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Pavlov's Theory Of Classical Conditioning Research

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Individuals often believe that they are in complete control of their cognitive processes. However, in everyday life, we are surrounded by stimuli which have significant influence over our responses and decision-making. This essay will explore Pavlov’s theory of Classical Conditioning from the early stages of conception and the advancements made by Watson and Rayner in 1920. Consequently, these discoveries revolutionised the field of Psychology, from the use of techniques in behaviour modification to the more recent new scientific field of Psychoneuroimmunology.
Classical Conditioning is an associative learning process which is achieved by the introduction of a neutral stimulus (NS) to prompt a conditioned response (CR). In 1902, whilst studying …show more content…

Research conducted in 1982 by Ader and Cohern demonstrated the immune system could be classically conditioned. This was achieved by infecting mice with the disease Lupus, the mice were then treated with Cytoxan a drug used to suppress the immune system. During their treatment the mice would also receive a dose of saccharin solution just prior to the Cytoxan being administered. Ader and Cohern increased the amount of solution and decreased the amount of Cytoxan each day until only the saccharine solution was being administered. Their findings were astonishing, the immune systems in the mice had been conditioned to recognise the saccharin solution as the drug Cytoxan, which in turn eliminated the need for the medication. Since this initial research, successful trials have been conducted on humans with the same condition and further investigations are currently being researched into the use of conditioning on the immune …show more content…

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