Fig 4.8 – Experimental Neurosis
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Even though Pavlov has been viewed as a dedicated empiricist, unlike many of the early behaviorists, he believed it was absurd to deny a subjective world. In an ironic twist, he advocated for objective psychology to scientifically study subjectivity. A prominent example was his research on experimental neurosis. The experimental neurosis provides a symbol of the similarities between behavioral and psychodynamic psychology. Pavlov empirically proved the existence of neurotic behavior, caused not by internal unconscious conflicts, but conflicts created by the external environment.