PAVLOVIAN AND BANDURIAN SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES MANIFEST IN THE CHEWIES

Jaime E. Masagca

#advocatusdiaboli

#chasinglightschasingdreams

 

Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist has discovered classical conditioning (known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning), which is learning through association. In simple terms, two stimuli are linked together to produce a new learned response in a person or animal.

Mai and Iam, Shi Tzu Breed

 

Albert Bandura, A Canadian-American psychologist, had likewise proposed the Social Learning Theory, which emphasizes "the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others; that social behavior is learned by observing and imitating the behavior of others", or learning behavior by individuals through observation.

 

The above theories well explain why Iam and Mai, the lion and Chewbacca, get so excited whenever I get my face mask, get their leash, or simply say the magic words, "ride car". 

 

Every 5:00 o'clock in the morning and 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon, they would wake me up or start licking my legs, asking me to be taken out for a walk or a ride. Sometimes they would get the leash and deposit it in my bed.

 

But what is extraordinary is that whenever I lie down in bed for some time, particularly at night, they would romp on my chest and lick my face – OBVIOUSLY TO CHECK IF I AM STILL ALIVE.

 

This was after my falling flat on the floor and that night when I can't get up while chilling convulsively without any fever (because of bad spirits). The Chewies would rush to me every time I slip.

 

It is my wish, though, following Bandura's Theory, that the Chewies would imitate our neighbor's Chihuahua and Aspin that could walk not less than six kilometers almost every morning, without smelling everything or minding all dogs and cats along the way. They should also learn not to lead or choose the route but should follow their human.