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BEHAVIORISM

Behaviorism

Behaviorism

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Behaviorism is an approach in the field of psychology that is based on observable behavior and the assumption that all behaviors seen in an organism (be it an animal or a human) are the result of the organism’s interaction with its environment.

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This psychological approach believes that when a human being (or an animal) is born, its mind is ‘tabula rasa’ (a blank slate). All behaviors that the organism ‘learns’ from thereon are shaped by its external environment or its prior stimuli.

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Behaviorism only concerns itself with an organism’s behaviors that are observable and objective in nature, and does not take into account its subjective, internal thoughts, consciousness, feelings and emotions. It also believes that humans and animals are fundamentally the same, and that the theories that are proven accurate for animals would hold true for humans as well.

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In the context of education, Behaviorism as a learning theory relies on the instructor/teacher (or the more powerful person) acting as the conveyer of knowledge, while the student (or the weaker person) acts as the receiver of the knowledge. In the behaviorist learning approach, learners play a passive role in the learning process, and learning is largely teacher-centered. This type of learning approach can be beneficial in teaching facts, standards and definitions, and mainly concentrates on instilling lower-order skills such as recalling and listing.

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However, in order for learning brought about through the behaviorist approach to be retained, intermittent reinforcement is necessary. Lack of such reinforcement may lead to the learning being forgotten.

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The roots of behaviorism are based on the Stimulus-Response Relationship. These terms are defined below.

  • Stimulus: A stimulus can be defined as any event or change in the environment.

  • Response: A response can be defined as an organism’s reaction to a particular stimulus

 

According to the behaviorist theory, an organism can learn new behaviors through two types of conditioning (an association formed between an external stimulus and an organism’s response):

1. Classical Conditioning:

Classical conditioning was discovered by a Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov, in the late 19th century, while he was experimenting with dogs.

 

During his experiments, Pavlov observed that when the dogs were presented with food, they began to salivate as a natural response towards it. Here, the food is called an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and the natural response, i.e., the salivation, is called the unconditioned response (UCR).

Pavlov now tested the dogs’ response to a neutral stimulus (NS), such as the ringing of a bell, and found that the dogs showed no response towards it.

Next, Pavlov started pairing the neutral stimulus (NS), i.e., the ringing bell, with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS), i.e., the food. Over time, the dogs learned that every time they hear the bell ringing, they would get food. This association “conditioned” the dogs to gradually salivate every time they heard of the ringing bell. Hence, the neutral stimulus (NS) now becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned response (UCR) now turns into the conditioned response (CR), and we say that “learning” has occurred.

Hence, in classical conditioning, an organism learns to respond to a neutral stimulus over time, due to its continued association with a previous, unconditioned stimulus that brought about the same response. Classical conditioning mainly focuses on involuntary, observable behaviors of an organism.

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Examples of Classical Conditioning:

  • If we once get sick after eating a certain kind of food, every time we look at the food, we feel nauseated.

  • Because we fear the pain caused by weapons such as knives, robbers use such weapons to condition us to fear them as well.

 

2. Operant Conditioning:

Operant conditioning was discovered by a scientist named B.F. Skinner in the 1920s. According to Skinner, the recurring nature of a behavior (or response) exhibited by an organism depends on the type of consequence (or stimulus) faced for the behavior.

 

According to Skinner, for any kind of behavior, there can be two types of consequences:

  1. Reinforcement: a consequence that makes the behavior more likely to occur again

  2. Punishment: a consequence that makes the behavior less likely to occur again

 

Reinforcement:

Reinforcement is a type of stimulus/consequence that strengthens a particular response/behavior. Reinforcement can again be of two types:

  • Positive Reinforcement: When a behavior is followed by a pleasant consequence being added, it is called a positive reinforcement.

For example, when we study hard, we get good grades. The good grades encourage us to study hard for our next test as well. Hence, the addition of the pleasant consequence has resulted in the behavior to recur.

  • Negative Reinforcement: When a behavior is followed by an unpleasant consequence being removed, it is called a negative reinforcement.

For example, when we study hard, our parents stop nagging us. So, the next time we have a test, we study hard so that our parents do not nag us (unpleasant consequence is removed). Hence, the removal of the unpleasant consequence has resulted in the behavior to recur.

 

Punishment:

Punishment is a type of stimulus/consequence that weakens a particular response/behavior. Punishment can again be of two types:

  • Positive Punishment: When a behavior is followed by an unpleasant consequence being added, it is called a positive punishment.

For example, when we score poorly in a test, our parents make us wash the dishes every day. The unpleasant consequence of washing dishes makes us STOP scoring poorly in future tests. Hence, the addition of the unpleasant consequence has resulted in the behavior to decrease.

  • Negative Punishment: When a behavior is followed by a pleasant consequence being removed, it is called a negative punishment.

For example, when we score poorly in a test, our parents restrict our playing and television time. The removal of the pleasant consequence of playing and watching television makes us STOP scoring poorly in future tests. Hence, the removal of the pleasant consequence has resulted in the behavior to decrease.

 

Hence, in operant conditioning, a behavior (or response) recurs more or less in future depending on its consequences (or stimuli). Operant conditioning mainly focuses on voluntary, observable behaviors of an organism.

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EXAMPLES/NON-EXAMPLES OF BEHAVIORISM FROM MY PERSONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

I would like to cite two of my experiences that I listed on my personal learning experiences page, as I think both these experiences relate to the behaviorist learning theory.

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1. My Experience from Elementary/Middle School:

As far as this experience of mine is concerned, I think my teacher WAS trying to use a behaviorist approach, as she used to make her class take notes and listen to her for fear of failing the examination and also because the students feared her. Her instructional strategy (even though I would not want to call it one) was to write long notes on the board, and make us copy it, using the fear of failure as a negative reinforcement (operant conditioning).

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However, I don't think her strategies worked (at least not for me) and I ended up failing my examination anyways, even though I copied everything she wrote! 

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I think, in this case, my teacher used the wrong approach for the mathematics lesson, and feel that a cognitive approach would have been better for the class.

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I also think that the phobia for mathematics that I developed after failing in the subject in this class, is also an example of behaviorism, where my fear of failing an exam eventually led me to fear the subject itself (classical conditioning).

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2. My Experience in a Professional (Non-school) setting:

Although I was not taught by a teacher in this case, I still think my learning in this case was partly based on behaviorism as I kept studying and gaining knowledge in order to gain success and appreciation in my project. Hence, my success in my work served as a positive reinforcement (operant conditioning).

References:

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Note: 

  • Un-cited pictures, images and cliparts, if any, are either copyright-free or generated by the author herself.

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