Pavlov kept his physiology lab running by selling something that he had easy access to: canine gastric juice. HE FINANCED HIS LAB BY SELLING CANINE GASTRIC JUICE AS A CURE FOR INDIGESTION. Pavlov crashed with friends or slept in his lab, and he took on extra jobs he taught physiology and worked on a medical journal to earn more money. In 1887 he couldn’t afford his apartment anymore, so he spent a few months away from his wife Serafima (or Seraphima) Karchevskaya and young son. Russian scientists worked in modest labs and were paid very little, so Pavlov struggled with finances.
HE WAS SO POOR THAT HE COUCH-SURFED FOR A FEW MONTHS. In 1890, Pavlov was asked to develop and direct a physiology department at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, where he studied the interplay between the nervous system and digestion. Specifically, he wrote about the function of the nerves in the pancreas and the heart. Throughout the 1870s and early 1880s, Pavlov studied the natural sciences and physiology, conducting research and working on his doctorate thesis. HIS EARLY WORK DEALT WITH PANCREATIC NERVES AND ANIMAL DIGESTION. In 1869, Mendeleev published the first periodic table of elements and is credited as the father of the periodic table. His professor, Dmitri Mendeleev, was a big deal in the world of science. HIS CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR WAS A BIG DEAL.ĭuring Pavlov’s first year of university, one of the classes he took was inorganic chemistry. Petersburg University to study natural science, physics, and math. In 1870, he left the seminary and enrolled at what is now known as St. But after reading the works of Russian physiologist Ivan Sechenov, Pavlov decided to change course. His father was a priest, and Pavlov enrolled in a theological seminary. Pavlov was born in Ryazan, Russia in 1849. He discussed the conditional response, but a mistranslation of the original Russian word uslovnyi gave us the phrase conditioned response, which is still used today. And Pavlov’s concept of the conditioned response is, in reality, not exactly what he pioneered. For example, instead of ringing a bell to train dogs, Pavlov actually used a variety of tools such as a metronome, buzzer, whistle, light, harmonium, and even electric shock. Pavlov’s biographers point out that most people have misconceptions about the Russian physiologist. A LOT OF WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW ABOUT HIM IS WRONG. But if you want to know more about the man himself, from his side gig selling canine gastric juice to his couch-surfing days, it's time to examine these 12 drool-worthy facts about Ivan Pavlov.
His conditioning research emphasized the individual differences of his animal subjects which led to his research on typology and experimental neurosis which formed the basis for his work on environmental stressors and psychopathology.Thanks to Ivan Pavlov, we’re all familiar with classical conditioning and the Pavlovian response (ring a bell before giving a dog a plate of food enough times, and he'll eventually begin to salivate at the sound of the bell rather than the sight of the meal). Arguments which suggest that Pavlov worked as a behavioral scientist include his conceptual formulations, his research on traditional psychological topics and his investigation of psychiatric disorders. The discovery of secretin, by Bayliss and Starling, and its influence on the stomach led Pavlov to diminish his work on the digestive system and to focus his research on the conditional reflex phenomenon.
Pavlov's conditional reflex formulations were based on the theoretical formulations of Sechenov, and possibly the work of David Hartley. Pavlov's research on the digestive system emphasized the role of the nervous system, launched the field of gastroenterology, and emphasized the concept of the conditional reflex. Nineteenth century scientists who influenced Pavlov included Darwin, Botkin, Heidenhain, Gaskell and Bernard. Pavlov's research is viewed against a background of primitive research tools and unproductive subjective theories. In addition his work on experimental neurosis gives him the distinction of being a pioneer investigator in the area of psychological stress. It is suggested that Pavlov was not only a famous physiologist, but due to his work on the conditional reflex, he could be considered a behavioral scientist.