Behaviorism in education psychology

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Behavior analysis and technology in higher education.

Behaviorism in education psychology

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Radical behaviorism was founded by B. F Skinnerwho agreed with the assumption of methodological behaviorism that the goal of psychology should be to predict and control behavior. Radical Behaviorism expands upon earlier forms of behaviorism by incorporating internal events such as thoughts, emotions, and feelings as part of the behavioral process.

Unlike methodological behaviorism, which asserts that only observable behaviors should be studied, radical behaviorism accepts that these internal events occur and influence behavior. However, it maintains that they should be considered part of the environmental context and are subject to the same laws of learning and adaptation as overt behaviors.

Another important distinction between methodological and radical behaviorism concerns the extent to which environmental factors influence behavior. Unlike methodological behaviorism, radical behaviorism recognizes the role of genes and biological components in behavior, accepting that organisms are born with innate behaviors. Behaviorism has undergone many transformations since John Watson developed it in the early part of the twentieth century.

Under social learning theorypeople were no longer seen as passive victims of the environment, but rather they were seen as self-reflecting and thoughtful. The theory is often called a bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory, and motivation. Behaviorism theorized that abnormal behavior and mental illness stem from faulty learning processes rather than internal conflicts or unconscious forces, as psychoanalysis claimed.

Based on behaviorism, behavior therapy aims to replace maladaptive behaviors with more constructive ones through techniques like systematic desensitization, aversion therapy, and token economies. Systematic desensitization helps phobia patients behaviorism in education psychology confront feared objects. The behaviorist approach has been used in treating phobias.

The individual with the phobia is taught relaxation techniques and then makes a hierarchy of fear from the least frightening to the most frightening features of the phobic object. He then is presented with the stimuli in that order and learns to associate classical conditioning the stimuli with a relaxation response. This is counter-conditioning.

Aversion therapy associates unpleasant stimuli with unwanted habits to discourage them. Token economies reinforce desired actions by providing tokens redeemable for rewards. The implications of classical conditioning in the classroom are less important than those of operant conditioningbut there is still a need for teachers to try to make sure that students associate positive emotional experiences with learning.

If a student associates negative emotional experiences with school, then this can obviously have bad results, such as creating a school phobia. For example, if a student is bullied at school, they may learn to associate the school with fear. It could also explain why some students show a particular dislike of certain subjects that continue throughout their academic career.

This could happen if a teacher humiliates or punishes a student in class. Cue reactivity is the theory that people associate situations e. These factors become smoking-related cues. Prolonged use of nicotine creates an association between these factors and smoking based on classical conditioning. Nicotine is the unconditioned stimulus UCSand the pleasure caused by the sudden increase in dopamine levels is the unconditioned response UCR.

Following this increase, the brain tries to lower the dopamine back to a normal level. They can produce the conditioned response CR. However, if the brain has not received nicotine, the levels of dopamine drop and the individual experiences withdrawal symptoms, therefore, is more likely to feel the need to smoke in the presence of the cues that have become associated with the use of nicotine.

Behaviorism tends to overemphasize the role of the environment in shaping behavior, suggesting that behavior is primarily determined by external factors such as stimuli, reinforcement, and punishment. Strong determinism of the behavioral approach as all behavior is learned from our environment through classical and operant conditioning.

We are the total sum of our previous conditioning. The social learning approach, while still emphasizing the role of the environment, recognizes an element of choice in whether we imitate a behavior or not, reflecting a softer form of determinism. This environmental determinism can lead to underestimating the influence of genetic, biological, and individual factors on behavior.

Behaviorism may provide an behaviorism in education psychology or overly simplistic account of human behavior by neglecting the role of internal processes and individual differences. Behaviorism strongly supports the nature vs. The social learning theory, which builds upon behaviorist principles, is also on the nurture side, emphasizing the role of behaviorism in education psychology learning and the influence of role models in shaping behavior.

According to the behaviorist approach, apart from a few innate reflexes and the capacity for learning, all complex behavior is learned from the environment, minimizing the role of genetic or biological factors. The behaviorist approach and social learning theory are reductionist in nature, as they seek to break down complex behaviors into smaller, more manageable parts for study.

Behaviorists believe that all behavior, regardless of its complexity, can be reduced to the fundamental processes of conditioning, such as classical and operant conditioning. By focusing on the isolation and manipulation of specific variables, behaviorism aims to identify the basic principles and mechanisms that govern behavior, rather than considering behavior as an irreducible whole.

The behaviorist approach is primarily nomothetic, as it seeks to identify universal laws and principles that govern behavior across all individuals. It is a nomothetic approach as it views all behavior governed by the same laws of conditioning. By focusing on these universal principles, behaviorism aims to develop a general theory of behavior that can be applied to all individuals, rather than focusing on the unique experiences and characteristics of each person.

However, it does account for individual differences and explains them in terms of differences in the history of conditioning. Behaviorism emphasizes observable and measurable behaviors, leading to a more scientific and objective approach to studying psychology. This approach allows for greater objectivity and replicability in psychological research, as behaviors can be quantified and studied systematically.

By emphasizing scientific methods, behaviorism has contributed to the development of psychology as a more rigorous and evidence-based discipline. Behaviorism has experimental support: Pavlov showed that classical conditioning leads to learning by association. Behaviorist explanations are often simpler and more straightforward than those of other approaches, as they focus on observable behaviors rather than internal mental processes.

According to the law of parsimony, the fewer assumptions a theory makes, the better and the more credible it is. Therefore, behaviorism looks for simple explanations of human behavior from a scientific standpoint. If you know of any please share. Hi my loved one! I want to say that this post is awesome, great written and include almost all vital infos.

Key Principles of Behaviorism Behaviorism is grounded in several key principles that have shaped its application in education: Stimulus-Response S-R Relationships : Behaviorism is based on the idea that learning occurs through the formation of associations between stimuli environmental factors and responses observable behaviors. This S-R relationship central to understanding how behavior learned and modified.

Reinforcement and Punishment : Reinforcement a core concept in behaviorism, where behaviors strengthened by positive reinforcement rewards or negative reinforcement removal of aversive stimuli. Conversely, punishment weakens undesirable behaviors by introducing negative consequences or removing positive stimuli. Conditioning : Conditioning, both classical Pavlovian and operant Skinnerianplays a crucial role in behaviorism.

Classical conditioning involves associating a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response. Operant conditioning focuses on how behaviors shaped by consequences, with reinforcement and punishment serving as key mechanisms. Observable Behavior : Behaviorism emphasizes the importance of observable and measurable behavior.

Unlike cognitive theories that delve into mental processes, behaviorism focuses on outward behaviors that can be objectively studied and modified. Impact of Behaviorism on Teaching Behaviorism has significantly influenced teaching practices, leading to the development of instructional strategies that are still widely used today. Some of the key impacts include: Structured Learning Environments : Behaviorism advocates for structured learning environments where clear expectations, rules, and routines are established.

This structure helps in managing classroom behavior and creating an atmosphere conducive to learning. Teachers use reinforcement techniques to encourage positive behaviors and minimize disruptions. Reinforcement Strategies : In line with behaviorist principles, teachers employ various reinforcement strategies to promote desired behaviors.

The expectation is that the learner will behave in an expected way in response to particular stimuli created by the teacher, and they are simply vessels into which learning is poured 4. While Skinner attempted to remedy some of the issues above with his radical behaviorism theory, his attempts to place concepts like emotion, thoughts and conscious state into measurable criteria falls woefully short.

The lack of account for internal processes means that reasons behind particular behavior are at best oversimplified and at worst overlooked. Unfortunately, trying to measure behavior without accounting for underlying reasons will not adequately aid the understanding of human behavior. However, while behaviorism is now considered to be largely outdated, many aspects of the theory are still in active use or underpin current psychological concepts and beliefs.

Behaviorism believes providing the correct environment, coupled with repetition of skills and knowledge tasks will cause learning to happen, and this is how education was managed for decades. While this is now less prevalent in the classroom setting, applying behaviorism in the classroom is still relevant from several perspectives.

The teacher has the role of filling the learner with knowledge, behaviorism helps with this in different ways. Educators can use behaviorist theory to improve student motivation. All learners want to feel good, and so using reinforcement schedules to provide those experiences will motivate students to adjust their behavior. As a behavioral management tool, behaviorism is still very relevant.

Using positive reinforcement and reinforcement schedules to motivate children to try hard and do their best is one of the most useful concepts from the theory. Using the methods outlined by behaviorists tends to be more useful for learning that can be easily assessed or monitored through observing learner behavior. The emphasis on prizes, good grades and praise are useful for these units of learning.

Using behaviorism in the classroom as a learning tool is good for scientific or formulaic learning such as times tables and languages that rely on being able to memorize a lot of information 3. It is worth noting that the lessons that need more comprehension and deeper learning are less suited to these methods. For this kind of learning, behaviorism theory is best for use in motivating students to engage with their learning, rather than as a learning method, for which other learning theories such as social cognitive theory and constructionism are worth exploring 5.

While many aspects of behaviorism are now widely discredited, the underlying principles and observations of learning are still in wide use today. The concept of reinforcement schedules are used in many learning and teaching modelsand understanding how students react and respond to environmental stimuli and how that might impact future learning and behavior is still valuable.

As a behavior management technique, much of the theory is still useful to educators in the modern classroom. I am a professor of Educational Technology. I have worked at several elite universities. These are behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism.