IVAN PAVLOV

Ivan Pavlov
His Life

Ivan Pavlov
His life Ivan Pavlov received worldwide acclaim and won the Nobel Prize in 1904 because of his work and research in the field of physiology; he discovered a considerable amount of information concerning the digestive systems of dogs. In addition, because of his research in conditioned reflexes, which he did not start until he was fifty, Pavlov was able to contribute to several different areas in psychology. For instance, behavioral, comparative, and developmental psychology, were benefactors of his studies, and many consider Pavlov as one of the founding fathers of experimental psychology. Seemingly, Pavlov had two different careers; however, in accordance to the text, An Introduction to Theories of Learning, he started a third career at age eighty. He applied his knowledge of conditioning to mental illness, the result of which was the book, Conditioned Reflexes and Psychiatry (1941), many regard this as a major contribution to psychiatry (Olson, Hergenhahn, pg. 165). Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was born on September 14, 1849, in the town of Ryazan, Russia, the eldest of 10 children born into a family of six generations of men who served the church. In fact, in the biography, “Ivan Pavlov, Exploring the Animal Machine” the author illustrates Pavlov’s religious background; he states, “For six generations the Pavlov men had served Russia’s Eastern Orthodox Church, slowly making their way up the ladder toward priesthood. There were few other ways for an ambitious peasant to better his lot. So, in the late 18th century, at the time of Peter the Great, a peasant known only as Pavel became a singer and chanter in a small church in rural Russia. The next three generations of Pavlov men all became priest’s assistants. Only in the mid-19th century did the Pavlov family finally break through to the priesthood: Petr Dmitrievich Pavlov and his two brothers—both named Ivan—all graduated from the seminary and received parishes” (Todes, pg 11). There is little mention of Pavlov’s mother other than she is the daughter of a priest and a bit high strung. . They were a family of meager existence, to put it bluntly, they were poor, but because of the caste system that exist

As a child, Pavlov had a strong desire to learn and a love for reading, something that he inherited from his father. Another quality that Pavlov and his father have in common is their love of the land and hard work. Of all his other siblings, Pavlov freely helped his father in the garden and grove, he was proud of this type of work. They were a family of meager existence, to put it bluntly, they were poor, but because Pavlov’s godfather, the Abbot of St. Trinity’s Monastery near Ryazan, was instrumental in shaping Pavlov early on. In fact, the book entitled “Pavlov A Biography”, the author states, “the old man also had a great spiritual influence over the boy which was perhaps even more important. Ivan was greatly impressed by the fact that his godfather worked all the time. If ever the boy woke up in the middle of the night, he saw the old abbot seated at his desk. For a long time afterward, Ivan assured his parents that the abbot never slept! (Babkin, pg. 9)” The example that his godfather set was in part why he had such a solid work ethic that he followed all of his life.