Ivan Pavlov

Modified: 2020-03-27

Pavlov was a Nobel Prize-winning physiologist who discovered classical conditioning in the course of his physiological research. He eventually and begrudingly became a psychologist and in the process helped change the direction of psychological research. Classical conditioning became a major tool in the theoretical formulations of later behaviorists. It allowed them to explain behavior without having to consider consciousness. Pavlov's discovery of classical conditioning provided the first mechanism for explaining learning without reference to the mind. The long-standing doctrine of associationism had its first explanatory mechanism. Later research demonstrated the importance of timing and correlation of the CS--UCS pairing.

Comments

Classical conditioning was the first salvo of the behaviorist revolution. Watson used Pavlov's methods to demonstrate the Conditioned Emotional Response with Little Albert, for instance. American behaviorist theorizing took off with the combination of Watson's manifesto and Pavlov's classical conditioning.

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