Name: Okeke Isaac Chukwudalu

Matric No: 190301069

Course code: ADE 121
Course Title: Philosophies of Adult education
Lecturer: DR. S.O Ige

Assignment
1. Study of Ivan Pavlov

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was a Russian physiologist around mid-19th and early
20th century (14 september1849 - 27 February 1936) and is majorly known
for his work on classical conditioning and behavior therapy. In 1904 he won
the Nobel prize for physiology becoming the first Russian Nobel laureate.
He was born on September 14 1849 in the village of Ryazan, Russia where
his father was the village priest.
His earliest studies were focused on theology, but was largely
influenced after reading Charles Darwin's on the Origin of the Species, he
soon abandoned his religious studies and devoted himself to the study of
science.
Ivan in 1879 received his M.D at the imperial medical academy in St.
Petersburg and completed his dissertation in 1883. On the 1 May 1881 he
married Seraphima Vasilievna Kerchenskiy and in the course of their
marriage their lives were plagued with financial problems, experiences of
the death of some of their children.
During the year 1884-1886, Ivan studied under the direction of
Cardiovascular physiologist Carl Ludwig in Leipzig and the gastrointestinal
physiologist Rudolf Heiden Hain in Breslau. It's said that Pavlov became so
skillful a surgeon that he was able to introduce a catheter into the femoral
artery of a dog almost painlessly without anesthesia and to record the
influence on blood pressure of various pharmacological emotional stimuli.
During his studies on the digestive systems of dogs, Pavlov noted that
the animals salivated naturally upon the presentation of food.
However, he also noted that the animals began to salivate whenever they
saw the white lab coat of an experimental assistant. It was through this
observation that Pavlov discovered that by associating the presentation of
food with the lab assistant, a conditioned response occurred.
The discovery had a reverberating influence on psychology. Pavlov was
also able to demonstrate that the animals could be conditioned to salivate
to the sound of atone as well.
Pavlov's discovery had a major influence on other thinkers including John
B Watson and contributed significantly to the school of thought known as
behaviorism. His works had a major influence on the field of psychology, and
his research on conditioned reflexes influenced Behaviorism.
He also theorized that traumatic experiences could also trigger psychoses
and neuroses in humans.
 Even though his specialty was physiology, most experts consider Pavlov's
contributions to psychology, specifically those related to conditioned
reflexes to be his greatest legacy. Pavlov was the first to empirically
demonstrate the existence of a Mind-Body connection, that is to show that
mental and emotional variables can affect the physical processes of the
body. The learning theory that evolved from Pavlo's findings on conditioned
reflexes became known as classical conditioning. Conditioning helps to
explain the ways in which some people develop seemingly irrational fears
and anxieties or associate certain smells and sounds with a specific place or
situation.
Pavlov believed that all of what was considered psychic phenomenon
which had previously been explained only in terms of abstract introspective
processes such as psychoanalysis could be explained through careful
physiological experimentation. He stated the scope of his vision: Essentially
only one thing in life that interests us: our psychical constitution, the
mechanism of which was and is wrapped in darkness. All human resources,
art, religion, literature, philosophy and historical sciences, all of them join in
bringing light in this darkness. But man has still another powerful resource:
natural science with its strictly objective methods.
The theory/practical of classical conditioning by Ivan Pavlov serves as a
historical backdrop and building block for current learning theories.
However, his interest for it occurred by accident.
Considering that he worked with animals throughout many of his
experiments. However, the fundamentals of classical conditioning have
been examined across many different organisms, including humans. The
principles of Pavlov's classical conditioning have been extended to a
varieties of learning environments.
Pavlov’s discovery influenced and contributed largely to the school of
thought (behaviorism)
 Behaviorism being a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of
humans and animals. It is based on the notion that behavior is either a reflex
evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment or a
consequence of that individual’s history, the individual’s current
motivational state, controlling stimuli, reinforcement, and punishment
contingencies. Pavlov’s classical conditioning influenced this school of
thought so much that new ways of learning and studying behavior were
devised in an attempt of understanding the theory much more.
Epistemological ideas of Behaviorism
1. A change in external behavior can be achieved through using
reinforcement and repetition to shape behavior of learners.
2. Behaviorism provides a building framework in therapy which can be
used in identifying and helping to change unhealthy behaviors and
destructive behaviors in people through learning and conditioning.
3. The sources of behavior are external (in the environment) not internal
(in the mind) If you alter a person’s environment, you will alter his or
her thoughts, feelings and behavior.
Axiological activities
1. Behaviorists believe that people act in response to internally or
externally generated physical stimuli.
2. Human nature is the product of one’s environment
3. Learning can be influenced through behavior.
Implications for adult education
1. Incorporating behaviorism during learning allows learners to excel
academically and personally.
2. Evaluation of learning comes from the facilitator; the learner learns
and is taken through the process of evaluation by the facilitator.
3. Positive & negative reinforcement (reward) should be employed by
the facilitator in developing the learning process of the learner.
 4. Learners are encouraged to go through review of material in order to
retain information and knowledge.

It is also worthwhile to note that throughout Pavlov's lifetime, his

homeland of Russia experienced political and social upheaval. Because
Pavlov worked and lived in the capital city of saint Petersburg, he witnessed
the changes firsthand. Pavlov spoke out frequently against the
government, despite the fact that other protesters were being arrested and
killed.
It is a testament to his scientific prestige that he could openly criticize the
communist government while being financially subsidized by it.

References
1. Lectures on Conditioned Reflexes. Volume 1 (1928) by Ivan
Petrovich Pavlov.
2. Ivan Pavlov, A Russian life in science by Daniel P Todes published
by Oxford university press.
3. Nobel prize article (1904) Nobel prize award in physiology or
medicine.
4. Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, entries (Behaviorism)