Pavlov’s Refrigerator

In Introductory Psychology, one learns of Pavlov’s tale. It is the unforgettable story of how researchers recognized that dogs salivated upon the mere sight of their feeder. This revelation contributed to the science of conditioning.

Pavlovian conditioning is about connecting an unconditioned stimulus- food- and pairing it up with a neutral stimulus, i.e. the ringing of a tone. With this process, dogs could be conditioned to salivate upon hearing a tone.

As far as pet training, I am not so lucky. Our dog is no Pavlov dog. Rather, our canine possesses gourmet taste buds. At times, a Michelin star quality bowl of food is found uninspiring. Often, she will look at it, pause, and walk away. For the most part, we have a high snooting uncontrollable animal.

Our Yorkie, however, is obsessed with the refrigerator’s ice maker. The loud noise and the cold cubes spilling out arouse the animal. When the machine is running, she will jump up and down against the appliance’s door trying to catch ice fragments in mid-air. The loose cubes falling onto the floor serve as both a treat and a play toy. She chases the cubes around the kitchen knocking them against the floor. The ricochet off the walls like a hockey puck. These precious cubes are also an object of consumption.

Over time, I made a strange observation. The dog, upon hearing the ice cube maker from the living room, would dash into the kitchen. Immediately, she directed herself towards her her food bowl and devoured the contents. While the conduct was bizarre, it proved useful.

With Pavlov’s conditioning in mind, I began running the ice machine to get the dog to come into the kitchen for its meals. It worked!

How could it be? Is it possible that excitement can be as much of a stimulus as food? In this instance, excitement trumped food. Thus, can a heightened state be used for the purposes of conditioning?

The Ancient Answer?

The Torah offers up a multitude of holidays and celebrations. There are commandments which attempt to generate excitement- a heightened state- to the events.

With respect to the Passover Holiday, Deuteronomy 16:3, dictates that “you will remember the day you left Egypt in haste.” To do so, one is to partake in unleavened bread.

For the Festival of Weeks, it is promulgated that “you shall rejoice in front of the Lord, your God- and your son and your daughter and your servant and your maid and the Levite who is within your gates and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are among you.” Deuteronomy 16:11

With respect to the Festival of Booths, it is provided that “you shall rejoice on your festival- you and your son and your daughter and your servant and your maid and the Levite and the alien who are within your gates. Deuteronomy 16:14.

In essence, excitement was used as a means to condition. One can reasonably come to the conclusion excitement was a stimulus to developing a sense of community and cooperation. For both the Festival of Booths and Weeks, the commandments emphasized that all stratas of society were to participate.

Conclusion

No irony can be lost that an ice maker could somehow become the unconditioned stimulus. Thus, an observation made of a pampered dog may offer some insight as much as Pavlov’s hungry canines. In the end, excitement may play a role in conditioning. This concept appears to have been appreciated long ago. It apparently was used to foster community and cooperation.

Be well!!

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