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/
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