An ordinary dog that became famous…

Let’s just continue where we have ended..

Our brain is the central element of everything we do. Before we are able to decide what the best way is to use digital media for marketing purposes, we should have some insights in human cognition. Why do people behave as they behave? An important item that should be taken into account for understanding human behaviour is the process of learning.

It all started with an experiment of Ivan Pavlov in 1927. Firstly, Pavlov was ringing a bell in front of a dog. Because the bell is a neutral stimulus for dogs, the dog didn’t respond to the sound. While confronting the dog with only food, Pavlov was measuring the amount of salivation in response to the food. As the experiment continued, Pavlov rang a bell as he presented the food. Again, he noted a salivary response. Finally, by only ringing the bell, Pavlov observed the same response as having presented food to the dogs; the dog was salivating. The salivating response by hearing the bell is called a conditioned response. The dog had learned to associate the bell with food and responded by salivating.

Just think about your own experiences with dogs. When I think about my own experiences with my dog, which probably sounds very familiar to others who have dogs, he already started barking and wagging his tail by only grabbing his belt!

Now you are maybe wondering, if I am going to deal with human beings and their behaviour, why I am showing you an experiment with a dog. The answer is that the same principles of behaviourism that apply to higher order animals also apply to us humans. We are all truly born to learn. A good example is that human beings cry as a response of pain. This is what it’s called an unconditioned response because this response is not learnt; it is simply inborn. Children won’t cry if they go to the doctor for the first time and see a needle. The needle is, just like the bell in Pavlov’s experiment, a neutral stimulus. However, when children go to the doctor for their second syringe, they will already start crying when they only see the doctor or the needle.

Furthermore, during the lecture of communication theory last Monday, our professor gave another, actually quite funny, example that relates to Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiment. He said that when students hear the word “finally” or any word related to that word during a lecture, they all close their books and grab their bags. And this is very recognizable if I may say! So, a suggestion for teachers: “do not start using such words or phrases before you are sure you have told everything you wanted to tell.” J

In conclusion and as I already mentioned earlier, we are all truly born to learn, both consciously and unconsciously.

This is just a very small part of what cognitive science covers. As our professor ones said during one of our lectures: “cognitive science is hard to define but you recognize it when you see it.” And that is exactly what I want to show you next blog!