PSYC85H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Jacques Loeb, Classical Conditioning, Reflexology
History of Psychology
July 4th 2016
Chapter Nine:
• Behaviorists: regarded behavior as the only proper subject for psychology and rejected subjective experience as a legitimate
topic.
o What goes o i the id a’t eall e ko o easued.
• Ivan P. Pavlov (1849-1936)
o Abandoned his pursuit of priesthood after reading Darwin and became interested in natural science.
o Developed an interest in physiology and became a medical doctor.
o Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his work on the physiology of the digestive system.
▪ Studied secretion of gastric juices in response to meat powder and noticed things associated with meat
powder also caused secretions.
o Unconditioned reflexes: a response that always occurs unconditionally in the presence of the same stimulus.
▪ Correspond to the instincts of an animal.
o Conditioned reflexes: reflexes, which are conditional in the sense that they depend upon learning.
o Unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that elicits a particular response unconditionally.
o Conditioned stimulus: a previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a fraction of the response elicited by an
unconditioned stimulus.
o Unconditioned response: a response that is elicited unconditionally by a particular stimulus.
o Conditioned response: a response made to a conditioned stimulus.
▪ Usually smaller in magnitude than an unconditioned response.
o Higher order conditioning: occurs when a second conditioned stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus that has
already been established.
▪ Leads to two levels of signals:
➢ Primary signaling system: consists largely of sensory stimuli
➢ Secondary signaling system: consists largely of words, which name primary signals
o Fundamental cortical processes (according to Pavlov):
▪ Excitation: responding
▪ |Inhibition: in order to properly adjust to the environment, it is necessary to inhibit all but those responses
that are appropriate to the current situation.
o Individual differences: based on the ease with which they formed conditioned reflexes.
▪ Belieed Hippoates’ tepeaets ee aaged on a scale of these:
➢ Excitatory group: easily conditioned
➢ Inhibitory group: difficult to condition
• Vladimir M. Bekhterev (1857-1927)
o Reflexology: an extremely ambitious attempt to explain all behavior from the individual to the social in terms of the
reflex concept.
▪ Relationship between environmental situation and behavior.
o Regarded the individual as a system of energy transformation and exchange, much in the same way as Freud did (but
more objective).
o Rejected the study of subjective aspects of mind in favor of studying observable products such as speech and social
behavior.
o Believed that the basic laws of physical science could be applied to explain behavior at all levels, from the individual to
the social.
o Responsible for the interest in conditioning shown by early 20th century psychologists.
o Assoiatio efle: a stiulus, suh as a eletial shok, is applied to a peso’s fige.
▪ Response is withdrawal upon being shocked, and could come to be elicited by a signal that had preceded the
shock.
▪ Conditioned reflex
• John B. Watson (1878-1958)
o Jacques Loeb (1859-1924)
▪ Regarded science as the search for functional relations, which describe the dependence of behavior on
particular stimulus conditions.
➢ Tropism: movements under the direct control of a stimulus.
o Used white rats as lab subjects although it was novel at the time.
o Investigated the behavior of rats in mazes.
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Document Summary
Behaviorists: regarded behavior as the only proper subject for psychology and rejected subjective experience as a legitimate topic: what goes o(cid:374) i(cid:374) the (cid:373)i(cid:374)d (cid:272)a(cid:374)"t (cid:396)eall(cid:455) (cid:271)e k(cid:374)o(cid:449)(cid:374) o(cid:396) (cid:373)easu(cid:396)ed. Studied secretion of gastric juices in response to meat powder and noticed things associated with meat powder also caused secretions: unconditioned reflexes: a response that always occurs unconditionally in the presence of the same stimulus. Conditioned reflexes: reflexes, which are conditional in the sense that they depend upon learning: unconditioned stimulus: a stimulus that elicits a particular response unconditionally. Conditioned stimulus: a previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a fraction of the response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus: unconditioned response: a response that is elicited unconditionally by a particular stimulus. Conditioned response: a response made to a conditioned stimulus: usually smaller in magnitude than an unconditioned response, higher order conditioning: occurs when a second conditioned stimulus is paired with a conditioned stimulus that has already been established.
