Educ7 - Behaviorism

Behaviorist Main Description Implication/Application in

Learning Theory Education
Pavlovian Classical A type of A good report card to improve academic
Conditioning conditioned learning which performance. As each time a student
occurs because of the bring home a great report card, their
subject’s instinctive parents would take them out for dinner at
responses, as opposed to their favorite restaurant or, they'd shower
operant conditioning, which them with praise. That's because they’re
is contingent on the willful already anticipating those positive
actions of the subject.  consequences.

Watsonian Conditioning According to Watson, Let’s say that a math teacher

people's reactions in
various situations were
determined by how their
overall experiences had
programmed them to react.
embarrassed a student. That student may
develop a dislike for the subject that
follows them even into adulthood.

Thorndike’s Thorndike's principle If a teacher rewards a student when they

connectionism suggests that responses
immediately followed by
satisfaction will be more
likely to recur. This also
suggests that behaviors
followed by dissatisfaction
or discomfort will become
less likely to occur.
do something right, and punishes a
student when they do something wrong,
the student is more likely to avoid doing
wrong things as they cause discomfort
and will attempt to do right things more as
they result in pleasure.

Skinner’s Operant According to this A teacher encourages students to

Conditioning principle, behavior that is
followed by pleasant
consequences is likely to
be repeated, and behavior
followed by unpleasant
consequences is less likely
to be repeat
participate as it's important for character-
building in the formative years. When
they do well, clapping, cheering and
praising them act as positive
reinforcement.

Tolman’s Purposive A cognitive theory of A student studies hard as their teacher

Behaviorism learning postulating that announced that there will be a graded
behavioral acts have a goal recitation. The student’s goal is to answer
or purpose that selects and every question so they can pass their
 guides the behavioral activity.
sequence until the goal or
purpose is attained.

Bandura’s Social Social learning theory
Learning Theory suggests that social
behavior is learned by
observing and imitating the
behavior of others. 
When a student who is praised for raising
their hand to speak, other students will
more than likely repeat that behavior so
they will also be praised by the teacher.