BEHAVIORAL

PSYCHOLOGY IN
LANGUAGE LEARNING
 WHAT IS BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOLOGY?

• Behavioral psychology is the study of the connection between our minds and our
behavior, and sometimes it referred to BEHAVIORISM.
• Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based on
the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning occurs
through interaction with the environment. Behaviorists believe that our responses to
environmental stimuli shape our actions
 WHAT IS CLASSICAL CONDITIONING?

• Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is

learning through association and was discovered by Pavlov, a Russian physiologist –
Ivan Pavlov
• Two stimuli are linked to produce a new learned response
• Environmental stimulus + naturally occurring stimulus = response
 WHAT IS OPERANT CONDITIONING?

• Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental conditioning, is a method of

learning normally attributed to B.F. Skinner, where the consequences of a response
determine the probability of it being repeated.

• Reinforcement – (rewards) and Punishment

REINFORCEMENT IN OPERANT CONDITIONING

• Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows.

• Positive reinforcement
• Negative reinforcement
 POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

• In positive reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by rewards, leading

to the repetition of desired behavior. The reward is a reinforcing stimulus.
 NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

• Negative reinforcement is the termination of an unpleasant state following a response.

This is known as negative reinforcement because it is the removal of an adverse
stimulus which is ‘rewarding’ to the animal or person. Negative reinforcement
strengthens behavior because it stops or removes an unpleasant experience.
 PUNISHMENT IN OPERANT CONDITIONING

• Punishment is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease

in the behavior it follows.

• Positive punishment
• Negative punishment
 POSITIVE PUNISHMENT

• sometimes referred to as punishment by application, presents an unfavorable event or

outcome in order to weaken the response it follows.
 NEGATIVE PUNISHMENT

• also known as punishment by removal, occurs when a favorable event or outcome is

removed after a behavior occurs.
 BEHAVIORISM IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

• Stimulus
• Response
• Reinforcement
 LANGUAGE – PROCESS OF HABIT BEHAVIOR –
STIMULUS – RESPONSE MODEL
• Stimulus – Language that he hears around him
• Response – Imitates the sounds and pattern
• Reinforcement – reward as an approval to the childs attempt to imitate the language
• Habit behavior – the child repeats the sound and patterns
• Verbal behavior – is conditioned or shaped (habit formation)
 THEORY OF LEARNING ALM

• The organism: foreign language learner

• The behavior : verbal behavior
• Stimulus : what is taught or presented of the foreign language
• Response : learner’s reaction to the stimulus
• Reinforcement : rewards or praise – strengthen behavior
• Habit formation in language