lnsights on Culture, Consumption, and the Decidedly Irrational Man
Derived from Ivan Pavlov’s experiments in conditioning dogs to respond to various stimuli , the term “Pavlov’s dog” is often used to describe someone who merely reacts to a situation as opposed to using critical thinking to determine the best course of action.
Rather conveniently, we sometimes forget that we are all guilty of being reactionary from time to time and showing our more animalistic tendencies. Of course, the degree and frequency of this behavior hinges upon individual temperaments – but, we are all sensitive to the stimuli that sticks, or that which creates an psychological bond that is strong enough to outweigh our more objective rationale.
As a result, unlike the notion of the purely rational and entirely self-interested ‘Economic Man’ lauded by classical and neo-classical economists, an examination of actual human beings yield a significant variability in our behavior that cannot always be explained logically; it may originate from our moods, upbringing, personality types or countless other factors.
