The Pavlovian Principle In Jaws

Whilst Stephen Spielberg was not the first to use Pavlovian practices in his epic film, Jaws, he is most certainly the one film director to use the Pavlovian Principle to such a fearful degree.

Alfred Hitchcock is another film director to use Pavlovian practices to excellent effect in films such as Psycho and The Birds. However, it is Spielberg who keeps the audience salivating at the prospect of an ultra-violent blood and gore-filled outbreak of shark teeth-gnashing aquatic violence.

So, first of all, for the benefit of those among you who may not have heard of Pavlov and his dogs, the man and his canine friends are not some nineteenth-century, Eastern Bloc, circus act. In fact, Pavlov was a serious man on a mission who carried out a series of experiments on dogs. The dogs were pre-conditioned with the use of a bell and a very tasty bowl of Chum dog food.

What Pavol did was keep the dogs tied up in a laboratory with some saliva-detecting instruments inserted into their mouths. Then, Pavlov would ring a bell and shortly afterward serve the dogs their chow. In this way, the dogs began to associate the sound of the bell with the introduction of food. What Pavlov detected was that in anticipation of the food soon to be given to them, the dogs began to salivate. And even if the bell sounded but no food was forthcoming, the dogs were so conditioned, still they salivated profusely. This is what is called cause (the sound of the bell) and effect (the production of saliva).

Interestingly enough, a very similar thing happens with us humans. When we see or smell our food, the sight or smell triggers the production of enzymes in the mouth which will be needed for purposes of mastication. Yes, I did say mastication. However, on that particular x-rated subject, you know what I am talking about, when we see a pornographic image, it has the effect of arousing us, making us feel excited, and causing our genitalia to become, how can I put this with refined ladies present, it creates certain types of fluid for the purposes of lubrication. Again, it's all about cause and effect. So it is about creating both psychological and physiological responses. And that brings me conveniently all the way back to Jaws. Phew.

So in Jaws, the triggers are the sound of the bell on the buoy, just off-shore, and of the repetition of two notes played on a tuba. In the film, we hear these sounds and we begin to feel nervous and afraid. That is because we have been pre-conditioned to associate those sounds (the cause) with an imminent violent attack of the shark (the effect). And a great many people even reacted by resorting to gripping extra strong onto an auditorium armrest, or the arm of the person sitting next to them, married or not.

Those two very simple sounds were used to such good effect that even after leaving the cinema, people were afraid to go into the water down at the beach. And if by chance they heard the sound of a bell on a nearby buoy, a herd of wild horses would not be able to drag them into the water. And god forbid if somebody started to play those two notes on a tuba at the water's edge, hells bells, they would be running for the hills at breakneck speed. Panic? Shit, get me out of here freekin fast, boy.

So there you have it. Now you know how people like Spielberg can put the fear of god into us and make us feel very afraid, or thrilled all the way to the stars. Have a nice swim next time you go to the beach on a hot day, huh?