The nature of the Pavlovian sexually conditioned response and the behavior systems approach

Pavlov's research on how arbitrary stimuli elicit conditioned reflexes has revolutionized the field of learning. His original work with the orienting response set the foundation for further investigations on the nature of Pavlovian conditioned responding.Where Pavlov's research may have lacked the ecological significance of Pavlovian conditioning, the behavior systems approach emerged later to capture how conditioning is embedded into a broader spectrum of naturalistic behaviors.The behavior systems approach proposes that behaviors evolved as organized systems designed to solve specific adaptive problems, and that learning interacts with these systems. The approach emphasizes the arrangement of responses to stimuli in the environment on a temporal and spatial continuum from an appetitive general search behavior at one end to focal and consummatory acts at the other end.During Pavlovian conditioning, a conditioned stimulus may become integrated along the continuum.The current paper describes several studies of Pavlovian conditioning that support the behavior systems approach with more detail in studies on sexual conditioning in male quail. Collectively, these studies demonstrate the importance of the form and relevance of the CS and the CS-US interval in determining where along the continuum the CS becomes integrated and thereby determine the nature or topography of the conditioned response.These studies, and many others, should serve as a reminder of how Pavlov's research set the framework for the conceptualization of behavior systems.