pavlov study

Question 1

initial aim

Answer 1

• pavlovs initial aim was to learn about the salivation reflex, however he noticed salivation in dogs occurred not only in response to food but to stimuli that typically occurred close in time to the presentation of food.

Question 2

aims

Answer 2

• explaining the role of conditioned reflexes in the eating behaviour of dogs.
• exploring how salvation becomes associated with new stimuli apparently unrelated to food and the properties of this association.

Question 3

procedure

Answer 3

• lab experiment
• collecting saliva from the salivary glands of an immobilised dog - observed and measured either by volume or number of drops in cannula.
• soundproof chamber to minimise effects of extraneous variables.
  -mpavlov knew that the food would lead to salivation (UCR)
• established a baseline by measuring salivation in response to a neutral stimulus - an item that in itself would not elicit a repose - bell
• he then paired the the NS with the UCS of food, usually round 20 times.
• over several learning trials, the dog was presented with the ticking immediately before food appeared.

Question 4

procedure

Answer 4

• before conditioning:
  the dog is hungry, the dog sees the food which is an unconditioned stimulus and the dog salivates. this is a reflex action and unconditioned response.
• when a metronome (NS) is played, it produces no response in the dog.
• during conditioning:
  before we present the food, we play the metronome. the dog salivates at the sight of the food. we repeat this action met the food at several meals.

Question 5

results

Answer 5

• the NS did not initially elicit a salivation response, whereas the UCS elicited immediate salivation.
• after the repeated pairings, the NS did typically elicit salivation.
• after a while just at the sound of the bell, they responded by drooling.

Question 6

conclusion

Answer 6

• salivation is reflex response that dogs are born with, but environmental stimuli can be conditioned to produce the salivation response. eg the ticking
• this demonstrates cc- learning through association

Question 7

generalisability

Answer 7

:( pavlovs work was conducted on dogs, and there is problem in generalising the results of animal studies to humans. it is unclear how well the findings of an animal study will generalise to humans because humans have structurally different brains from other species, and therefore may respond differently.
CA= however, studies like little Albert show that cc does take place in humans. although humans can consciously try to overcome conditioned reflexes, this is very difficult.

Question 8

reliability

Answer 8

:) good internal reliability ( consistency of procedure) Pavlov used carefully controlled and standardised procedures, for example sound proofed lab.
:) good external reliability - findings have been replicated.

Question 9

application

Answer 9

• while the use of animals is questionable, it could be argued that findings have led to useful treatments such as SD. therefore demonstrating some credibility to pavlovs research in its application to human conditioning.

Question 10

validity

Answer 10

:) pavlov controlled for extraneous variables which enhances the internal validity of the study. he conducted his study in a soundproof chamber to reduce the possibility of external noises distracting the dogs or providing additional stimuli.
the collection of saliva in a cannula also prevented any loss of saliva, and so preventing invalid measurements.
furthermore, neutral stimuli were carefully chosen and tested to ensure they did not already elicit a salivation response. these controls make it more likely that salivation in response to the conditioned stimulus was due to conditioning rather than to extraneous variables.

CA= study could be said to have issues with validity. eg the situation was not particularly natural for the dogs as they were in a chamber with no other stimuli present. this suggests that the study lacks ecological validity as it is not the normal environment for a dog to respond to food.

Question 11

ethics

Answer 11

: the cost and benefits of this research is a sources of controversy. the usefulness of findings in terms of pavlovs research in terms of it leading to successful treatments may actually be greater thha the cost to the animal.
CA= that said, the accommodation of chambers and isolation of the dogs may well not be justified.