Conditioning of Mind by Experience

How is it that we attempt to predict whether rain comes or not by looking at the clouds? Why do suppliers bring and arrange plates in front  of us some 5 – 10 minutes early instead of bringing them along with the food in restaurants? How little kids correctly tell the arrival of their father or mother by hearing the sound of the vehicle by which they come generally? Why students become quiet at the onset of the bell in schools?

            The reason behind all these actions which we see in our day- to-day life is ‘classical conditioning’. In simple words, we start responding to certain stimuli with an anticipation of another stimulus following it. This phenomenon was first discovered by a Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. As most of the researches, this was also an unexpected discovery. Pavlov was interested in studying physiology of digestion. So he was conducting experiments with his dog. One day he observed his dog salivating as soon as it saw the empty plate in which food was served. Factually, salivation should be a response to food and not for an empty plate. But then how it was salivating when only plate was kept in front of it? Question struck the mind of the scientist. He designed an experiment to understand the phenomenon more scientifically. He attached a test tube to the jaw of the dog surgically so that it could collect the saliva of the dog and the scientist could measure the amount of saliva accurately. Dog was placed in a box and kept hungry. A bell was sounded and food followed it immediately. For some days the same practice was continued, i.e. sound of the bell followed by food. Later one day, he presented only the sound of the bell and not food to the dog. Still dog salivated to the same level as it was salivating to the food.  This was called as ‘conditioning’. In other words, conditioning is a type of learning in which a stimulus (here, bell) acquires the capacity to elicit a response that was originally elicited by another stimulus (food).

In our daily life, we too anticipate the events to occur preceding the other, as we gain experience. Since we have seen raining after the dark clouds, since we start anticipating the food as soon as the plate arrive on our table, or since the teacher enters the classroom following the bell, we start predicting them to happen.

            This conditioning need not be permanent. For example, if rain never comes even after having thick and dark clouds for many times, then people start telling that rain may not come though it is cloudy, or students might not become quiet if teacher does not enter the class and false bells are being rung. This process is called as extinction which is opposite of conditioning. In other words, we stop anticipating the events after another event.

What may be the reason for children getting scared when they see doctor?  In the initial days of a baby, it needs to be vaccinated and the doctor gives injections for vaccinating it. Since injections give pain, the child learns that the doctor is a person who gives pain to it. So it will get scared when it sees a doctor. This is called aversive conditioning. Another type of classical conditioning which is mainly used to elicit avoidance and escape responses. Generally we threaten children if they approach fire to touch it. Even then sometimes they touch it with their curiosity. But it is a well known fact that if a child puts its hands into fire and feels the pain of burning sensation in its hands, then it won’t try it again. Why this happens? The reason is the same. The vision of fire doesn’t give any pain to the child. So it goes ahead to touch it. But the actual touch will give it pain. That will be a lesson for it not to touch fire again!!

Aversive conditioning has been used by psychologists to withdraw people from mild alcohol addiction. They use a simple technique like they will add some chemical agents which cause vomiting or diarrhoea, to the alcohol before giving it to the addict. The person will develop aversion against alcohol following aversive consequences after drinking alcohol!! So the problem of alcohol addiction can be solved.  

Classical conditioning is behind shaping of the attitude of a person. When a person experiences good company with a new person, he/she will develop a liking towards him. On the other hand, if s/he experience negative events with a person, then s/he will slowly avoid being with him. In this way, our mind is subjected to different life situations leading to classical conditioning in daily life. The knowledge of it will make us to think more about the way we are conditioned and how deeply it is engrossed in our personality. Then we can make objective judgements regarding choices of our life.     

Thank you Vaidehi akka... :)         

Afternoon voice - http://afternoonvoice.com/

Chemical bonding- Human bonding

One more publication in Afternoonvoice.  Thanks to my dear Vaidehi akka of http://afternoonvoice.com/

For a convenient reading.....

Many students find it difficult to study chemistry. Most of them are unable to imagine the concepts like electron shifting, excitation, interaction, formation of bonds and so on which are very basic in chemistry. Unless a student understands these concepts he can’t understand chemistry.

Man being a social animal interacts with different people in different ways in different circumstances. We can see many kinds of bonds between individuals like personal bonding, professional bonding, bonding with the community, class, gender group, peers etc. One’s behaviour with his friends, relatives, parents, neighbours, enemies, competitors etc are totally different from one another. These are the subject matters of Sociology. But how would it be, if we combine Sociology and Chemistry to understand the concepts like chemical bonding?!!

Yes, I have found some similarities in the types of chemical bonds and in the types of human relationships. You would be surprised to know that how similar kind of incidents occur between living and non-living things!

1)   Covalent bond:  It is a type of bonding in which two atoms share their electrons and form a bond. Here both the atoms are equal. Because both the atoms donate one electron each for bonding.

I see these atoms like friends. They are equal. Unless there is equality and an input of common interest, the friendship can’t remain for long time.

2)   Ionic Bond: This is a type of bonding which takes place between oppositely charged ions. Unlike poles attract each other and like poles repel each other.

    As we all know, we can correlate this interaction with attractions between boys and girls.

3)  Vander Waal’s interaction: It is a very weak interaction between two adjacent atoms of different molecules.

This is like the relationship between neighbours. The neighbours keep good relationship unavoidably because help in critical moments comes from neighbours only. But this bond may not be quite deep seated. For instance, if we shift our house from one place to another, then the new neighbours become more important and the earlier ones are sidelined.

4)  Coordinate bond: This is a type of bond in which one atom or a group donates its lone pair of electrons and forms the bond. The electrons required for the bonding belongs to only one atom. And the other atom is totally electron deficient.

This is a type of bonding which we can see between a child and parents. Child is not capable of fulfilling its needs on its own. Parents will support the child and nurture it by providing all the things that it needs. The speciality of parent - child relation is that in the beginning the coordinate bond exists. Later covalent bond comes into picture. Further the coordinate bond reappears in the opposite direction to the previous one along with the presence of covalent bond. Let me explain it more specifically. In the beginning, when child is very small, parents will donate everything to child. As the child grows and becomes an adult, commonly there exists a covalent type of bonding. Many parents treat their children as their friends. There would be sharing of ideas between parents and children. Further, when the son/ daughter gets a job and starts earning and the parents get retired, then it is the son/ daughter’s responsibility to look after his/her parents. Here, son/ daughter will fulfil the requirements of parents. But this is not a coordination bond like the earlier. Here mutual respect exists. Hence, it is covalent too.

        If a chemistry teacher teaches chemistry in this way in the class room, definitely students will feel chemistry to be an easy subject as they can correlate the things with their daily life and won’t feel chemistry to be an abstract subject. Another benefit of this kind of presentation is, in addition to the knowledge of chemistry, the teacher will be giving some social values like children’s responsibility towards parents, which should be imbibed in our life. 

India needs to reassess its foreign policy

India needs to reassess its foreign policy

Akshara

India and Afghanistan have been in good terms since long time. In fact, Afghanistan was a part of earlier Bharatavarsha as mentioned in Mahabharata. In the recent past, the domination of Afghanistan by Talibans had worsened the situation in that country. After the attack on twin towers in New York, George Bush started attacking Afghanistan in order to get live or dead the main culprit Osama Bin Laden who was suspected to be hiding in that country. Meanwhile, a huge number of US soldiers were shifted to Afghanistan. Frequent bomb attacks and unrest has made Afghani citizens to live always under fear.

Last year that is in 2011, when US President Barack Obama declared that the US troop will vacate Afghanistan by 2014, all US soldiers were pleased that they can meet their family. But at the same time, Afghanistan was worried as there was no systematic police force or military force of its own. The worry still continues as the whole nation has to be brought into order. The social order has been torn away since many years with poor living condition for majority of citizens. People have terrible difficulty for drinking water, sanitation and other b     asic human needs.

In this scenario, 70 countries and organizations have joined together in order to re-establish law and order in the disturbed country. In Tokyo Conference, they have pledged $16 bn dollars to the badly hit Afghanistan. India is one among the leaders who is in the forefront by stretching its hands to Afghan with help. India had supplied medical aid and food to that nation. Our country is also funding on construction of new parliament house and other construction works in Afghanistan.

It is important for India to contribute to Afghanistan not only because Afghan president, Hamid Karzai has maintained a good relation with New Delhi but as China is willing to establish its presence in Afghanistan. China has always been a threat to India in its border though there is a very good trade relation between India and China. In case if China establishes itself in Afghan too, then it will pose a major threat to India. In fact, the red dragon is looking forward to occupy the vacancy that will be caused by the return of American military. Pakistan is worried about India’s contribution to Afghan as India will have a hold in that country. In the current situation, it is important for India to make right steps in order to build a cordial relationship with its neighbours. In other words, India should stand firm to meet the challenges by Pakistan and China to maintain the balance of power.

My first publication in English. Thanks to Vaidehi Sachin, editor, printer and publisher of  http://www.afternoonvoice.com/

On Throat Panel suggestions

Cartoons are not made just for fun. Many times, they contain very thought provoking messages in them. Just because some of the cartoons criticize the politicians, it is not advisable to remove them from the text books. Moreover, students of 11^th and 12^th grade will definitely have the capability to analyse such cartoons and interpret them.

The cartoons in the text books will definitely give the stimulations to the young brains who are future citizens of the nation to think more pragmatically than remain biased about some political leaders or political party or even about bureaucracy.