Pavlov’s Dogs Study and Pavlovian Conditioning Explained

In 1849, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov performed one of the most famous experiments in history. In the study, Pavlov trained two groups of dogs – one group was initially presented with food when they heard a sound but were then presented with the food alone without the sound; the other group was presented with the food and the sound at the same time. The dogs in the first group learned to associate the sound with the reward (i.e., the food) and became conditioned to salivate whenever they heard the bell, even if they had not seen the food. On the other hand, the dogs in the second group learned to associate the sound with the punishment (i.e., the shock).

Pavlov’s study of conditioning is one of the foundations of modern psychology. Conditioning is a process by which a person learns to associate a particular stimulus (e.g., a sound, smell, or vision) with a particular response (e.g., salivation). Conditioning is often a subconscious process and can occur with anything regularly associated with a desired outcome.

Pavlov’s study of conditioning has profoundly impacted all areas of psychology. For example, conditioning is responsible for the phenomenon known as “the placebo effect,” which is the belief that treatment (even if it is ineffective) will have therapeutic effects. Conditioning is also responsible for the phenomenon known as “cognitive dissonance,” which is the pain that people experience when their attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors do not match their expectations about themselves.