Pavlov's Theory

 

 

A Russian physiologist and researcher Ivan Pavlov discovered classical conditioning.  Classical conditioning is the type in which a neutral stimulus comes to bring about a response after it’s paired with a stimulus that naturally brings out that response.   Classical conditioning is a step-by-step process that starts with a neutral stimulus (NS), which is a stimulus that produces no response.  Then the neutral stimulus is combined with an unconditioned stimulus (UCS), which is a stimulus that naturally initiates a response thus resulting in an unconditioned response (UCR). Next a conditioned stimulus is created it (CS).  A conditioned stimulus is the end result of a neutral stimulus that was added to an unconditioned stimulus.  Finally this stimulus results in a conditioned response (CR), which is the learned response.  An example of the process of classical conditioning is if your ex-lover always wore a certain brand of cologne now every time you smell that scent you think of him/ or her and are overcome by a feeling of sadness.  The neutral stimulus is cologne.  The unconditioned stimulus is your ex-lover.  The unconditioned response is you associating your ex-lover to that fragrance. The conditioned stimulus is associating your ex-lover to that fragrance every time you smell it.  The conditioned response is a feeling of sadness every time you smell that aroma.