BEHAVIORISM THEORY
⮚ study of observable and measurable behaviour
⮚ conditioning and reinforcement (rewards and
punishment)
⮚ does NOT give much attention to the MIND and
the possiblity of thought processes in the mind
IVAN PAVLOV
⮚ Russian physiologist
⮚ known for classical conditioning or stimulus
substitution
⮚ involved in animal studies
⮚ experiment involved a meat, a dog and a bell
Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
Example:
⮚ Conditioned  Nausea - the sight or smell of a
particular food causes nausea because it caused
stomach upset in the past.
⮚ When you associate particular objects with
your teacher and later on encounter the
objects, you are also reminded of your teacher.
- a.k.a Pavlonian or respondent conditioning
Pavlov’s Findings
1. Stimulus Generalization- Once the dog has
learned to salivate at the sound, it will salivate
at other similar sound.
2. Extinction- If you stop pairing the bell with the
food, the salivation will eventually cease in
response to bell
3. Spontaneous Recovery- Extinguished response
can be “recovered” after an elapsed time but
will soon extinguished again if the dog is not
presented with food.
4. Discrimination - The dog could learn to
discriminate between similar bells (stimuli) and
discern which bell would result in the
presentation of food and which would not
5. High-Order Conditioning- Once the dog has
been conditioned to associate to bell with food,
another unconditional stimulus, such as a light
may be flashed at the same time that the bell is
rung. Eventually, the dog will salivate at the
flash of the light without the sound of the bell.
EDWARD THORNDIKE
⮚ proposed the Connectionism theory
⮚ the first man to use the word “Educational
Philosophy”
Thorndike’s Connectionism Theory
⮚ “ learning is the result of associations forming
between stimuli (S) and response (R)”
⮚ “ learning could be adequately explained
without considering any unobservable internal
states”
⮚ “ learning has taken place when a strong
connection or bond between stimulus and
response is formed”
Thorndike's Laws of Learning
1. Law of Effect
⮚ positive consequence results strong
connection
⮚ negative consequence results weak
connection
Note:
Thorndike later on revised this “law” when he
found out that negative rewards do not necessarily
weaken bonds and some positive ones do not
necessarily motivate performance.
2. Law of Exercise
⮚ the more S-R bond is practiced, the
stronger it will become
⮚ “practice makes perfect”
NOTE:
This is also revised when Thorndike found out
that PRACTICE WITHOUT FEEDBACK does not
necessarily enhance performance.
3. Law of Readiness
⮚ the more the readiness the learner has to
respond to the stimulus, the stronger will be the
bond between them
JOHN WATSON
⮚ first American psychologist to work with
Pavlov’s ideas
⮚ Classical Conditioning Theory
⮚ involved in animal studies then later became
involved in human behavior research
⮚ humans are born with a few reflexes and the
emotional reactions of love and rage
“If I were given a dozen healthy infants, I can
make them into anything you want them to
be.”
John Watson
Watson’s Experiment on Albert
⮚ clearly shows the role of conditioning in the
development of emotional responses to certain
stimuli
⮚ helps us understand the fears, phobias and
prejudices that people develop
BURRHUS FREDERICK SKINNER
Operant Conditioning theory
⮚ known for his Operant Conditioning theory
⮚ cognitive views of learning
⮚ it has aspects of behaviourism but it also
reaches out to the cognitive perspective
EDWARD TOLMAN
Purposive Behaviorism/ Sign Learning Theory
⮚ link between behaviorism and cognitive theory
⮚ “learning is a cognitive process”
⮚ “learning is acquired through meaningful
behavior”
⮚ stressed the relationship between stimuli
rather than stimulus- response
Tolman’s Key Concepts
1. Learning is always purposive and goal- directed.
2. Cognitive maps in rats.
3. Latent Learning
4. The concept of intervening variable.
5. Reinforcement is not essential for learning.
ALBERT BANDURA
Social Learning Theory

Skinner’s Operant Conditioning ALBERT BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

- based upon the notion that learning is a result ⮚ learning that occurs within a social context
of change in overt behavior ⮚ includes concepts of observational learning,
imitation and modelling
Definition of Terms How the environment reinforces and punishes
▪ Reinforcement - key element in Skinner’s S-R modeling?
theory. 1. by the model
▪ Reinforcer - anything that strengthens the 2. by a third person
desired response. 3. imitated behaviour itself leads
▪ Positive Reinforcer - any stimulus that is given 4. vicarious reinforcement
or added to increase the response.
▪ Negative Reinforcer - any stimulus that results Cognitive Factors in Social Learning
in the increase frequency of a response when it 1. learning without performance
is withdrawn or removed; not a punishment, in 2. cognitive processing during learning
fact it is reward 3. expectations
▪ Punishment - a consequence intended to result 4. reciprocal causation
in reduced responses. 5. modeling : live model and symbolic model

What are the behaviors that can be learned

through modeling?
Conditions Necessary for Effective Modeling to
Occur
1. Attention
2. Retention
3. Motor Reproduction
4. Motivation

NEO-BEHAVIORISM