Pavlovianadj.n.
/pavˈləʊvɪən/, U.S. /pɑvˈloʊviən/, /pɑvˈlɔviən/, /pɑvˈlɑviən/ A. adj.
1. Of or relating to Pavlov, or relating to or derived from his work on conditioned reflexes. In more general use: of, relating to, or of the nature of a learned reaction or response made without reflection.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > experimental psychology > stimulus-response > response > [adjective] > to signal
Pavlov1911
Pavlovian1922
1922 Lancet 29 Apr. 849/2 On occasion it can make its appearance in circumstances which constitute it a ‘conditional reflex’ in the Pavlovian sense.
1931 A. Huxley Let. 24 Aug. (1969) 351 The effects of such sociological reforms as Pavlovian conditioning of all children.
1951 G. Humphrey Thinking 6 In the Pavlovian system,..we have an attempt to account objectively for all psychological facts in terms of the primary interaction of organism and environment.
1963 A. Heron Towards Quaker View of Sex 67 Some recoveries with ‘deconditioning’ treatment along Pavlovian lines.
1974 Daily Tel. 8 Feb. 8/2 The report does not hesitate to name names, a procedure that will inevitably touch off a Pavlovian response from Leftist circles to deride it as a ‘Reds under the Beds’ scare.
1991 NeuroReport 2 217/1 Another type of learning is Pavlovian, or ‘classical’ conditioning, in which a conditional stimulus is paired with a pre-existing reflex response.
2. In extended use: (of a person or group of people) characterized by conditioned responses; incapable of independent thought.
ΚΠ
1952 V. Nabokov in New Yorker 2 Feb. 21/2 A mad Pavlovian world where..variations in simple visual values influence and gradually replace flavor.
1977 Meanjin 36 i. 108 The adroit orchestration of comedy..that is, the patrons were not treated as a collection of complete Pavlovian half-wits.
1992 Nation 3 Feb. 140/1 Am I a Pavlovian idiot? Have I been mindlessly conditioned by entertainment conglomerates?
2003 Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, N.Y.) (Nexis) 25 Mar. 1 c ‘Binghamton’ mentioned by name for the 18th time. Pavlovian crowd goes crazy.
B. n.
A follower of Pavlov's methods; an advocate of Pavlov's theory of conditioning.
ΚΠ
1928 Science 6 Apr. 360/2 Even the contradictory results of the Pavlovians failed to shake his faith.
1942 J. G. Miller Unconsciousness xii. 284 The parable of the Pavlovian's young laboratory helper illustrates this point.
1964 J. A. M. Meerloo Hidden Communion vi. 107 The Pavlovians would call it a conditioned reflex.
1998 R. A. Gardner & B. T. Gardner Struct. Learning iv. 79 As Pavlov and so many latter day Pavlovians have insisted, the CS [= conditioned stimulus] must be a signal that predicts the UCS [= unconditioned stimulus].
Derivatives
Pavˈlovianism n. support for or advocacy of Pavlov's theories; (also) behaviour which conforms to these theories.
ΚΠ
1951 Science 31 Aug. 227/2 ‘Deviationist tendencies’ from ‘Pavlovianism’ are..a sign of ‘unsoviet servility’ to the ‘reactionary West’.
1987 Oxf. Compan. Mind 147/1 During the 1950s Soviet influence was dominant [in Chinese universities], with Pavlovianism the leading creed.
2003 Kansas City (Missouri) Star (Nexis) 11 Dec. b7 For many of these critics, Sept. 11 triggered a kind of intellectual Pavlovianism—a reaction like the conditioned behavior of a lab rat.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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