HEALTH EDUCATION
LEARNING THEORIES
 BEHVIORIST THEORIES
 COGNITIVE THEORIES
 SOCIAL THEORIES
BEHAVIORIST THEORIES
- Focuses of objectively observable
behavior.
- The acquisition of new behavior is
based on environmental conditions
where there is a stimulus (S) that
produce a response (R)
- The learning process occurs in a
“black box” and only the outcome of
the learning is the focus rather than
the intellectual process that resulted in
the outcome
Classical Conditioning Theory (Ivan
Pavlov)
 A process of behavior modification by
which a subject comes to respond in a
desire manner to a previously neutral
stimulus that has been repeatedly
presents along with an unconditioned
stimulus that elicits the desired
response.
Basic Principle of the Process
 Unconditioned stimulus –
Automatically or naturally triggers a
response.
 Unconditioned Response –
Response that occurs naturally to the
unconditioned stimuli.
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 Conditioned stimulus – Previously
neutral stimulus that, after becoming
associated with the unconditioned
response.
 Conditioned Response – The
learned response.
Application: Learning CPR
o US: seeing an unconscious person
o UR: Attempting to rouse that person
o CS: “CODE BLUE”
o CR: Nurse need not to witness the
unconscious individual to know what
is happening and how to respond
BEHAVIORISM THEORY (JOHN WATSON)
“A man is stripped of his responsibility,
freedom and dignity and is reduced to a purely
biological being, to be reshaped by those who
are able to use the tools of behaviorism
effectively” – John Watson.
 Behavior is a result of a series of
conditioned reflexes and all emotion
and though is a result of behavior
learned through conditioning.
CONNECTIONISM THEORY (EDWARD
THORNDIKE)
 Reward and punishment
3 laws:
 Exercise and Repetition – the more
the stimulus induced response is
repeated, the longer it will be retained.
 Law of Effect – Pleasure-pain
Principle
 The Law of Readiness – A series of
responses can be chained together to
satisfy some goal which will result in
annoyance if blocked.
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that learners have preference styles

Operant Conditioning (B.F Skinner)
Two style:
 The use of behavior’s consequence to
influence the occurrence and form of
behavior.
 Distinguished from classical
conditioning in that it deals with
“Voluntary Behavior”
 Key element: REINFORCEMENT
BEHAVIORISM
 B.F Skinner 1904-1990
 Main interest operant conditioning
 Rats, levers, learning to get food
 Instrumental or operant conditioning
by which rat produces own
reinforcement (reward) by converting
productive accident into intentional
pattern of behavior.
for certain environmental cues.
o Field independent
o Field Dependent
 The educator can use this instrument
to determine whether a learner sees
the whole first (global, field
independent) and then the individual
parts (specific, field dependent), or
vice versa.
 The field-independent person will want
to know the end result of teaching and
learning prior to concentrating on the
individual parts of the process,
whereas the field-dependent person
will want to know the individual parts
in sequence prior to looking at the
expected overall outcome of teaching-
learning efforts

FOUR TYPES: CHARACTERISTIC OF FIELD-

INDEPENDENT AND FIELD-DEPENDENT
 Positive reinforcement – Particular LEARNERS
behavior is strengthened by the
consequence of experiencing a
positive condition.
FIELD-INDEPENDENT FIELD-DEPENDENT
 Negative reinforcement- Particular
LEARNERS LEARNERS
behavior is strengthened by the
Are not affected by Are easily affected by
consequence of stopping or avoiding
criticism criticism
a negative condition.
 Punishment- A particular behavior is Will not conform to peer Will conform to peer
weakened by the consequence of pressure pressure
experience a negative condition.
 Extinction- Particular behavior is Are less influenced by Are influenced by feedback
weakened by the consequence of not external feedback (grades & evaluation)
experiencing a positive condition or
stopping a negative condition.
Learn best by Learn best when material is
organization their own organized
material
FIELD-INDEPENDENT/FIELD DEPENDENT Have an impersonal Have a social orientation to
PERCEPTION orientation to the world the world
Place emphasis on Place emphasis on facts
 an extensive series of studies by applying principles
Witkin, Oltman, Raskin, and Karp
(1971) Identified two styles of learning Are interested in new Prefer learning to be
in the cognitive domain, which are ideas or concept for own relevant to own experience
based on the bipolar distribution of sake
characteristics of how learners Provide self-directed Need external goal,
goals, objectives and objectives, and
process and structure information in
reinforcement reinforcements
their environment they hypothesized
Prefer lecture method Prefer discussion method

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Garity (1985)
FIELD- FIELD-
DEPENDENT INDEPENDET
 suggested that these individual
Dull Bright
differences in characteristics and
Formulaic learner Analytic learner
interpersonal behavior can be used as
extrovert Introvert
a basis for understanding different
Data-gathers Rule learners
High sociability Low sociability learning styles and can facilitate the
way educators work with learners,
structures the learning task and
FIELD INDEPENDENCE AND structure the environment
DEPENDENCE MODEL (HERMN WITKIN)
Instrument to Measure Field
Independence/field Dependence
Field Independent Field Dependent
Witkin, Oltman, Raskin, and Karp (1971)
Mathematical Difficulty with
reasoning may be mathematical  devised a tool called the group
strong reasoning
embedded figures test (GEFT) to a
measure field
Analyzes elements Analyzes the whole independence/dependence – how a
of a situation picture, less able to
person’s perception of an item is
analyzes the elements
influenced by the context in which it
appears.
Recognizes and Does not perceive
recalls details details
Bonham (1988)
More task oriented People oriented
Forms attitudes Attitudes guided by  noted that the GEFT, which takes
independently authority figures or approximately 30 minutes to
peer groups complete, is designed to determine a
Pronounced self- See themselves as person’s ability to find simple
identity others see them geometric figures within complex
drawings

SEX AND THE BRAIN

Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles
Durden-Smith & deSimone, 1983
o In 1967, Rita and Kenneth Dunn set
out to develop a user-friendly model
 reveal that the right hemisphere in
that would assist educators in
male tends to be more dominant than
identifying those characteristics that
their left hemisphere; the opposite is
allow individuals to learn in different
true for females
way.
 Males tend to have better visual-
spatial abilities, And females tend to
o it includes motivational factors, social
have better linguistic skills. Although
interaction, and physiological and
females generally do not do as well as
environmental elements.
males on tests of spatial ability, men
should be measured only against
other men, and women against
women, to reduce the differential test
effect on the sexes.

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Five basic stimuli that affect a person’s

ability to learn:

Environmental Elements

o SOUND
o LIGHT
o TEMPERATURE
o DESIGN

Emotional Elements

 which are developmental and emerge

over time as an outgrowth of
experiences that have happened at
home, school, play or work

o Motivation
o Persistence
o Responsibility
o Structure

Sociological elements

 which are thought to be socio-

culturally based

o Learning Alone
o Presence of an Authority Figure
o Variety of Ways

Physical elements

 which are also biological in nature and

relate to the way learners function
physically.

o Perceptual Strengths
o Intake
o Time of Day
o Mobility

Psychological Elements

 which are also biological in nature

o Global Versus Analytic

o Hemispheric Preferences
o Impulsivity Versus
Reflectivity

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