BEHAVIORIST

PSYCHOLOGICAL
FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION

DISCUSSANT: ATHENA A. VILLANUEVA MEM-C

 BEHAVIORISM

 Behaviorism (or behaviourism) is a systematic approach to

understanding the behavior of humans and other animals. It
assumes that all behaviors are either reflexes produced by a
response to certain stimuli in the environment, or a
consequence of that individual's history, including especially
reinforcement and punishment, together with the individual's
current motivational state and controlling stimuli. Although
behaviorists generally accept the important role of inheritance
in determining behavior, they focus primarily on environmental
factors.
Historical Background of Theory

 Behavior is determined by the environment through

either association or reinforcement.
 Behaviorism refers to a psychological approach
which emphasizes scientific and objective methods
of investigation. The approach is only concerned
with observable stimulus-response behaviors, and
states all behaviors are learned through interaction
with the environment.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THEORY

 Behaviorism combines elements of philosophy, methodology,

and psychological theory. It emerged in the late nineteenth
century as a reaction to depth psychology and other
traditional forms of psychology, which often had difficulty
making predictions that could be tested experimentally. The
earliest derivatives of Behaviorism can be traced back to the
late 19th century where Edward Thorndike pioneered the law
of effect, a process that involved strengthening behavior
through the use of reinforcement.
Edward Thorndike and His Law of Effect
 Edward Thorndike’s experiments with a cat in a puzzle box led him
to conclude that learning can be explained by the principle of Law
of Effect.
 Responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation
become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses
that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur
again in that situation.
 In the Law of Effect, a learner on his first day of kindergarten might
try different approaches of getting his teacher’s attention.
 The learner, by trial and error, learns which methods earn a positive
response from the teacher and which get a negative response.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THEORY

 During the first half of the twentieth century, John B.

Watson devised methodological behaviorism, which
rejected introspective methods and sought to understand
behavior by only measuring observable behaviors and
events. It was not until the 1930s that B. F. Skinner suggested
that private events—including thoughts and feelings—should
be subjected to the same controlling variables as
observable behavior, which became the basis for his
philosophy called radical behaviorism.
Watson’s experiment on an infant
 Watson’s experiment on an infant
 An infant was exposed for the first time, to a white rat, a rabbit, a dog, a
monkey, masks (with and without hair), cotton, wool, burning
newspapers, and other stimuli. Albert showed no fear of any of these
items.
 For the experiment, Albert was put on a mattress on a table in the middle
of a room. A white laboratory rat was placed near Albert and he was
allowed to play with it. At this point, Watson and Rayner made a loud
sound behind Albert's back by striking a piece of steel bar with a
hammer each time the baby touched the rat. Albert responded to the
noise by crying and showing fear. After several such pairings of the two
stimuli, Albert was presented with only the rat. Upon seeing the rat, Albert
got very distressed, crying and crawling away..
 WhileWatson and Ivan Pavlov investigated the
stimulus-response procedures of classical conditioning,
Skinner assessed the controlling nature of
consequences and also its' potential effect on
the antecedents (or discriminative stimuli) that
strengthens behavior; the technique became known
as operant conditioning. Skinner’s radical behaviorism
has been highly successful experimentally, revealing
new phenomena with new methods.
Biographical Sketch of Author

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936):

 Pavlov (1897) published the results of an
experiment on conditioning after originally
studying digestion in dogs.
 Classic Conditioning: “refers to the natural reflex
that occurs in response to a stimulus”
 Taught dogs to salivate when they heard a bell,
because they associated the bell with food
 Famous example of stimulus response
Ivan Pavlov

 Pavlov’s experiment with dogs

taught them to associate the
ringing of the bell with the
arrival of food.
 Pavlov’s work would later on
be very influential for other
psychologists like B.F. Skinner.
 His contribution to the
educational system can best
be seen in the rewards and
punishment systems found in
classrooms all over the world.
 The field of applied behavior analysis is considered
by many to have derived from radical behaviorism.
Actually the field derives from both radical
behaviorism and the human based psychological
behaviorism. Applied behavior analysis has been
used in various settings including the treatment of
disorders such as autism and substance abuse, as
well as child raising, personality development, and
abnormal behavior generally.
 Inaddition, psychological behaviorism has indicated
how cognitive schools of psychological thought, while
not behavioral, can be joined with a human oriented
behaviorism. The field of cognitive behavior therapy,
which has widely demonstrated utility in treating
certain pathologies including simple phobias, PTSD,
and mood disorders, has shown the productivity of
that combination.
Biographical Sketch of Author

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990):

 B. F. Skinner (Burrhus Frederic Skinner): March 20, 1904-August
18, 1990.
 A psychologist born in Pennsylvania.
 Earned his doctorate from Harvard.
 There he began working on ideas of human behavior.
 Influenced by nurture over nature.
Biographical Sketch of Author

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990):

 Skinner (1936) wrote The Behavior of Organisms and
introduced the concepts of operant conditioning and
shaping.
 Operant Conditioning: “learning is controlled and results in
shaping behavior through the reinforcement of stimulus-
response patterns”
 When people are rewarded for a behavior, then the behavior
will continue.
 When people receive a negative reinforcement to a behavior,
then the behavior will stop.
B.F. Skinner -The Behavior of Organisms
B.F. Skinner -The Behavior of Organisms

 In his positive reinforcement experiment Skinner would place the rats in a box with
a lever attached to a feeding tube. Whenever a rat pressed the lever, food would
be released. After the experience of multiple trials, the rats learned the
association between the lever and food and began to spend more of their time in
the box trying to get food than performing any other action.

 Skinner also conducted an experiment that explained negative reinforcement.

Skinner placed a rat in a chamber in the similar manner, but instead of keeping it
hungry, he subjected the chamber to an unpleasant electric current. The rat
having experienced the discomfort started to desperately move around the box
and accidentally knocked the lever. Pressing of the lever immediately seized the
flow of unpleasant current. After a few times, the rat had smartened enough to
go directly to the lever in order to prevent itself from the discomfort.
B.F. Skinner -The Behavior of Organisms

 B.F. Skinner greatly esteemed Pavlov’s works and even produced his
own version of Pavlov’s experiments, this time with pigeons.
 Skinner’s Operant Conditioning is also an offshoot of Edward
Thorndike’s earlier study and theory, the Law of Effect.
 Thorndike had previously used the term instrumental learning for
operant conditioning.
 Maintains that behavior is not dependent on the preceding stimulus.
Rather it is dependent on the consequence to the response to the
stimulus.
 In the Pavlovian case, this would mean that the dog’s behavior
could actually be explained better by the food presented to them.
B.F. Skinner -The Behavior of Organisms

 Skinner introduced the term reinforcement to refer to consequences that

would either strengthen or weaken a certain behavior.
 He gave four kinds of consequences: Positive Reinforcement, Negative
Reinforcement, Punishment and Extinction.
 Contentions for Skinner’s Learning theory include his disregard for any
introspective analysis. Skinner however explained that it is much easier to
study, observe and analyze tangible, external behavior than the internal,
mental workings of a person.
Nature of Human Being

 Basically…
-supported by psychology
-believe that mind is an expression to bodily
behavior
-does not believe in the concept of “soul”
-argues that humans are programmed (by
psychology)
-relies on empirical evidence
Aims of Theory in Education

 Determine what reinforcements and punishments work best for your

students.
 Determine the exact behavior you want the students to learn before giving
any response.
 Try to minimize the time between the students action and your response.
 Be consistent when giving reinforcements and punishments to students.
In Math, students can recall facts for immediate rewards.
In Reading, students can use flash cards with partners for immediate
feedback.
Aims of Education

 A good example of this would be use of a computer lab.

 Students will get immediate feedback.
 They will learn the use of a computer and its parts.
 Teacher-directed, systematic, and structure environments lead to
behaviorist learning.
 Behaviorism deals with consequences (rewarded or punished) of
behavior.
 Rewards consist of praise of some sort. (stickers, treats, food, and
shopping)
 Punishment consists of no play time, removal, etc.
 Reward reinforcements can strengthen/increase behaviors.
 METHODS OF EDUCATION/ TEACHING

 Within the behaviourist view of learning, the "teacher" is the

dominant person in the classroom and takes complete control,
evaluation of learning comes from the teacher who decides
what is right or wrong. The learner does not have any opportunity
for evaluation or reflection within the learning process, they are
simply told what is right or wrong. The conceptualization of
learning using this approach could be considered "superficial" as
the focus is on external changes in behaviour i.e. not interested in
the internal processes of learning leading to behaviour change
and has no place for the emotions involved the process.
 CONTENTS OF EDUCATION

 Behaviorist teaching methods tend to rely on so-called

“skill and drill” exercises to provide the consistent
repetition necessary for effective reinforcement of
response patterns. Other methods include question
(stimulus) and answer (response) frameworks in which
questions are of gradually increasing difficulty; guided
practice; and regular reviews of material. Behaviorist
methods also typically rely heavily on the use of positive
reinforcements such as verbal praise, good grades, and
prizes.
 CONTENTS OF EDUCATION

 Behaviorists assess the degree of learning using methods

that measure observable behavior such as exam
performance. Behaviorist teaching methods have
proven most successful in areas where there is a
“correct” response or easily memorized material. For
example, while behaviorist methods have proven to be
successful in teaching structured material such as facts
and formulae, scientific concepts, and foreign language
vocabulary, their efficacy in teaching comprehension,
composition, and analytical abilities is questionable.
Criticism of Behaviorist Theory

 Armstrong states that “It is more natural to think of

someone's speech and action as the expression of his
thought, not as identical with his thought. We can not say
'he got a drink because he was thirsty.“
 We think of thought as something distinct from the actions
– it may lie behind the behavior and bring it about, but it is
not to be identified with it.
 Another weakness of this theory is its inadequacy to deal
with more than a very small number of the utterances of
everyday life.
Criticism of Behaviorist Theory

 Physical object or picture of some words have to be shown to be

understood or learned for instance , i.e. a fox or his picture has to
be shown anytime it is mentioned.
 I do not always react the same way to RAIN anytime I hear it or
see it.
 Criticism of Behaviorist Theory

 Criticisms against the Law of Effect include its mechanistic point of view. However,
one has to take into account that Thorndike’s experiments first made use of cats.
 Another is that Thorndike’s explanation of behavior as a series of trial and error does
not give importance to the learning and thinking process of a learner.
 Behaviorism does not account for all kinds of learning, since it disregards the activities
of the mind.
 Behaviorism does not explain some learning–such as the recognition of new
language patterns by young children–for which there is no reinforcement
mechanism.
 Research has shown that animals adapt their reinforced patterns to new information.
For instance, a rat can shift its behavior to respond to changes in the layout of a
maze it had previously mastered through reinforcements