History Main / BehavioralConditioning

* ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'': Exploited by TheVillain Professor Nimnul in the episode "Does Pavlov Ring A Bell." Nimnul has conditioned a lab rat, Sparky, to pull wires at the sound of a ringing telephone. When Sparky does this inside a bank, it trips an alarm, which triggers a guinea pig, Buzz, into guiding a GiantMecha through the sewer system into the bank vault. Neither Sparky nor Buzz are aware that they're accessories to robbery; according to Sparky, it's "action without thinking."

* ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'': The short "Pavlov's Mice" has the mice being conditioned by Pavlov himself to dance to the sounds of a bell and gong respectively. In the end, their plan to TakeOverTheWorld is foiled when a clock tower goes off with the sounds of bells and gongs.

* '''Classical Conditioning''', also known as '''Pavlovian''' conditioning, is when a subject comes to so strongly associate a neutral stimulus (say, a bell ringing) with a potent stimulus (say, the presence of food) that they begin to react to the neutral stimulus as though it were the potent stimulus (say, by salivating at the ring of a bell.) No attempt is made to alter or suppress the behavior itself, only to shift what can trigger it. Despite this narrow definition, people will [[YouKeepUsingThatWord commonly refer]] to ''any'' kind of learned response as "Pavlovian."

* In ''Fanfic/PokemonShadowsOfTime'', Clemont decides to try and 'subject' Bonnie to this by attaching Goomy to a harness on her back, Goomy hitting Bonnie with a Dragonbreath every time she tries to 'propose' to another girl on Clemont's behalf until she learns to stop, which he calls 'the Pavolian Goominator'.

** In "[[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS7E03DuckyTie Ducky Tie]]," it transpires that Barney has [[ComplexityAddiction conditioned Marshall to want to go to a certain restaurant every time Barney sneezes.]]

* In ''Literature/PeterPan'' the crocodile that ate Hook's hand has also swallowed a ticking clock, leading everyone in Neverland to associate ticking with the presence of the crocodile. Peter uses this to his advantage by faking a ticking noise in order to spook Hook. [[spoiler: And when the clock runs down...]]

** When Perrin is suffering unwilling seduction attempts from [[TheVamp Berelain]], he notices that she keeps laying a gentle hand on him, and realizes what she's doing when he considers training a colt: you get it used to being touched so that it doesn't shy. Then you put on the blanket and get it used to that. Then the saddle. Then the bridle. Then you get on. After he realizes this is going on, Perrin resorts to shouting at her whenever she comes into view, which causes more problems.

* The protagonist of ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'' and the [[Film/AClockWorkOrange film of the same name]] is a fan of "ultraviolence", the act of engaging in gratuitous and extreme acts of sexual and physical violence for fun. When he is caught and sent to prison, he voluntarily undergoes TheLudovicoTechnique as a method of securing his early release. The Technique involves forcing him to watch videos of violence while being injected with drugs that induce nausea. As a result, the thought of violence makes him sick to his stomach. The story explores the moral ramifications of this kind of conditioning, even when accepted voluntarily.

* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'': The vikings are conditioned to look around in a panic whenever "Night Fury!" is called out, [[spoiler:even at the end when all the dragons are peaceful, albeit it now means to get out of the way of the overly affectionate dragon]].

** The Seanchan use {{Slave Collar}}s to condition female magic-users into practically mindless slaves by [[AuthorAppeal meting out pain and pleasure through the collars' leashes]]. Disturbingly, the series treats this process as irresistable, such that anyone captured long enough will become conditioned, no matter how strong-willed or intelligent--with the exception of one minor character.

* ''Series/ThePrisoner'' episode "The Schizoid Man." The Village personnel use aversion therapy involving electric shocks to change Number 6's handedness and mental conditioning to change his food and tobacco product preferences, then wipe his memory. After he realizes what has occurred, Number 6 uses an electrical shock to [[NowDoItAgainBackwards reverse the effect and return himself to normal]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/MikeTysonMysteries'', Mike, being a former boxer, associates the sound of any bell with the bell that signals the start of a match. When Yung Hee presses the front desk bell at a hotel, he instinctively punches Marquess to the ground.

* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'': The USAcres short "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Wade" had Wade turn into a monster whenever he heard a bell after Booker, during a discussion of Pavlov's experiments, suggests that very thing to Orson while Wade is asleep.

* ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'': The short "Pavlov's Mice" has the mice being conditioned by Pavlov himself to dance to the sounds of a bell and gong respectively. At the end, their plan to TakeOverTheWorld is foiled when a clocktower goes off with the sounds of bells and gongs.

* ''Series/TheOffice''. One of Jim's pranks on Dwight involves offering him an altoid mint every time Jim reboots his computer for several weeks, until finally Dwight hears the reboot noise and puts out his hand for an altoid before Jim can offer one. Jim acts like he has no idea what Dwight is doing.

* ''Film/{{Hook}}'': Captain Hook has defeated the monster crocodile prior to the events of the film, but he still has a strong aversive reaction to clocks because of the distinctive ticking noise that always emanated from the clock in the crocodile's stomach.

* ''Secret'' secret agent Jason Bourne from ''Film/TheBourneIdentity'' suffers from LaserGuidedAmnesia, yet retains much of his secret agent training. Lampshaded when he wonders to his associate why he memorized the license plates of the cars in parking lot, and why he analyzed the combat capacity of diner patrons.

* ''Series/THeOffice''. One of Jim's pranks on Dwight involves offering him an altoid mint every time Jim reboots his computer for several weeks, until finally Dwight hears the reboot noise and puts out his hand for an altoid before Jim can offer one. Jim acts like he has no idea what Dwight is doing.

* [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon How To Train Your Dragon]]: The vikings are conditioned to look around in a panic whenever "Night Fury!" is called out, [[spoiler:even at the end when all the dragons are peaceful.]]

* In the StephenKing movie ''Film/CatsEye'', there's a sequence involving doing a Pavlovian experiment involving a cat and an electrified floor. But instead of a bell being the trigger song, it's a 60s soft rock number.

At its most mundane, \"behavioral conditioning\" is just a fancy way to say \"habit.\" If you eat lunch at the same time every day, you will start to feel hungry around that time; if you normally wear glasses, you\'ll go to push them up your nose even when you\'re not wearing them; etc. In such cases, you\'re the one conditioning yourself.

Behavioral conditioning is also commonly used by parents and teachers to mold children into functioning members of society: kids get put on time-out when they misbehave, get given shiny stickers when they do their chores, and are prompted at appropriate intervals until \"please\" and \"thank you\" become instinctive. And, of course, we use it to train our pets.

But behavioral conditioning can be so, \'\'so\'\' much more than that. [[AllBehaviourismIsPavlovian Represented in the popular consciousness by Dr. Ivan Pavlov and his bell-loving dogs]], the behavioral approach to psychology produced a mountain of clinical research on the many strange quirks of the brain that govern learned behavior.

* \'\'\'Classical Conditioning\'\'\', also known as \'\'\'Pavlovian\'\'\' conditioning, is when a subject comes to so strongly associate a neutral stimulus (say, a bell ringing) with a potent stimulus (say, the presence of food) that they begin to react to the neutral stimulus as though it were the potent stimulus (say, by salivating at the ring of a bell.) No attempt is made to alter or suppress the behavior itself, only to shift what can trigger it. Despite this narrow definition, people will [[YouKeepUsingThatWord commonly refer]] to \'\'any\'\' kind of learned response as \"Pavlovian.\"

** \'\'\'Aversion Therapy\'\'\' is a technique developed based on the principles of classical conditioning that involves exposing someone to a specific stimulus while simultaneously subjecting them to some form of discomfort (as opposed to punishing them after the fact for performing a behavior.) If the exposure to the stimulus is involuntary and inescapable because the subject has been strapped to a chair with their eyes forced open, that\'s TheLudovicoTechnique.

* \'\'\'Operant Conditioning\'\'\', by contrast, involves the use of a complex suite of positive and negative punishments and reinforcements in order to strengthen, weaken, or re-shape a particular behavior. [[note]]For the curious, a \"positive punishment\" involves giving the subject something they\'ll find unpleasant, while a \"negative reinforcement\" involves taking away something the subject \'\'wants\'\' gone.[[/note]]

When PlayedForLaughs, the joke will either rely on conditioning a character to do something inherently ridiculous, conditioning a character to do something hilariously \'\'out\'\' of character, or mocking how [[MoreHypnotizableThanHeThinks easy]] it was to condition a character to do something, \'\'anything,\'\' without their realizing it.

When PlayedForDrama, the conditioning is usually an inadvertent result of patterns established in long-term situations or relationships. The character\'s conditioned response brings up questions or memories about days gone by, and it\'s the reference to [[HappyFlashback happier times]] or the hint of a DarkAndTroubledPast that elicits an emotional response from the audience. For example, a character might break down crying at the scent of the perfume worn by TheLostLenore, or visibly brace for a punch when raised voices remind them of their AbusiveParents. Or perhaps the drama will come when the brainwashed ManchurianAgent has his programming broken by ThePowerOfLove.

Not to be confused with \'\'physical\'\' conditioning. For that, see TrainingFromHell.

* [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon How To Train Your Dragon]]: The vikings are conditioned to look around in a panic whenever \"Night Fury!\" is called out, [[spoiler:even at the end when all the dragons are peaceful.]]

* \'\'Secret\'\' secret agent Jason Bourne from \'\'Film/TheBourneIdentity\'\' suffers from LaserGuidedAmnesia, yet retains much of his secret agent training. Lampshaded when he wonders to his associate why he memorized the license plates of the cars in parking lot, and why he analyzed the combat capacity of diner patrons.
* In the StephenKing movie \'\'Film/CatsEye\'\', there\'s a sequence involving doing a Pavlovian experiment involving a cat and an electrified floor. But instead of a bell being the trigger song, it\'s a 60s soft rock number.
* \'\'Film/{{Hook}}\'\': Captain Hook has defeated the monster crocodile prior to the events of the film, but he still has a strong aversive reaction to clocks because of the distinctive ticking noise that always emanated from the clock in the crocodile\'s stomach.
* In \'\'Film/LatterDays\'\', a young Mormon is subjected to an ice bath as part of undergoing now-discredited \"conversion therapy\" for his homosexuality.

* Creator/JulesVerne\'s Phineas Fogg from \'\'Literature/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays\'\' is so punctilious that the waitstaff at Fogg\'s social club prepare his table and set out his lunch before Fogg even walks in the door, certain that he will arrive at the exact minute. Many Londoners remark, \"You can set your pocketwatch by Phineas Fogg.\"
* \'\'Literature/BraveNewWorld\'\' conditions its citizens from childhood to be content with their respective class factions.
** Through judicious teaching of Marxism, meritocracy, and their various alternatives, the children in each group are conditioned to be happy that they aren\'t in any of the other groups.
** Punishment early in life conditions children to reflexively respond negatively towards certain triggers going into adulthood. For example, a group of Deltas is given electric shocks to make them afraid of books and nature so that they\'ll \"choose\" to work rather than use their free time.
** Words like \'mother\' elicit such a negative reaction from the characters that it\'s clear they were conditioned to respond negatively to other triggers as well.
* The protagonist of \'\'Literature/AClockworkOrange\'\' and the [[Film/AClockWorkOrange film of the same name]] is a fan of \"ultraviolence\", the act of engaging in gratuitous and extreme acts of sexual and physical violence for fun. When he is caught and sent to prison, he voluntarily undergoes TheLudovicoTechnique as a method of securing his early release. The Technique involves forcing him to watch videos of violence while being injected with drugs that induce nausea. As a result, the thought of violence makes him sick to his stomach. The story explores the moral ramifications of this kind of conditioning, even when accepted voluntarily.
* \'\'Literature/{{Dune}}\'\' is sprinkled with examples across its factions:

** In the novel \'\'Literature/{{Dune}} Messiah\'\', the ghola Hayt (a clone of Duncan Idaho) is conditioned by his Tleilaxu creators so he can be controlled by the Tleilaxu dwarf Bijaz.
* In \'\'Literature/PeterPan\'\' the crocodile that ate Hook\'s hand has also swallowed a ticking clock, leading everyone in Neverland to associate ticking with the presence of the crocodile. Peter uses this to his advantage by faking a ticking noise in order to spook Hook. [[spoiler: And when the clock runs down...]]
* \'\'Literature/TheWheelOfTime\'\':
** The Seanchan use {{Slave Collar}}s to condition female magic-users into practically mindless slaves by [[AuthorAppeal meting out pain and pleasure through the collars\' leashes]]. Disturbingly, the series treats this process as irresistable, such that anyone captured long enough will become conditioned, no matter how strong-willed or intelligent--with the exception of one minor character.
** When Perrin is suffering unwilling seduction attempts from [[TheVamp Berelain]], he notices that she keeps laying a gentle hand on him, and realizes what she\'s doing when he considers training a colt: you get it used to being touched so that it doesn\'t shy. Then you put on the blanket and get it used to that. Then the saddle. Then the bridle. Then you get on. After he realizes this is going on, Perrin resorts to shouting at her whenever she comes into view, which causes more problems.

* In \'\'Series/TheBigBangTheory\'\', Sheldon gives Penny a chocolate every time she does something he asks her to and every time she does something he considers well-mannered. It doesn\'t take long before her personality has changed almost completely and she\'s performing the actions without encouragement.
* \'\'Series/{{Community}}\'\': In \"[[Recap/CommunityS3E08DocumentaryFilmmakingRedux Documentary Filming: Redux]]\", Britta and Troy become averse to hugging each other after a twelve-hour-long shooting of one scene for a Greendale Community College ad because they now associate hugging each other with the Dean screaming at them.
* \'\'Series/HowIMetYourMother\'\':
** Lily uses sex to train Marshall. It\'s gotten to the point that he gets an erection when he flosses.
** In \"[[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS7E03DuckyTie Ducky Tie]],\" it transpires that Barney has [[ComplexityAddiction conditioned Marshall to want to go to a certain restaurant every time Barney sneezes.]]
* \'\'Series/THeOffice\'\'. One of Jim\'s pranks on Dwight involves offering him an altoid mint every time Jim reboots his computer for several weeks, until finally Dwight hears the reboot noise and puts out his hand for an altoid before Jim can offer one. Jim acts like he has no idea what Dwight is doing.
-->\'\'\'Dwight:\'\'\' My mouth tastes so \'\'bad\'\' all of a sudden...
* \'\'Series/ThePrisoner\'\' episode \"The Schizoid Man.\" The Village personnel use aversion therapy involving electric shocks to change Number 6\'s handedness and mental conditioning to change his food and tobacco product preferences, then wipe his memory. After he realizes what has occurred, Number 6 uses an electrical shock to [[NowDoItAgainBackwards reverse the effect and return himself to normal]].
* One skit on \'\'Series/SaturdayNightLive\'\' involved a talk show about dogs, hosted and run by intelligent dogs. The guest on the show was a dog who\'d been living for years among humans, enduring bizarre abuse. When the host commanded the techs to \"roll\" a film clip, the guest dog rolled on the floor, to the astonishment of the host.

* \'\'TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}\'\' supplement \'\'Acute Paranoia\'\', section \"Sanity Tests\": Mind Rehabilitation involves electroshock therapy, massive drug injections, and bombardment by subsonic \"Love the Computer\" messages. After undergoing it, a clone will snap to attention when anyone says the word \"computer.\"

* In \'\'VideoGame/TheWitcher\'\' saga, Ciri is conditioned by the Witchers to fight reflexively, meaning that she will try to kill anyone who attacks her even if she doesn\'t want to fight.

* \'\'Webcomic/GirlGenius\'\': A RunningGag involves the protagonists unthinkingly completing the grandiose self-introduction routine of [[TheMagnificent Othar Tryggvassen]], GentlemanAdventurer on his behalf. Happens here in the \"[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070924 Revenge of the Weasel Queen]]\" [[SideStoryBonusArt story]].
-->\'\'\'Villager\'\'\': You know we sent for the great \'\'Othar Tryggvassen\'\'?
-->\'\'\'Krosp\'\'\': ...gentleman adven--\'\'(horrified)\'\' WHAT AM I \'\'DOING?!\'\'
* Webcomic/MacHall: In \"[[http://machall.com/view.php?date=2005-06-02 DDR]]\", Matt\'s boss\'s intermittent reinforcement leaves Matt somewhat crazed. This ShoutOut to Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration suggests that he\'s broken under torture:
-->\'\'\'Matt:\'\'\' There are \'\'[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E10ChainOfCommand five lights]]\'\'!

** Strip [[http://xkcd.com/242/ 242]], \"The Difference,\" suggests that positive punishment doesn\'t always work very quickly on curious minds.
** While parents using conditioning techniques on their children is considered standard practice, the parent in strip [[http://xkcd.com/573/ 573]], \"Parental Trolling,\" did some decidedly \'\'non\'\'-standard conditioning.

* \'\'WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged\'\': Whereas in the original \'\'Anime/DragonBallZ\'\' series Gohan simply panicked when expected to attack Nappa, in the Abridged version he runs away because Piccolo inadvertently conditioned him to duck and run every time Piccolo yelled \"dodge.\"
-->\'\'\'Piccolo:\'\'\' \"Gohan! Hurry up and blast him with all your strength, before he has time to \'\'DODGE!\"\'\'
-->\'\'(Gohan has [[TrainingFromHell unpleasant flashbacks of being hit every time Piccolo yells \"DODGE!\"]], and cowers instead of attacking Nappa)\'\'
-->\'\'\'Piccolo:\'\'\' \"DAMN YOU, PAVLOV!\"
* \'\'WebVideo/IncognitoCinemaWarriorsXP\'\': Rick, Topsy and Johnny were once trapped in a theater surrounded by zombies and were forced into Theater 6 by Mr. Kincaid, who told them they had to continually watch bad movies lest the zombies broke into the theater and consumed them. After Rick returns from a five-year disappearance and learns that Kincaid is dead, and moreover that the presence of zombies after five years is \'\'highly\'\' unlikely, he \'\'still\'\' heads straight for the theater upon hearing the Zombie Signal. Topsy and Johnny call his behavior \"Pavlonian.\"

* \'\'WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers\'\': Exploited by TheVillain Professor Nimnul in the episode \"Does Pavlov Ring A Bell.\" Nimnul has conditioned a lab rat, Sparky, to pull wires at the sound of a ringing telephone. When Sparky does this inside a bank, it trips an alarm, which triggers a guinea pig, Buzz, into guiding a GiantMecha through the sewer system into the bank vault. Neither Sparky nor Buzz are aware that they\'re accessories to robbery; according to Sparky, it\'s \"action without thinking.\"
* \'\'WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends\'\': The USAcres short \"Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Wade\" had Wade turn into a monster whenever he heard a bell after Booker, during a discussion of Pavlov\'s experiments, suggests that very thing to Orson while Wade is asleep.
* \'\'WesternAnimation/TheGarfieldShow\'\': In \"Jon\'s Night Out\", Jon has insomnia, so he, Garfield, and Odie go to an anesthesiologist for a way to help Jon fall asleep. The doctor gives a special remote to Jon, telling him that if he presses the button, he will fall asleep. However, Odie barks right when doctor pushes the button, making Odie\'s bark into a trigger that can send Jon to sleep and wake him up again. HilarityEnsues.
* \'\'WesternAnimation/GravityFalls\'\': It turns out that [[AlphaBitch Pacifica Northwest]]\'s [[AbusiveParents parents]] have conditioned her by ringing a bell when she steps out of line with their expectations. [[spoiler: In the climax, she manages to ignore the bell in order to save the day.]]
* In an episode of \'\'WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}\'\' Angelica is in bed and (ab)uses a bell to demand assistance from Tommy\'s parents, exasperating them. At one point, Tommy\'s father has a breakdown upon hearing the \'\'door\'s\'\' bell.
* \'\'WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain\'\': The short \"Pavlov\'s Mice\" has the mice being conditioned by Pavlov himself to dance to the sounds of a bell and gong respectively. At the end, their plan to TakeOverTheWorld is foiled when a clocktower goes off with the sounds of bells and gongs.