Behaviorism Theory

Cruz, Rado Paul F.

De Guzman, Joana Elize
De Lara, Erin Gail
De Leon, Amanda Bianca M

2CMT
Group 4
II. Introduction

Behaviorism is a theory in which the concept of knowledge in old age is quite

applicable. One of the key concepts of Behaviorism is that the learner starts off
as a clean slate and its behavior is shaped through positive reinforcement or
negative reinforcement. This means that two different persons may go through
the same problem, the same experience, but the lessons they both learned will
always come out different.

A lot of factors may affect the behavior of a person, one of which is attitude. A
positive mental attitude can bring about optimism in almost everything that
happens to a person. Optimism of greater lengths may not seem healthy or
normal but it can see the beauty in every little thing no matter how bad things
may get. Another factor that can affect behavior is perspective; a crowd may see
Godzilla fighting a monster but all of them may think that Godzilla also needs to
be killed when in fact Godzillas saving them.

Behavior is difficult to understand and predict because no one actually knows

what had happened in a persons life that made him what he is in the present.
Behavior is complicated. One can assume that this is what he will do because
that is what he will do if he were in another persons shoes but the surprise is that
no one turns out the way we currently are. Everyone is unique in a way that
every thing they do changes them into a person no one could ever become but
only that exact same person.

III. Discussion

The Behaviorism theory proposed by John B. Watson in laymans term is a study

in which a persons behavior is used to predict his actions, emotions, history, and
reactions to certain events or experiences that happened in his life. Responses
to stimuli that triggers certain emotions to a person is also a part of this study.
Different kinds of conditioning was performed to further observe, analyze, and
conclude this theory, one of which became known as the Little Albert Experiment.

The Little Albert experiment was conducted by John Watson and Rosalie Rayner
where they exposed Little Albert, who was around 11 months at the time, to
different stimuli, namely, a white rat, a rabbit, and a monkey. Initially, Little Albert
showed no sign of response from the stimuli. After the first encounter with no
response, Watson and Rayner began to associate the white rat with a loud sound
which triggered Little Albert and brought him to tears. Every meeting following
that, Watson and Rayner would make the same sound and soon, even just the
sight of the white rat triggered the same fear in Little Albert as the loud sound.
This is parallel to Ivan Pavlovs experiment with the dogs where he rang the bell
to trigger the dogs salivation as it does when they see food. Watson wanted to
 further study this behavior and so he conducted what is now more commonly
known as the Little Albert Experiment.

After Watsons and Rayners Little Albert experiment, Behaviorist BF Skinner

conducted another experiment to further study behaviorism in ways other than
the classical conditioning as presented by the first two behaviorists mentioned.
Skinner used the Operant Conditioning in order to study behaviorism, a method
similar to that of Thorndikes Law of Effect. In Operant Conditioning, Skinner, like
Edward Thorndike, put an animal in a cage and observed its reaction to several
stimuli. He then proposed that there are three types of responses; Neutral
Operants, Reinforcers, and Punishers. Skinner then came to a conclusion that
behaviour is widely influenced by environment.

IV. How the Theory Impacts Learning

One does not need to be a scientist to know the fact that behavior truly has an
effect on learning. Behavior, as defined, is the way in which an animal or a
person acts in response to a stimuli. The way one acts and how the response is
carried out would, of course, affect the outcome of the situation. Learning, on the
other hand, is a process in which knowledge or skills are acquired through
experience or if taught. This means that learning is an undertaking which takes
time and would rely on how the student or person being taught responds to the
subject which is taught. Behavior then affects this and has a great impact on
learning in the way that if one was raised in an environment which promotes
religiously reviewing all that one has learned for the day compared to one that
was raised in an environment that slacks off, it would be clear that the results of
the student who was raised slacking off would be less optimal than that of the
other student. This would primarily be because of the behavior that each student
has obtained through the environment they were raised in.

V. Conclusion

Humans have a unique way of changing in order to adapt to their environment.

These changes are manifested in different ways that even the person may not be
aware of and, therefore, cannot be predicted by anyone else. Behaviorists such
as the ones mentioned before study human behavior as objective and logical,
nothing more than a stimulus-response phenomena that all living things exhibit.
This, however, leaves no room for the possible effects of emotions on human
behavior and its subjectivity to each person. Further studies of human behavior
may lead to the conclusion of behavior as either objective or subjective.
VI. References

1. Behaviorism. (2016, September 02). Retrieved January 29, 2017, from

https://www.learning-theories.com/behaviorism.html
2. Behaviorism | Simply Psychology. (1970, January 01). Retrieved January 29,
2017, from http://m.simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html
3. Behaviorism. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2017, from
http://www.funderstanding.com/theory/behaviorism/
4. H. (n.d.). What Was the Little Albert Experiment? Retrieved January 29, 2017,
from https://www.verywell.com/the-little-albert-experiment-2794994
5. Skinner - Operant Conditioning. (1970, January 01). Retrieved January 29, 2017,
from http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html