The Ontario Government May Have Tried to Pavlov Dog Us- Will It Work?
Last week, I heard a familiar, chilling sound coming from my phone that typically signals an Amber Alert- that is notably sent to everyone’s phones when a child goes missing in the surrounding area. However, this time it wasn’t about a missing child. It was an emergency alert letting Ontarians know that another stay-at-home effect is in order to control the spread of COVID-19. Below you will find a screenshot. My psychology brain lit up- the Ontario government may have just tricked to Pavlov dog us! Let me explain.
Classical conditioning is a type of learning that occurs when what was once a neutral stimulus evokes a reaction after being repeatedly being paired with something that unconsciously and naturally evokes a reaction. It was discovered by Ivan Pavlov in the late 1800s. Pavlov was doing research on digestion in dogs when he noticed an interesting phenomenon. When a dog was presented with meat, they would begin to salivate, because food evokes a natural salivation response in dogs- similar to what happens to me when I see pizza.
However, he noticed that when he or his research assistants would ring a bell to announce their arrival to the dogs, eventually they would begin to salivate before they even saw or smelled food. At first, the bell elicited no salivation from the dogs. After many trials, the dogs began salivating just at the sound of the bell, because they began to associate the bell with the thing that actually makes them hungry- the meat! Please refer to the chart below for a concise explanation of some scienc-y terms.
And just as I shuddered when I heard the notification sound on this stay-at-home order, it hit me! The Ontario government may have just tried to Pavlov dog us. When we think of a missing and/or hurt child, we feel fear. That is a natural response to a defenseless child being in danger. Every time I hear an Amber Alert come onto my phone, I feel a sense of dread and concern for that child that makes me feel afraid. Since the notification noise is so pronounced, I don’t even have to read the notification to feel that sense of fear- it takes over my body before I even pick up my phone. That noise, that was a neutral stimulus the first time I heard it, has grown to become a conditioned stimulus that now makes me feel fearful just by hearing it. I associate the notification sound with fear of a missing child.
Now, the government is aware of this effect that the Amber Alert noise has on us, and I think they tried to use it to their advantage- well played, Ontario! When they sent out the emergency alert back in January, and again last week, their hope was likely that we would feel afraid just from hearing the noise. The stay-at-home order was on the news, on the radio, posted on social media, etc. However, there is something scary about the Amber Alert noise itself. As I read that the notification was about staying at home and being COVID-19 cautious, my concern that a child is missing subsided, but that fear was already physiologically and emotionally embedded into my body. The government wants us to hear this noise, and then feel fearful of the spread of COVID-19 and be afraid of going out for non-essential purposes.
Now, I’m not saying this is a bad idea at all- the government can read us psychologically, and they’re playing to that reading in an effort to get us to finally stay home and slow the spread of COVID-19. I’m just hoping that this time, it finally works. #stayhome!!! (and wear a mask!)
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