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The Pavlov-Yerkes Connection: What Was Its Origin?, Randall D. Wight

Articles

Historians of psychology traditionally acknowledge Robert Mearns Yerkes as responsible for introducing the work of Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov to American psychologists. The introduction occurred in a 1909 Psychological Bulletin paper coauthored with Harvard graduate student, Sergius Morgulls. Yet how Yerkes, who did not read Russian and who never personally used Pavlov's conditioning paradigm, came to know and appreciate Pavlov's endeavors is unclear. This paper examines how Yerkes became acquainted with salivary conditioning studies and suggests a reason why the 1909 paper was actually written.