Pavlov on the Conditioned Reflex Method and Its Limitations

Abstract

Pavlov's aim was to use the salivary conditioning method to investigate the function of the brain of higher animals in their adaptation to the external environment. The salivary reflex, according to Pavlov, was of minor biological significance but a good indicator of the subtle changes in the brain under different experimental conditions. To account for conditioned reflex phenomena, Pavlov faced two alternatives: to offer an objective (physiological) or a subjective (psychological) explanation. In 1901, after a bitter conflict with his disciple A. T. Snarskiy, Pavlov chose the first alternative. During the next decades, Pavlov provided reasons for this decision: The physiological approach (a) avoids anthropomorphizing or speculations about the dogs' subjective experiences, and (b) permits the explanation of observed phenomena which the subjective method is not capable of doing. Pavlov realized that the conditioned reflex method has a limitation; it cannot be used in the study of human subjects because their thinking interferes with experimental results.

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