Assignment #2

One of the experiments which I found particularly was Ivan Pavlov's experiment regarding his dog. In the experiment. Pavlov began the experiment by realizing that his dog reacted to food by salivating. In the experiment the food was the unconditional stimulus while the response (the salivation) was the unconditional response. Pavlov then introduced the metronome which would make sounds before his dog was fed. The metronome was the conditioned stimulus. After periods of time, Pavlov's dog began to salivate after the metronome was making sounds even when the food was not present. Hence, the conditional stimulus is the salivation by the dog in response to the metronome. Because the dog associated the metronome with food, Pavlov's dog responded by salivating.
Picture of Pavlov: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ivan_Pavlov_%28Nobel%29.png
A youtube video which shows a simple version of Pavlov's experiment is in this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP5lCleK-PM&feature=related
I believe this experiment is crucial towards learning because it explains how humans and animals can learn naturally. Consequently, it demonstrates how humans can be trained towards different things. The natural reflexes which the dog learned can be applied to our personal lives. Last year, in one of my psychology classes, we experimented with classical conditioning firsthand. In class, the teacher gave us all cups of Country Time Lemonade Mix. (Picture in link below) http://www.amazon.com/Country-Time-Lemonade-Mix-82-5/dp/B000F30MLO We were all given cups of the lemonade mix and every time he played a beep sound on the board, we were allowed to stick our finger into the cup and have a taste of the lemonade mix. After 30 minutes, the majority of us began to salivate after the same beep was played. Similarly, in history class, we had a student sit in front of the class while the teacher read an article. Every time the word "the" was said, the student would be squirted with a spray bottle. Eventually, the student flinched after the word "the" was said. After these learning experiences, I still question the extent to which we can use the method of classical conditioning for learning. Furthermore, I wonder how long classical conditioning can last on a human. After a couple weeks, will the student who was sprayed with a spray can still react to the word "the"? In general, I would like to learn more about how classical conditioning could possibly impact how we learn in the future and how long the classical conditioning effects us.