Gum 1

Mallory Gum

Dr. Mark Hawkes

EPSY 302

6 April 2017

Behaviorism

A student is sitting quietly in class, raising her hand when she has a question. The teacher

then lets her be the line leader when the class walks to music. Another student is loud and

disruptive in class. The teacher then has this child stay inside for five minutes before going to

recess. These are just a couple of examples demonstrating behaviorism. Behaviorism covers a

range of topics which include classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves

extinction and generalization, while operant conditioning includes punishments, reinforcers, and

shaping. These are crucial concepts to utilize in a classroom environment. Without these

methods, classrooms tend to have less structure for the students. This may affect the learning

environment.

Behaviorism, according to Foundations of American Education, is a theory that explains

a person’s behavior as a response to stimuli. Behaviorists believe that one’s behavior is

influenced by the environment rather than by genetics. This shows that a teacher can influence a

student’s behavior (Johnson, Musial, Hall, & Gollnick 2014). The use of reinforcers and

punishments in the classroom are examples of influencing a student’s behavior. The book

referenced above also states behaviorists believe a classroom should be extremely organized and

the curriculum should be based on carefully developed behavioral objectives (Johnson, Musial,

Hall, & Gollnick 2014). Behaviorism has many different aspects.

 Gum 2

First, classical conditioning has several parts which include an unconditioned stimulus,

an unconditioned response, a neutral stimulus, a conditioned stimulus, and a conditioned

response. According to the article, “Classical Conditioning,” an unconditioned response is

unlearned or automatic while a conditioned response is learned. An unconditioned stimulus

automatically triggers a response or a reflex. On the other hand, a conditioned stimulus is a

neutral stimulus which will trigger a conditioned or desired response (Learning). Classical

conditioning is closely associated with Ivan Pavlov’s famous dog experiment. According to Big

Ideas Simply Explained: The Psychology Book, Pavlov would use a bell before giving the dogs

food. He would repeat this until the dogs would associate the sound with food. Pavlov continued

this process until the dogs salivated when the bell sounded. Through this experiment, Pavlov

came up with an unconditioned stimulus, a conditioned stimulus, an unconditioned response, and

a conditioned response. The unconditioned stimulus, in this situation, was the food that was

offered to the dogs since it led to salivation. The salivation is the unconditioned response since it

is unlearned. The sound of the bell is the neutral stimulus associated with the food which was

used to condition the dogs to salivate. In this case the conditioned response is the salivation from

the dogs when the bell sounded ("The Sight of Tasty Food Makes a Hungry Man’s Mouth Water:

IVAN PAVLOV (1849–1936) | Big Ideas Simply Explained: The Psychology Book").

Next, generalization is part of classical conditioning. Stated by Kendra Cherry, stimulus

generalization is when something responds in a similar way to a stimulus that resembles a

different stimulus which contains the same attributes. An example she used was if a child is

afraid of a white, stuffed rabbit then the child will also be afraid of similar objects such as a

white, stuffed rat (Cherry). Another example would be if a child sees a black cat, he or she may

see a black dog and still think it is a cat since the child is using generalization.
 Gum 3

Another aspect of classical conditioning is extinction. Extinction is when a behavior is

not reinforced so that behavior disappears (Learning). In a classroom, an example would be if a

child is talking while the teacher is talking and the teacher does not say anything to the student.

This student would eventually stop since the child is not being reinforced for his or her actions.

As stated by the article “Reducing Undesirable Behaviors in the Classroom,” the teacher

ignoring the student must be consistent ("Reducing Undesirable Behaviors in the Classroom -

Video & Lesson Transcript"). In the above example, the teacher must ignore the student every

time that student interrupts the teacher while he or she is talking. If the student is sometimes

ignored and then other times punished for interrupting, then the behavior will become stronger

instead of disappearing. These discoveries of classical conditioning highly influenced John B.

Watson and B.F. Skinner.

In addition, B.F. Skinner developed the concept of operant conditioning. According to

Essentials of Educational Psychology: Big Ideas to Guide Effective Teaching, operant

conditioning is a type of learning that involves a reinforcement which follows a response to

increase the frequency of positive behavior. When a student is being reinforced for a type of

behavior, the behavior will increase whereas if the child is not being reinforced the behavior will

fade away. A repercussion that boosts the frequency of a behavior is known as a reinforcer

(Ormrod 2012).

There are two types of reinforcers, primary and secondary reinforcers. A primary

reinforcer is a need which includes food, water, and oxygen. A secondary reinforcer is not a

need, rather a want which includes praise, money, and good grades. The examples of both

primary and secondary reinforcers are known as positive reinforcement. The book, Essentials of

Educational Psychology: Big Ideas to Guide Effective Teaching, states that a positive
 Gum 4

reinforcement is when a consequence increases the behavior or response. There are also extrinsic

and intrinsic reinforcers (Ormrod 2012). Extrinsic reinforcers are those in the environment (other

people), and intrinsic reinforcers are those within oneself. An example of an extrinsic reinforcer

would be when one is told “good job.” Another example would be from the introduction, the

student was quiet in class and was reinforced with being the line leader. If one does extra

homework, he or she experiences an intrinsic reinforcer because one feels a sense of

accomplishment. Like positive reinforcement, there exists negative reinforcement. Negative

reinforcement is the increased behavior after the removal of a stimulus as defined by Essentials

of Educational Psychology. Even though it is called negative reinforcement, it is not always

negative.

Aside from the reinforcements, there are punishments as well. A punishment is a

consequence that causes the behavior to subside. The two types of punishments are presentation

punishment and removal punishment. Presentation punishment is the presentation of a new

stimulus that the learner does not like or finds unpleasant. Reprimands are examples of

presentation punishments because students do not like getting scolded. Removal punishment is

just how it sounds; it is the removal of an existing stimulus that the learner does not want to lose

such as the naughty child in the introduction who had five minutes of recess taken away.

Examples of this include grounding, a fine, or a penalty (Ormrod 2012).

Finally, shaping is an aspect of operant conditioning. As stated by Jerry Webster, in his

article, shaping is a learning method that rewards a student once he or she masters their target

skill (Webster). When doing this, the teacher must state the child’s strengths and weaknesses. If a

child has difficulty holding scissors, a teacher may help the child by putting her hands on the

student’s hands to help the child utilize scissors. This same strategy can be used on various tools
 Gum 5

and writing utensils which can include but are not limited to spoons, forks, pencils, pens,

markers, or paint brushes.

All in all, behaviorism plays an important role in a classroom setting. There are many

ways one can incorporate behaviorism in his or her classroom. An educator can use a reinforcer

to continue the behavior or use extinction to diminish a certain behavior. The main ideas of

behaviorism revolve around classical conditioning and operant conditioning. No matter the

educator, behaviorism may be utilized in his or her classroom.

 Gum 6

Works Cited
Cherry, Kendra. "What Is Stimulus Generalization?" Verywell. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2017.
Johnson, James Allen, Diann Musial, Gene E. Hall, and Donna M. Gollnick. Foundations of
American education: becoming effective teachers in challenging times. Boston: Pearson,
2014. Print.
Learning, Lumen. "Classical Conditioning." Classical Conditioning | Introduction to
Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.
Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis. Essentials of educational psychology: big ideas to guide effective
teaching. Boston, Mass: Allyn & Bacon, 2012. Print.
"Reducing Undesirable Behaviors in the Classroom - Video & Lesson Transcript." Study.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.
"The Sight Of Tasty Food Makes a Hungry Man’s Mouth Water: Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) | Big
Ideas Simply Explained: The Psychology Book." Credo Reference. N.p., n.d. Web. 28
Mar. 2017.
Webster, Jerry. "Shaping - A Teaching Strategy From Behaviorism for Skill
Mastery." ThoughtCo. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.