
Helps with treating phobias such as systematic desensitisation and flooding