Many of us have heard of 'Pavlov's Dog'. A Scientist named Pavlov rang a bell everytime he fed his dog. He always fed the dog at the same times everyday. After a period of repetition, he was able to get the dog to 'salivate' and behave as if it was feeding time whenever he would ring the bell - even if it wasn't the right time. He could induce the biological and emotional response without the actual food to generate it!
So isn't it interesting how business advertising/marketing and government politics can produce the desired behaviors from us without actually producing the goods! And we Love it!!
To make this more personal - I have a dog named 'Fuzzy' who learned how to climb our chain link fence and flop over the top and make a great escape! I got tired of chasing the dog and putting him back in the yard - only to have him get loose again and be running around the neighborhood. While praying about the dog I had a Holy Ghost moment - and was inspired to take a different approach.
The next time Fuzzy got loose, I chased him, caught him and harshly told him NO and Bad Dog, then I put him back in the yard and chained his collar to a pole - limiting his movements (his days of escaping were over). I left him there on the chain for several days, I loved him up while he was on the chain, then I let him loose (after the appropriately long lecture) and went back to life as usual. Well, it took an entire day before Fuzzy made the 'great escape'.
This time I left him on the chain for several weeks. When I let him loose - it took a month before he tried his 'great escape'. The last time Fuzzy was left on the chain for over a month. And when I took him off the chain - I left the collar and a piece of the chain dangling from it.
I noticed that Fuzzy has been 'Conditioned' to life on the chain, that Fuzzy has 'Learned Helplessness'. Fuzzy is reminded of the chain and is now very content to live life 99% of the time within the circle he used to run on the chain - very rarely does he go near the fence, and only to sniff it, and come back to his comfort zone.
So the lesson? Fuzzy learned thru 'experience' that he was limited and bound to live a certain lifestyle, and once the chain binding him was removed - and he was physically free - Fuzzy still remained bound in his mind. So, In what way are We and Fuzzy and Pavlov's dog alike?
So isn't it interesting how business advertising/marketing and government politics can produce the desired behaviors from us without actually producing the goods! And we Love it!!
To make this more personal - I have a dog named 'Fuzzy' who learned how to climb our chain link fence and flop over the top and make a great escape! I got tired of chasing the dog and putting him back in the yard - only to have him get loose again and be running around the neighborhood. While praying about the dog I had a Holy Ghost moment - and was inspired to take a different approach.
The next time Fuzzy got loose, I chased him, caught him and harshly told him NO and Bad Dog, then I put him back in the yard and chained his collar to a pole - limiting his movements (his days of escaping were over). I left him there on the chain for several days, I loved him up while he was on the chain, then I let him loose (after the appropriately long lecture) and went back to life as usual. Well, it took an entire day before Fuzzy made the 'great escape'.
This time I left him on the chain for several weeks. When I let him loose - it took a month before he tried his 'great escape'. The last time Fuzzy was left on the chain for over a month. And when I took him off the chain - I left the collar and a piece of the chain dangling from it.
I noticed that Fuzzy has been 'Conditioned' to life on the chain, that Fuzzy has 'Learned Helplessness'. Fuzzy is reminded of the chain and is now very content to live life 99% of the time within the circle he used to run on the chain - very rarely does he go near the fence, and only to sniff it, and come back to his comfort zone.
So the lesson? Fuzzy learned thru 'experience' that he was limited and bound to live a certain lifestyle, and once the chain binding him was removed - and he was physically free - Fuzzy still remained bound in his mind. So, In what way are We and Fuzzy and Pavlov's dog alike?
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