Chosen Psychologist:Ivan Pavlov |Maslow|B.F.Skinner

Pavlov’s Dog

Pavlov showed classical conditioning: he rang a bell right before giving dogs food, and after many pairings the bell alone made them salivate. A sound that started out neutral became a learned signal for food, so the dogs responded even without seeing it.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Maslow suggested that human motivation is like a pyramid: from bottom to top are physiological needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. In general, when lower needs are sufficiently met, higher goals feel more compelling—if you’re hungry you look for food first; once you feel secure, you care more about friends, achievement, and developing your potential.

In school, start with basics like sleep and breakfast (physiological), build a safe and supportive classroom (safety and belonging), then use appropriate challenge and praise (esteem) to help students pursue interests and long-term goals (self-actualization). It isn’t a rigid ladder: culture and personal history can shift or overlap levels, and several needs can drive us at the same time.

B.F.Skinner

He used the “Skinner Box” to show how rewards and consequences shape our choices. Unlike Pavlov’s reflex training, operant conditioning looks at what happens after a behavior: rewards make actions more likely, and penalties make them less likely.