Pavlov's dogs
Bell-trained salivating hounds
Pavlov's dogs refers to the animals in Ivan Pavlov's famous conditioning experiments, where dogs learned to salivate at the sound of a bell they associated with food.
The phrase now describes any automatic, unthinking response to a stimulus: Mention free food and my coworkers turn into Pavlov's dogs.
Someone acting like Pavlov's dog responds reflexively rather than thoughtfully.
Learned stimulus-response association
- bellHollow resonating instrument
- salivationMouth producing digestive fluid
- conditioned responseLearned reaction to stimulus
- associationGroup with shared aim
acquisition · extinction · generalization · discrimination · reinforcement · anticipation · trigger · cue
Psychology studying observable conduct
- learning theoryHow people gain knowledge
- stimulus-responseInput-output behavioral pattern
- behavior modificationAltering conduct through reinforcement
- habit formationEstablishing automatic behavioral patterns
expectation · automatic response · mental association · anticipation · cognitive psychology
Highest academic honor
- scientific discoveryNew knowledge from research
- behavioral scienceStudy of human conduct
- WatsonCommon English surname
- SkinnerBehaviorism's leading theorist
Mouth producing digestive fluid
- droolSaliva spilling out
- glandsSecreting organs
- salivaMouth's digestive secretion
- autonomicSelf-regulating without awareness
involuntary · nervous system · digestive system · visceral · gastric juice · fistula · measurement
classical conditioning
Learned stimulus-response association
- bellHollow resonating instrument
- salivationMouth producing digestive fluid
- conditioned responseLearned reaction to stimulus
association · acquisition · extinction · generalization · discrimination · reinforcement · anticipation · trigger · cue · signal
behaviorism
Psychology studying observable conduct
- learning theoryHow people gain knowledge
- stimulus-responseInput-output behavioral pattern
- behavior modificationAltering conduct through reinforcement
habit formation · expectation · automatic response · mental association · anticipation · cognitive psychology
Nobel Prize
Highest academic honor
- scientific discoveryNew knowledge from research
- behavioral scienceStudy of human conduct
- WatsonCommon English surname
salivation
Mouth producing digestive fluid
autonomic · involuntary · nervous system · digestive system · visceral · gastric juice · fistula · measurement
- EponymsDarwinian, Alzheimer's disease, Freudian slip, cardigan, Parkinson's disease
- Psychology ResearchStanford prison experiment, marshmallow test, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, Skinner box
- Conditioningconditioning, classical conditioning, operant, reinforcement, stimulus
Pavlov's dogsinstinct
Innate behavioral tendency
fixed action pattern · survival instinct · fight-or-flight response · maternal instinct · imprinting
Pavlov's dogsfree will
Autonomous choice capacity
rational choice · conscious decision · critical thinking · self-determination · deliberate choice