The introduction reads as follows; During his experiments with dogs, Ivan Pavlov noticed them salivating before food was even presented. Somehow the dogs had learned to associate the lab assistant’s approaching footsteps with eating. This observation led to Pavlov’s discovery of classical conditioning, in which we learn to associate a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus that produces an automatic, natural response. The crucial stage of this process involves repeated pairings of the two stimuli. A photo beside shows Ivan Pavlov observing a dog looking at a woman lab assistant.
At the left is a series of three graphics with the heading, Pavlov’s Experiments. The first frame is labeled, Before conditioning. In the left graphic, a bowl of dog food labeled Unconditioned stimulus has an arrow pointing to a dog salivating looking at the bowl, and a label reading, Unconditioned response salivates. The caption reads, Dog salivates automatically when food is presented.
In the right graphic, an image of a buzzer is labeled Neutral stimulus buzzer sound, and an image of a dog with a thought balloon showing a Nil icon is labeled No response. The caption reads, Buzzer means nothing to the dog, so there is no response.
The second frame of the graphic is labeled During conditioning. The upper graphic shows an equation that reads as follows;
Neutral stimulus buzzer sound with an image of a metal buzzer plus Unconditioned stimulus with a bowl of dog food equals Unconditioned response salivates with an image of the dog salivating looking at the bowl. Below the equation is a timeline showing the same equation four times, with a label below, reading repeated over time. The caption reads, In the process of conditioning, buzzer is repeatedly sounded right before dog receives food. Over time, dog learns that buzzer signals arrival of food.
The third frame of the graphic is labeled After conditioning. An image of the buzzer labeled Conditioned stimulus buzzer sound has an arrow pointing to a picture of a salivating dog, labeled Conditioned response salivates. The caption reads, Dog has now learned to associate buzzer with food and will begin salivating when buzzer sounds.
At the right is a series of three panels titled, Have you been conditioned? The top panel is labeled Before conditioning. A drawing of the McDonald’s arches is labeled Neutral stimulus, and a stick figure with a Nil icon beside it is labeled No response. A drawing of a carton of French Fries labeled Unconditioned stimulus has an arrow pointing to a stick figure with jagged lines on either side labeled Unconditioned response stomach growls.
The center panel is labeled During conditioning and shows a pictorial equation. A drawing of the McDonald’s arches is labeled Neutral stimulus plus a carton of French Fries labeled Unconditioned stimulus with an arrow pointing to a stick figure with jagged lines on either side labeled Unconditioned response stomach growls. A graphic of a clock is labeled Repeated over time.
The lower panel is labeled After conditioning and shows a drawing of the McDonald’s arches labeled Conditioned stimulus with an arrow pointing to a stick figure with jagged lines on either side labeled Conditioned response stomach growls.
The lower text reads as follows; Classical conditioning is an involuntary form of learning that happens every day. Does your stomach rumble when you see the McDonald's golden arches? Just like Pavlov's dogs, we learn through repeated pairings to associate neutral stimuli the golden arches with food French fries. Once this association is formed, the sight of the golden arches can be enough to get our stomachs rumbling.