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CONDITIONING
Pavlov>Watson>Skinner
Classical Conditioning and Ivan
Pavlov
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Russian physiologist who initially
was studying digestion
Used dogs to study salivation when
dogs were presented with meat powder
Also known as Pavlovian or Respondent
Conditioning
Ivan
Pavlov
(1849–1936)

Ivan Pavlov

While an accidental discovery, he had the
foresight to see the importance of it. Pavlov’s
dogs, restrained in an experimental chamber,
were presented with meat powder and they had
their saliva collected via a surgically implanted
tube in their saliva glands. Over time, he noticed
that his dogs begin salivation before the meat
powder was even presented, whether it was by
the presence of the handler or merely by a
clicking noise produced by the device that
distributed the meat powder.
Ivan Pavlov

Fascinated by this finding, Pavlov paired the
meat powder with various stimuli such as the
ringing of a bell. After the meat powder and bell
(auditory stimulus) were presented together
several times, the bell was used alone. Pavlov’s
dogs, as predicted, responded by salivating to
the sound of the bell (without the food). The
bell began as a neutral stimulus (i.e. the bell
itself did not produce the dogs’ salivation).
However, by pairing the bell with the stimulus
that did produce the salivation response, the bell
was able to acquire the ability to trigger the
salivation response.
Ivan Pavlov

In technical terms, the meat powder is
considered an unconditioned stimulus
(UCS) and the dog’s salivation is the
unconditioned response (UCR). The
bell is a neutral stimulus until the dog
learns to associate the bell with food.
Then the bell becomes a conditioned
stimulus (CS) which produces the
conditioned response (CR) of salivation
after repeated pairings between the bell
and food.
Ivan Pavlov
Example Problems for CC

When you were still together, you
and your ex used to love the same hit
song. Now when you hear that song,
you feel sad.
Example Problems for CC (2)
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A fourth grade teacher who was very
strict and scary used to wear a strong,
rose-scented perfume. The smell of
roses now makes you very nervous.
Example Problems for CC (3)

One night you bought a meal deal at
McDonald’s, you arrived home to find a
burger, fries, colas, and three roaches in
the bag. Now, even the sight of the
McDonald’s logo makes you sick to your
stomach.
Skinner

One of his best known inventions
is the Skinner box (operant conditioning
chamber). It contains one or more levers
which an animal can press, one or more
stimulus lights and one or more places in
which reinforcers like food can be
delivered.
B. F. Skinner
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
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Founder of Operant
Conditioning
Invented “Skinner
Box”
Won “Sexiest Man
Alive” award in 1939
Skinner

In one of Skinners’ experiments a starved
rat was introduced into the box. When the
lever was pressed by the rat a small pellet
of food was dropped onto a tray. The rat
soon learned that when he pressed the
lever he would receive some food. In this
experiment the lever pressing behavior is
reinforced by food.
Skinner

In this experiment Skinner demonstrated
the ideas of "operant conditioning" and
"shaping behavior." Unlike Pavlov's
"classical conditioning," where an existing
behavior (salivating for food) is shaped by
associating it with a new stimulus (ringing
of a bell or a metronome), operant
conditioning is the rewarding of an act
that approaches a new desired behavior.
John B. Watson
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
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Believed that
Psychology should be
redefined as “the
scientific study of
behavior”
Founded
Behaviorism in 1913
Behaviorism was the
dominant school of
Psychology for more
than 50 years
“Little Albert” Experiment
LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT

It is widely known that human beings are
born with only two natural fears. One is
the fear of falling and the second is the
fear of loud noises. Where, then, do all of
our other fears come from?
LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT

In 1920, John B. Watson and Rosalie
Rayner performed a conditioning
experiment on an infant by the name of
Albert B. He was given a white rat and his
reaction was noted to be playful. He had
no fear of the white rat and was even
comfortable picking the rodent up while
playing with it.
LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT

The next time the rat was given to Albert,
he did exactly the same thing. This time,
the psychologists made a loud noise using
a metal pipe and a hammer. The noise
was so sudden and loud that it made little
Albert cry. They did the same thing
multiple times. Finally, when they gave
Albert the rat without the noise, the child
would cry at the mere sight of the animal.
LITTLE ALBERT EXPERIMENT
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Next, they introduced a white rabbit and
as soon as Albert saw the animal, he
began to cry. They gave him a Santa Claus
mask which also made him cry. Little
Albert was conditioned to cry at the sight
of the white rat, but in the process, he
made the connection to anything that was
white and furry would lead to a loud
noise.
What Ever Happened to Little
Albert?

The question of what happened to Little
Albert has long been one of psychology's
mysteries. Watson and Raynor were
unable to attempt to eliminate the boy's
conditioned fear because he moved with
his mother shortly after the experiment
ended. Some envisioned the boy growing
into a man with a strange phobia of white,
furry objects.
What Ever Happened to Little
Albert?

Recently, however, the true identity and
fate of the boy known as Little Albert was
discovered. As reported in American
Psychologist, a seven-year search led by
psychologist Hall P. Beck led to the
discovery. After tracking down the location
of the original experiments and the real
identity of the boy's mother, it was
discovered that Little Albert was actually a
boy named Douglas Merritte.
What Ever Happened to Little
Albert?

The story does not have a happy ending,
however. Douglas died at the age of six on
May 10, 1925 of hydrocephalus, a build-up
of fluid in his brain. "Our search of seven
years was longer than the little boy’s life,"
Beck wrote of the discovery.