Pavlov's typology
Pavlov's typology of higher nervous activity was the first systematic approach to the psychophysiology of individual differences. Ivan Pavlov's ideas of nervous system typology came from work with his dogs and his realization of individual differences. His observations of the dogs led to the idea of excitation and inhibition in the nervous system, and Pavlov theorized that the strength of these processes in the nervous system will determine whether the subject will have a strong or weak nervous system. This theory has influenced research in the field of social psychology and personality. Origins Pavlov was a physiologist and his ideas on typology stemmed from his research on dogs and his research on the brain. Pavlov's ideas of types were adopted from Hippocrates as it was he who came up with the idea of individual differences. Hippocrates also proposed the four temperaments in man and Pavlov wanting to honor Hippocrates by use of Hippocrates' terms for his own work. Pavlov started using observations and then used many experiments to show that there were many different distinguishing ways the nervous systems of dogs worked. Pavlov noticed the individual differences in the dogs through his research on salivary responses. He noticed there were