« L'Origine des espèces » de Charles Darwin fut une révolution pour la biologie, et plus largement pour toutes les disciplines étudiant le vivant dans toutes ses manifestations.
Mais si l'étude du vivant a été si fortement impactée par la théorie de l'évolution : quid de l'être humain, animal parmi les animaux ?
De 1831 à 1836, Darwin participe à l'expédition du Beagle, navire de la Royale Navy britannique, dans l'hémisphère Sud.
Il y passe le plus clair de son temps sur terre et non sur l'eau, à observer et étudier de nouvelles espèces et de nouveaux sites géologiques.
De toutes ses observations émergea une théorie visant à expliquer l'origine de la diversité des espèces.
Chez l'Homme, il y a des personnes blondes, brunes, rousses, etc.
Alors dans 9 mois, tous les nouveaux nés auront des parents bruns, augmentant ainsi la proportions de bébés bruns dans la population humaine.
En conséquence, nous vivons dans des cultures modernes, avec certaines fonctions cérébrales originellement adaptées pour une époque désormais révolue, durant laquelle nos ancêtres devaient faire face à des contraintes bien différentes de celles auxquelles nous faisons face aujourd'hui.
Nous constatons que toutes les sociétés humaines, quelle soit leur époque ou leur localisation, utilisent la communication verbale.
Le caractère universel d'un comportement est généralement considéré comme indicateur d'un potentiel facteur évolutif (car l'existence du comportement ne semble pas soumis aux variations culturelles).
Thought.
In modern times, varying forms of therapy have become more popular in society as the stigma of mental illness has decreased over time.
With that, individuals have sought out ways to improve themselves and achieve mental wellness, one of those ways being through behavioral therapy.
Through Pavlov’s work, alongside other behaviouralists, behavorial therapy emerged as further research continues to be conducted to expand the ways in which psychologists approach various mental illnesses’ to achieve positive results for their patients.
Due to the increasing prevalence of therapy, Pavlov’s research has a profound influence on how psychologists provide care in regard to his field of behaviorism.
The careers of Ivan Pavlov’s father and paternal grandfather, both priests, influenced Pavlov as a young man growing up in the small town of Ryazan, Russia.
After learning this new source of knowledge, his passion sparked to pursue education where he earned his medical degree from the St. Petersburg Military Academy in 1891, where he went on to found the Institue of Experimental Medicine followed by becoming a professor of physiology [reference not listed yet on elearn].
Following this achievement, he went on to focus on what he coined psychical stimuli, where he went on to make observations on the dogs he was studying in regards to salivary reflexes, leading him to his most famous experiments in the discovery of classical conditioning.
A variety of stimuli was used to train the dogs, including a bell sound, a ticking metronome, and electric shocks.
At first, there was no noticeable response from the dogs to these neutral stimuli; however, subjects began salivating in response to stimuli when they coincided with feeding time (Waude, 2017).
Pavlov’s experiments were profound because his theory of conditioning can be applied not only to learning in dogs but also to learning in humans (Waude, 2017).
For instance, A child may associate the sound of a cupboard opening (a neutral stimulus) with getting snacks.
Within Pavlov’s studies, it brings to question when theories surrounding application to animals changed and began entering the psychological world, and inherently the application of his theories to humans.
Hans J. Eysenck who is one of the founders of behavioural therapy is what Wolpe & Plaud would describe as a representative of Pavlov’s “tradition” in behavior therapy (Wolpe & Plaud, 1997).
It is stated in the article “Pavlov’s Contributions to Behavior Therapy: the obvious and the not so obvious” that he paid particular attention to the study of factors related to anxiety, noting that the dogs in his and his students’ experiments displayed very different personalities with regard to friendliness, aggression, and timidity (Wolpe & Plaud, 1997).
Furthermore, in regards to exposure therapy, Zuj & Norrholm state that the treatment for the technique in this therapy is greatly influenced by Pavlov’s classical conditioning theory of behavioral learning in regards to the mechanisms of fear conditioning (Zuj & Norrholm 2018).
Pavlov and his students conducted conditioning experiments that provide a comprehensive database that is essential to modern scientific psychology, and through that, behavior therapy was been founded and advanced considerably.
Whilst Eysenck and Wolpe, two of the creators of behavioral therapy, work in different directions of the Pavlovian paradigm, the systematic study of Pavlovian conditioning has profound implications for how psychopathology is conceptualized and treated, especially within the realm of anxiety responses (Wolpe & Plaud, 1997).
Following Pavlov’s discovery of classical conditioning, the evolution of his theories throughout the decades into the present allows us to make further discoveries and analyze these theories further.
In the article “From Pavlov to PTSD: The extinction of conditioned fear in rodents, humans, and in anxiety disorders”, they explore the relation of Pavlov’s works in classical conditioning in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Which states that as with sustenance, the danger is biologically relevant, and neutral cues can take on greater significance when they predict a threat to survival (VanElzakker et al., 2013).
Whilst Ivan Pavlov made great strides in laying a foundation in behaviorism, there are a number of significant figures who had impacts on the development of theories to allow for exposure therapy, EMDR therapy, and behavioural therapies as a whole to expand.
Namely, John B. Watson, Joseph Wolpe, and Mary Cover Jones.
American psychologist John B. Watson built on Pavlov’s work in classical conditioning and made a name for himself in behaviorism.
Whilst he initially focused on learning and sensory input in animals, he would go on to make influential findings in his pursuit to further understand child development and early learning.
Most notably, Watson’s Little Albert experiment using a 9-month-old baby boy explored Pavlov’s theories of classical conditioning.
Noting that in modern-day this experiment is highly unethical, Watson used a neutral stimulus was used to condition Little Albert to fear the object even though there was no initial fear associated with it, combining it with loud noises to elicit more fear (Good Therapy, 2015).
Watson’s behaviorism has impacted the nature versus nurture debate for decades, and his work shed light on the importance of early experiences in shaping the person we become.
Psychology professionals may use behaviorist techniques to condition away fears and phobias; meanwhile, advertisers frequently use behaviorist approaches to motivate consumers to buy products (Good Therapy, 2015).
the notion that a lot of human behaviour is learned and, therefore, can be unlearned (New World Encyclopedia, 2018).
Using Pavlovian classical conditioning, Wolpe began experimentation on cats where he paired shocks with sounds to prompt fear.
Through furthering research and theories Wolpe became an instigator for cognitive behavioral therapy, his systematic desensitization technique was furthered to cure phobias and anxiety, and his Units of Disturbance Scale is used to this day in EMDR.
In addition, his assertiveness training provided a framework for modern behavior therapy and prompted the behavioral therapy movement in the 1950s (Kaczkurkin & Foa, 2015).
Wolpe, a close friend of Mary Cover Jones deemed her “the mother of behaviour therapy”, as Cover Jones’s work made her well-known for developmental psychology specializing in child and adolescent development.
Her work included testing techniques to reduce and eliminate phobias in children, drawing inspiration from Watson’s “Little Albert”, her most well-known experiment was on three-year-old Peter.
She used “direct conditioning” to reduce Peter’s fear of rabbits, a method similar to behavior therapy known today as “systematic desensitization” (National Women’s History Museum, 2010).
The Oakland Growth Study (OGS), a series of studies on the long-term psychological and behavioral effects of early and late physical maturation in adolescence was among the over 100 articles Jones published using data from the study on the 212 OGS adolescents. (Rutherford, 2001).
The origins of exposure therapy can be located in Pavlov and Watson’s work on classical conditioning, which led to Cover Jone’s study of counter conditioning, Joseph Wolpe’s systematic desensitization, and Stanley Rachman’s exposure and response prevention.
Exposure therapy is a type of behavioral therapy used which used is to help people confront their fears, to which the exposure to fears in a safe environment created by the healthcare professional can aid in decreasing the avoidance of fear.
Developed by Dr. noticed relief in moving her eyes in a back and forth motion.
EMDR therapy is mostly used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, which entails the patient thinking about a trauma memory while simultaneously receiving bilateral stimulation, typically through eye movements (American Psychological Association, 2017).
This form of therapy is conducted in phases, those being history-taking, preparing the client, assessing the target memory, processing the memory to an adaptive resolution, and evaluating treatment results.
Behaviorism has had a profound impact on psychology, beginning with its works on classical conditioning and reaching into current treatment practices.
At present-day we are constantly seeking new ways to achieve mental well-being, and with that, it is important to look at the very foundations that allowed us to arrive at this point of progression in psychology.
Dialiectical behavioural therapy (DBT) is a thorough cognitive-behavioural treatment intended for mental disorders which are seen to be complicated and hard to treat (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
It was founded by Dr. Linehan in the 1970’s (Lynch et al., 2006).
Dr. Linehan’s main area of study surrounded behavioural psychology and models to suicidal tendencies, drug abuse and personality disorder (Dimeff & Linehan, 2008).
Dr. Linehan originally developed DBT for the purpose of treating suicidal behaviours by means of change (Dimeff & Linehan, 2008).
The term “dialect” in dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) resembles the connectivity of two opposite beings- these opposites for patients are change and acceptance (Dimeff & Linehan, 2008).
Change included mindfulness which used methods of chain analysis and dialectics (Lynch et al., 2006).
Dr. Linehan worked under Gerald May and Tilden Edwards- her concept of dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) was further researched and developed improvements by adapting from Eastern Zen and Western contemplative practices (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
The development of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) lead Dr. Dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) is a type of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) originated from the early works of behavioural psychology. (CBT) involves a connection between behaviour and emotions- which is used to treat many mental health disorders (Fenn & Byrne, 2013).
This therapy was developed by Aaron Beck in the 1960s and is used in many clinical settings today (Fenn & Byrne, 2013).
CBT highlights the importance of how one reacts to their environment and how they transcribe certain situations (Fenn & Byrne, 2013).
The cognitive model includes three main levels: core beliefs (the self), dysfunctional assumptions (the world/ others), and negative autonomic thoughts (the future) (Fenn & Byrne, 2013).
It is used to understand a person’s own experience and how a mental issue is causing them suffering- in order to help them better manage distress and be able to adapt to their environment (Fenn & Byrne, 2013).
The goal of cognitive behavioural therapy is to help patients work through their problems and be able to manage hardships on their own- without a negative emotional outburst (Fenn & Byrne, 2013).
The works of cognitive behavioural therapy lead to Dr. Linehan’s development of dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT).
Dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) was developed initially to exclusively treat suicidal behaviours, but has since broadened to treating borderline personality disorder (BPD) and other disorders which are complex and include emotional dysregulation (Dimeff & Linehan, 2008).
Dr. Linehan used a balance of cognitive behavioural therapy and humanism which were both influenced by her training in Zen practices (History of DBT, 2021).
Dr. Linehan almost named dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) Zen Therapy, due to the formal inclusion of mindfulness which was the first psychotherapy to include such beliefs (History of DBT, 2021).
The development of cognitive behavioural therapy lead to Dr. Dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) went through a number of hardships and changes in order to attempt adaptation of standard cognitive and behaviour therapy ideologies of the late 1970s for suicidal and other patients (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
This therapy was quick to develop criticism due to patients negatively responding to the idea of change by shutting down or experiencing feelings of anger as they saw this method as belittling their experiences with pain and suffering (Dimeff & Linehan, 2008).
This would cause certain patients to remove themselves from therapy or verbally attack the therapist out of feelings of neglect (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
Adapting and learning new skills was another hardship of DBT for patients-this method of change would often surface overwhelming feelings for the patient if change was thought to be expected too drastically or too quickly (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
For example, a patient who is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self- harm are not going to be able to change the next day if they are being told to. It is much more complex than that and is a process in which happens over a period of time.
Additionally, the patient would sometimes act out if they didn’t get the answer they wanted from the therapist (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
For example-the patient would attempt suicide if the therapist refused hospitalization) (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
These reactions made it hard for the therapist to initiate any change without the fear of making the patients mental state worse, which limited the effectiveness of dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT).
These hardships caused limitations of DBT which required further advancements in order for effective clinical use.
In order to prove dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) to be effective, the patient has to feel as though they were being heard and understood.
Treatment is most successful when there is an equal amount of limitation of painful experiences and acceptance of certain other experiences which are uncomfortable for the patient (Dimeff & Linehan, 2008).
Considering this, acceptance and validation behavioural functions and capabilities were implemented in treatment to avoid feelings of neglect (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
When treating patients with depression or BPD, a requirement for a positive response is a balance between acceptance and change (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
If there is too much change without acceptance, the patient will respond negatively to treatment.
The strategies of change are based on the learning principles and the crises theory of acceptance adapted from Zen and Western practices- specifically Gerald May and Tilden Edwards (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
This development has limited the negative patient response from this therapy because they feel as though they are being heard due to the addition of validation by acceptance (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
Dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) further advanced by dividing into many different areas of treatment- including capability enhancement, motivation and skill strengthening, and coping skills application (Dimeff & Linehan, 2001).
In a randomized clinical trial conducted by Dimef...
Les Thérapies Cognitives et Comportementales
LOCALE St. I. M. Edward L. In April, 1903, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov delivered a surprising address to an international medical conference in Madrid.
It was thought that the noted Russian physiologist would discuss his research on digestion, but instead he described new investigations into the links between psychic and physiological processes.
The focal point of these inquiries was the experience that begins, perpetuates, or eliminates a given kind of behavior.
Physiologists had a general understanding of the structure and functions of the nervous system before Pavlov advanced the notion of reinforcement.
They had not, however, answered the crucial question of how learning occurs-that is, how behavior changes on the basis of experience.
One group, variously described as mentalists, vitalists, or subjectivists, maintained that thoughts and emotions are not subject to physical laws and that experimental attempts to penetrate the boundary between mind and body are useless.
Before Pavlov’s work on reinforcement, however, monists lacked a cohesive theory supported by a convincing body of experimental data.
They observed animals and drew valuable inferences, and they removed parts of animals’ nervous systems, noted the consequences, and reached conclusions.
To gain real insight into learning, however, they required a clear approach combined with ways to measure the physical reactions of healthy subjects.
The quantifying technique that Pavlov used to address learned behavior was an offshoot of his 1889-1897 investigations into the effects of the nervous system on digestion.
In that project, which won for him the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, he diverted the duct of a salivary gland (the parotid) to the outside of a dog’s muzzle so that he could collect the dog’s saliva from a funnel.
Pavlov’s basic approach to the exploration of brain functions also grew from his experiments on digestion.
While monitoring the results of sham feeding (the removal of food from a dog’s slit esophagus after it was swallowed but before it entered the stomach), he observed unexpected gastric secretions.
As the vagus nerve (which originates in the medulla oblongata and enervates the abdominal cavity) had been severed during surgery, he concluded that part of the stomach’s neural control lay in the cerebral cortex.
This led him to believe that secretions could provide information about higher neural activity.
He also drew on a number of working assumptions. Pavlov was influenced by I. M. Sechenov, a mechanical reductionist who argued that all behavior can be described in terms of reflexes (motor responses to stimulation), reflexes can be explained entirely in physicochemical terms, and an understanding of complicated human reflex behavior is best approached through the study of simpler animal reflex behavior.
Pavlov also knew that Charles Darwin had advanced a complementary viewpoint. Darwin’s evolutionary theory implied that mind had evolved through natural selection-and if mind had evolved, the brain and behavior had also evolved.
Finally, information drawn from recent observation sharpened Pavlov’s interest in the study of learned behavior.
He closely studied Edward L. Thorndike’s experiments on instrumental conditioning, which required a cat to operate an instrument such as a lever or bobbin in order to escape from a puzzle box.
Also, while doing research on the digestive system, he noticed an intriguing occurrence: When the presentation of food to a dog was regularly and closely preceded by an alerting signal, such as approaching footsteps, the signal alone caused salivation.
In 1902, Pavlov applied himself completely to the study of the conditional reflex.
The outlines of his theory of classical conditioning immediately took shape, for the basic ideas, much of the terminology, and the investigative methods were almost ready to present.
Working in the well-equipped physiological laboratory of the St. Although his evidence was drawn from experiments on dogs, Pavlov extended his conclusions to the human nervous system.
He maintained that all animals have an inborn neural capacity (the unconditional reflex) to react to events necessary for survival (the unconditional stimulus).
For example, the sight of food normally produced a certain type and amount of salivation in a dog.
As long as the dog was allowed to eat food presented to it, the unconditional reflex endured.
Eating the proffered food reinforced the unconditional reflex, for the act of eating maintained (excited) a neural association between the unconditional stimulus and the unconditional reflex.
When a dog was repeatedly shown food but was not allowed to eat, salivation weakened and eventually disappeared.
Pavlov interpreted this to mean that the association between the sight of food and salivation was actually a temporary neural connection that could be broken through lack of reinforcement.
That link could also be redirected. If an unrelated stimulus (for example, the sound made by a bell) immediately preceded the delivery of food over a long enough period, it could provoke salivation.
In Pavlovian terminology, the coupling of a conditional stimulus (a bell tone) with an unconditional stimulus (the sight of food) produced a conditional reflex.
In other words, the bell tone made the dog think of food and then salivate.
Moreover, a dog was able to discriminate between similar types of reinforced and unreinforced food.
The linchpin of Pavlov’s theory was thus the notion of reinforcement, which held that animals could associate any two occurrences if the first one promptly and reliably predicted the onset of the second.
Reinforcement had a clearly adaptive function, for it provided an animal with a wide range of anticipatory responses to its changing environment.
Pavlov’s experimental data, composed of precise, replicable measurements of the volume and rate of saliva in response to a variety of timed stimuli, confirmed the importance of that validating mechanism.
The presence or absence of reinforcement, which created conditional reflexes and maintained, extinguished, or resurrected both conditional and unconditional reflexes, permitted an animal to modify its behavior on the basis of experience.
The importance of reinforcement was first recognized in Russia, where it affected the debate between monistic biologists and state-supported subjectivistic psychologists.
The split between government and society during the late czarist period worked to Pavlov’s advantage: While state ideology opposed all brands of materialism, including mechanistic reductionalism, private funding allowed Pavlov to expand investigations into reinforcement.
For example, in 1911, the Ledentsov Society financed a series of soundproofed chambers, known as the tower of silence, in which he could study the effects of time intervals on the coupling of conditional and unconditional stimuli.
The revolutionary period disrupted Pavlov’s work, but after 1921 the Soviet leadership vigorously supported his research for several reasons: Pavlov’s mechanical reductionism was compatible with the materialistic orientation of the new Marxist regime, his doctrine of reinforcement strengthened the arguments of nurture over nature at a time when the government wished to reeducate the citizenry, and the scientific triumphs of the Pavlovian school had propaganda value for socialism.
Advances in cybernetics (the comparison of the communication and control systems of human-made devices with those in the nervous systems of animals) caused some Soviet scientists to question the validity of Pavlov’s conclusions.
Largely because of the language barrier, non-Russians were unable to absorb Pavlov’s concept of reinforcement until the 1920’s.
European reaction was unenthusiastic; continental investigators tended toward Gestalt psychology, a holistic approach to perception that emphasizes complexity and thus was at odds with reductionism.
The Pavlovian concept of reinforcement had a different reception in the United States, where it was compatible with behaviorism, an indigenous tradition opposed to introspection.
Pavlov’s definition of reinforcement had to compete with Thorndike’s, however, as Thorndike had put forward a different definition in 1913 while developing his theory of instrumental conditioning.
Thorndike defined reinforcement as any action that causes the appearance of an unconditional stimulus (such as pushing a lever to release a food pellet); according to Pavlov, reinforcement always follows the unconditional stimulus.
Generally, Americans and Western Europeans admire Pavlov’s meticulous investigations into the conditions effecting reinforcement and associate his original concept with a specific kind of simple learning (classical, or passive, as opposed to Thorndike’s instrumental, or purposeful).
Babkin, Boris P. Pavlov: A Biography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949.
An indispensable primary source rich in anecdotal material, this is a fond memoir by a close colleague.
Includes otherwise inaccessible personal and professional information on Pavlov.
Comprehensive in scope, although poorly organized and somewhat polemical.
Frolov, Y. P. Pavlov and His School: The Theory of Conditioned Reflexes. Translated by C. P. Dutt. New York: Oxford University Press, 1937.
This key work by a Soviet physician who worked with Pavlov treats Pavlov’s career in a systematic fashion but contains ideologically motivated inaccuracies typical of the Stalinist period.
It should be read in conjunction with Babkin’s biography.
Gantt, W. Horsley. “Russian Physiology and Pathology.” In Soviet Science, edited by Ruth C. Christman. Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1952.
A somewhat dated but still valuable work by one of Pavlov’s American students.
Contains interesting information on Pavlov’s attitudes toward contemporary scientists and scientific problems.
Presents a somewhat argumentative but solid treatment of Pavlov’s school and its influence on various aspects of Soviet scientific and educational thought.
Graham, Loren R. Science, Philosophy, and Human Behavior in the Soviet Union. New York: Columbia University Press, 1987.
This expanded version of Graham’s Science and Philosophy in the Soviet Union (1972) offers an excellent treatment of Pavlov’s contributions to Russian physiology and psychology.
Includes chapters on the nature-nurture debate, biology and human beings, and cybernetics and computers.
Gray, Jeffrey A. Ivan Pavlov. New York: Viking Press, 1979.
An excellent biography that draws extensively from Babkin and Frolov (previously cited).
Particularly strong on Pavlov’s intellectual background and research methodology.
Pavlov’s work is evaluated in the light of physiological and psychological developments of the 1960’s and 1970’s.
Pavlov’s work and its influence on various aspects of psychology continue to inform contemporary research and therapeutic practices.