A couple of weeks ago, I upgraded my desktop situation. Part of that upgrade included a standing desk adapter, which is something I’ve always wanted (sitting for too long makes me grunpy.)

I’ve been using it for around a week, and I honestly love it. In the process, however, I believe I’ve accidentally Pavloved myself.

Let me explain.

Who is Pavlov?

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because you probably studied Pavlovian conditioning at some point in your life.

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849–1936) was a physiologist who studied the salivation of dogs in response to food. He then conditioned them to salivate at the sound of a bell, proving that animals (and humans) can learn to associate unrelated things with each other.

His research changed psychology forever, and we still use Pavlovian Conditioning (now called Classical Conditioning) in treating phobias, addictions, PTSD, and more.

Pavlovian Examples

Here are some common examples of Pavlovian conditioning to give you a better idea of what it means.

• Hearing a notification and getting a rush of adrenaline before you see the message.
• Using bad tastes to prevent you from biting your nails
• Salivating when you see the coffee pot, even when it’s empty
• Feeling the comfort of home when you turn on a familiar street
• Seeing a chore and completing it immediately because you know you get a treat after

But what does this have to do with me? I’m glad you asked.

My accidental conditioning

To answer that question, I need to give you some backstory. I’ve been writing a fantasy novel on and off for several years now. I decided last week to get serious about it and began a new manuscript with the goal of writing a chapter a night. So far, I’m about 9 chapters in and very pleased with how it’s turning out.

Here’s the thing. I wrote the first three chapters while using the standing desk. For the fourth, I tried writing it sitting down, but my whole body was like “Nope, we have to stand.”

9 chapters later, and I can NOT work on my fantasy novel without standing.

Something about being upright gets my creativity flowing, and I’m not mad about it. I just found it incredibly funny.

Have you ever been conditioned?

The moral of this story is that conditioning can happen accidentally, and there’s a good chance you’ve been conditioned to break a bad habit, begin a better one, or confront a fear.

It can be small, like standing to write, or washing your dishes immediately after dinner. It can also be big, like quitting alcohol or calling your grandparents at a certain time every week.

I’m sure you’ve thought about something by now, and I’d love to hear what conditioning you’ve experienced- accidentally or not!

To learn more about Pavlov and his contributions to Psychology, visit Science Insights and Simply Psychology.