On Mon, 8 Nov 1999, Michael Sylvester wrote:
> did Pavlov use a bell or a metronome ?
I've been meaning to drop a note to TIPS on this. Everyone knows that
Pavlov used a bell, of course. And everyone who's been on TIPS for a
while knows that that's not true, that he never used a bell. And in
fact, his famous work _Conditioned Reflexes_ never mentions a bell,
only a metronome and other assorted stimuli which I'd better not list
without first checking up on.
So "Pavlov's bell" appears to be a classic psychological myth. Or is
it? I've since discovered a great paper with further details on the
controversy, which comes to the conclusion that Pavlov did indeed use
a bell, and its use was reported in _Science_ in 1906. As a bonus, the
paper relates the story of Pavlov's mugging in New York City.
The reference is:
Thomas, R. (1997). Correcting some Pavloviana regarding "Pavlov's
bell" and "Pavlov's "mugging". American Journal of Psychology,
110, 115-125.
So this is a new one for me. I've discovered that a psychological myth
is a myth. It's nice to go the other way for once.
-Stephen
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at:
http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips/
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