Does
the name Pavlov ring a bell? Ivan Pavlov proved that two stimuli repeatedly
linked together can produce a conditioned
response. He observed that dogs would salivate when they were about
to be fed. Pavlov rang a bell each time prior to feeding the dogs so
they would associate the bell-ringing with dinner time. This conditioned
them to salivate in the anticipation of being fed because bell ringing and
eating were connected together. FOOD + BELL RINGING = SALIVATE
This explains why you crave popcorn when you go to the movies. You’ve eaten popcorn so many times as you’ve watched movies that popcorn munching and movie watching are connected together. Now you cannot watch a movie without eating popcorn—and you’ll even pay outrageous prices at the theatre to get it! MOVIE + SALIVATE = EXPENSIVE POPCORN Here are a couple of examples about conditioned responses:
Example #1: Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.” When a person commits a crime, punishment must be executed quickly so that the criminal learns that his evil deed results in a painful penalty. CRIME + PAIN = DETERRENCE for repeating the evil deed. Failure to punish quickly will encourage others to commit crimes because they think “nothing will happen to me.” (There’s a lesson here about parenting a rebellious child)
Example #2: I once counseled a married couple who were always fighting. The husband said, “She hits my hot button and then I respond by hitting her hot button.” Their continual arguing had conditioned them to explode and know exactly how to retaliate.
The only way to “reverse the curse” of negative conditioning is to respond in the opposite way with kindness. First Peter 3:9 says, “Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult (negative conditioning with hateful words), but giving a blessing instead” (positive conditioning by speaking kind words). It takes time to recondition a marriage, but a happy home will be worth it. www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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