Topic > Human Behaviorism in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Another example of classical conditioning is when Pavlov studied dogs who salivated when they tasted food. He called food “the unconditioned stimulus and salivation the unconditioned response” (McLeod). This was unconditional because salivation was a natural response to food. Pavlov then rang a bell before the food was presented to the dogs. Eventually, the dogs associated the ringing of a bell with food. The bell is a conditioned stimulus and salivation is the conditioned response. Alex had a similar experience to the dogs. The injections he received were an unconditioned stimulus and the disease was an unconditioned response to the injections. Since scientists made him watch ultraviolent videos while he was injected, he began to associate what he saw with what he felt. Ultraviolence became the conditioned stimulus, and Alex's illness without the injection became the conditioned