LESSON 8

BEHAVIOR THEORY

According to behaviourism, the major subject matter of psychology is activity

rather than structure.
Behaviour theory is conveniently divided into two types: Association theory and
Reinforcement theory.
Association Theory. In this theory there are four important elements: the
unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, conditioned stimulus, and conditioned
response. For classical or respondent conditioning to occur, there must be a stimulus that
will automatically or reflexively elicit a specific response.
The food in the dogs mouth is said to be the unconditioned stimulus. The food
placed in its mouth naturally elicits salivation. So, salivation becomes the unconditioned
response. The connection between the unconditioned stimulus and the unconditioned
response is reflexive or unlearned.
In Pavlovs experiment, the conditioned stimulus used was the ringing of a bell.
Before the process of conditioning, the dog did not salivate once it heard the sound of a
bell. However, what Pavlov noticed was that when the conditioned stimulus was
repeatedly presented, the dog learned to salivate just what it did with the food. When the
salivation occurs to the conditioned stimulus, it is now called the conditioned response.
The conditioned response now becomes a learned response.
In the area of classroom learning, classical conditioning primarily influences
emotional behaviour. Things that make us happy, sad, angry, excited, or flabbergasted
become associated with neutral stimuli that gain our attention. For example, if a
particular academic subject produces emotional feelings in us, these emotions are
probably a result of classical conditioning.
During the first part of the twentieth century, the founder of American
Behaviorism, John B. Watson, extended Pavlovs classical conditioning, Watson believed
that all humans are born with reflexes consisting of unlearned behaviors such as knee
jerk, blinking, stepping, rooting, sucking, and others. He also believed that humans are
equipped with emotional responses including fear, love, hate or rage which occur in
response to a particular stimulus.
Watson and his followers believed that all emotions good or bad are learned.
They, too, believed that all aspects of human functioning are learned. Their belief in an
indication that leaning equates with acquiring associations. According to the behaviorists,
the associations that people and animals create are of prime importance.
The Principle of Contiguity
Aristotle provided an explanation for learning. He said that we tend to remember
things together. We learn to remember things when they are:
1. Similar;
2. In contrast; and
3. Contiguous.
Guthrie argued that stimuli and responses affect specific sensory-motor patterns. It
means that what people learned are movements, not behaviors. In this theory, rewards or
punishments have no place in learning because they occur after the association between
stimulus and response has been made.
The principle of contiguity clearly illustrates that two or more sensations, experiences,
or events that occur together in repeated ways will become associated. It points to the
idea that two events need to be contiguous or close together in time in order to be
associated. That is, we tend to remember events because they are strengthened by the
principle of association.
Reinforcement Theory. The theory on reinforcement has acquired a great place in
school settings because it has its applicability to classroom instruction. White it is
focused on the association of events that stimulate behaviour, the reinforcement theory
concentrates on the consequences. Reinforcement theory is concerned with the events
that follow a behaviour.
Reinforcement is commonly viewed as a reward. A reinforce is a consequence
used to strengthen the performance of a desired behaviour.
Reinforcement is of two types: positive and negative. Positive reinforcement occurs
when the behavior produces another new stimulus. On the other hand, if the
disappearance or removal of a stimulus occurs, we call it negative reinforcement.
Punishment is another consequence that is often confused with reinforcement.
Punishment is used to decrease the performance of a behavior while reinforcement is
used to increase the performance of such behavior. Just like reinforcement, punishment
is also of two types: positive and negative.
Thorndike formulated a number of laws that govern important aspects of behavior.
They are as follows:
1. The Law of Effect. This states that if a response is followed by a satisfying state
of affairs, it tends to be repeated. On the other hand, when a response is followed
by an annoying state of affairs, it tends not to be repeated.
2. The Law of Exercise. This law maintains the idea that the connection between a
stimulus and response is strengthened by being exercised frequently, recently, and
vigorously. The connection between the stimulus and response is called bond,
which according to Thorndike must be strengthened by exercise.
3. The Law of Readiness. This law emphasizes the role of motivation.
 Operant Conditioning is attributed to Burrhus Frederic Skinner.
In operant conditioning, there are important components. The first of which is an emitted
response known as operant response. An operant is any response produced by an
organism which in turn produces consequences in the environment. Skinner described
that some forms of behavior are reflexively elicited by certain stimuli. These are called
respondent behavior. However, Skinner assumed that most behavior is operant rather
than respondent. The other component of operant conditioning is identified as stimulus
consequence that is brought about by the emitted response. A consequence is anything
that increases or decreases the probability of the operant to repeat or to stop the behavior.