Ivan Pavlov Essay

1. Behavioral approaches are used predominantly for treating children and adults with autism. Behavioral therapies include specific approaches to help individuals acquire or change behaviors. Behavioral therapies can be divided into three general approaches: operant conditioning, respondent or classical (Pavlovian) conditioning, and cognitive approaches. In treating children with autism, operant conditioning approaches are typically used. Ivan Pavlov performed experiments which involved training dogs to associate a tone with a food-reward. Initially, the subject shows weak or no response to a conditioned stimulus (CS, tone), but a measurable unconditioned response (UR, saliva production) to unconditioned stimulus (US, food). However, after repeatedly using the tone (CS), with the food (US), the subject forms and association between the two and shows conditioned response (CR, saliva production) to the tone (CS) alone.   This is opposed in principle to operant conditioning, where producing a CR (any task output) controls getting US (food). 2. B.F.Skinner’s work was influenced by Pavlov’s experiments. He took the notion of conditioned reflexes developed by Ivan Pavlov and applied it to the study of behavior, by experimenting with pigeons, rats and later his own infant daughter to develop his theories of operant conditioning. The concept though interesting, raises a lot of uncomfortable questions on ethical treatment of fellow living beings. 3. The observations made in the question, prove the fundamental thought behind Skinner’s experiments, that peoples’ response could be controlled, and also raises the valid point of the extent of control. In contrast the Pavlovian theory was about conditioning the ‘reflexes’ in response to stimuli. Skinner initially followed this theory before his data made him suspect that he had found a process of conditioning that was very different from Pavlov’s