This paper discusses and defines behaviorism and explores how this theory of learning has affected understanding of learning. It includes a brief history of the founding of behaviorism; discusses the key theorists, including Pavlov, Watson and Skinner; details experiments conducted by the key theorists and the results there from; and discusses how the behaviorist model of learning can be utilized to develop knowledge. This paper concludes that whether or not to utilize behaviorism to develop new behaviors should be dependent on the instructor’s audience and the instructional objective’s and goals.Learning from the Behaviorist TeacherBehaviorism is one example of a variety of models, methods and theories for examining and explaining learning.
It focuses on acquiring knowledge, skills, concepts and habits through observable behaviors which are reinforced until they occur automatically. Behaviorism was first discovered and utilized in the experiments of Ivan Pavlov and Edward Thorndike, as a method for explaining observable changes in behavior based on conditioning experiments on animals.This theory rose in popularity and dominated the landscape in both the classroom and workplace training environment with the call of Watson and the subsequent experiments and analysis of B. F. Skinner.
However, as other theories of learning gained prominence by addressing perceived shortcomings in the behavioral approach and explaining the learner’s acquisition of knowledge by a means other than observable changes in behavior, behaviorism decreased in popularity.Although other theories also explain learning, behaviorism and its approach to education remain a useful method of instruction for young learners in formative stages, students with disabilities and for conditioning programmed responses. Consequently, whether or not to utilize behaviorism to develop new behaviors should be dependent on the instructor’s audience and the instructional objective’s and goals – the knowledge sought to be acquired. What is Behaviorism?A learning theory provides instructional designers with verified instructional strategies and techniques for facilitating learning, as well as a foundation for intelligent strategy selection.
Thus, Behaviorism is a theory of learning that explains according to its principles how an individual acquires knowledge by concentrating on the study of overt behaviors that can be observed and measured. (Good & Brophy, 1990). A response to stimulus can be measured without regard to thought processes occurring in the mind.Therefore, the behavioral theory of learning describes learning resulting from observable changes in behavior; learner observes information, practices the information, receives reinforcement and this results in an automated response. Behaviorism is concerned with instructing by simply communicating knowledge according to theories in behavioral psychology. The concept is not concerned with what is happening within the intellectual processes of the learner, rather it is based on repetition and reinforcement of learned behaviors and instruction is repeated until the correct answer or desired response is received from the learner.
Instructional design models which are based on behavioral psychology theories teach recalling of facts, definitions of concepts and association. A Brief History of Behaviorism Although methods of providing effective instruction had been discussed since the time of Plato and Aristotle, the study of learning is said to begin with Edward L. Thorndike, who sought laws of learning in laboratories that could be applied to teaching without actually evaluating their applications in real classrooms. (Woolfolk, 2000). A timeless question has been: what is the origin of knowledge.
Originally, there were two opposing views that attempted to provide the answer – empiricism and rationalism. Rationalism viewed knowledge as derived from reason without the aid of the senses. Originally espoused by Plato, rationalism theorized that humans learn by recalling or discovery of what already exists in the mind. Consequently, there was a distinction between the mind and matter.
Empiricism follows from the Aristotle school of thought, and views experience as the primary source for knowledge. Empiricists believe an individual acquires knowledge through interactions and associations with the environment.Sensory impressions caused associations to be made between events in the environment. (Ertmer & Newby, 1993). This empiricist, or associationist, view provides a framework for many learning theories, and it is from empiricism that behaviorism is derived and became the leading psychological viewpoint of learning till the mid to late 20th century.
(Ertmer & Newby 1993). The key theorists and behaviorism's rise in popularity is discussed infra. That section provides not only an explanation of the theorists and experiments but also a historical perspective as to the continued evolution of the theory.Without being redundant, liberty is taken to advance the historical narrative and note that at the beginning of the 20th century behavioral psychologists posited that “only observable, measurable, outward behavior is worthy of scientific inquiry” (Bush, 2006, pg. 15).
As studies “continued to test the connection between stimulus and response (and classical and operant conditioning), limitations on the explanations of changed behavior developed a rift within behaviorism” (Bush, 2006, pg. 16).Behaviorist psychology researchers observed that external factors contributed to behavioral shaping and whether an individual repeated a response depended on how they were affected by the behavior. Recognizing the affect external factors had on the individual, percolated to the surface limitations of the behavioral theory. (Wakefield, 2007). With these limitations in mind (no pun intended), psychologists began to reject behaviorism and sought other theories to identify the cognitive processes in learned knowledge.
(Fisher, 2008).Key Behaviorist Theorists, Experiments and Results While Behaviorism had its roots in the teachings of Aristotle, key theorists of behaviorism were Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike, John Watson and B. F. Skinner. Of these four, Skinner and Watson were the two major proponents of behaviorism and studied how learning is affected by changes in the environment and sought to prove that behavior could be predicted and controlled (Skinner, 1974).
These theorists sought to use scientific methods to support their theories of behavior and responses to stimuli.The Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov, is best known for his experiments involving a dog and bell wherefrom he devised his theory of classical conditioning. In his experiments, Pavlov noted that a dog would salivate at the sight of food and ringing a bell would cause no observable response prior to conditioning. During the conditioning process, the bell would be sounded immediately prior to the dog being presented with food. Conditioning was complete when the bell alone produced salivation. (Dembo, 1994).
Therefore, the observable response of salvation was conditioned to occur at the ringing of the bell. In addition to these conditioning observations, Pavlov also noted other measurable behaviors during his experiments. Once the dog was conditioned to salivate at the ringing of the bell, the dog would salivate at other similar sounds. This response Pavlov termed stimulus generalization. However, over time, the dog would be conditioned to discriminate and distinguish between similar stimuli (sounds) and discern which stimuli would result in the presentation of food.Further, if the bell ceased to be sounded with the presentation of food over time, then the salvation response would also cease in response to the sound of the bell.
This observation was termed extinction. Notwithstanding that certain responses could be extinguished, Pavlov also observed that extinct behaviors could be reestablished or spontaneously recovered after time, but would again extinguish if the dog is not presented with food. Finally, Pavlov also observed and measured the conditioned dog's response when another unconditioned stimulus was introduced at the same time as the bell was sounded.Here too the dog would be conditioned to salivate not only to the sound of the bell but also to the additional stimulus.
Pavlov recognized this as higher order conditioning. (Thomas, 1997). To delineate the development of the various laws associated with behaviorism under a stimulus response hypothesis it is important to briefly mention Edward Thorndike, who followed on Pavlov's experiments and also researched animal behavior. Thorndike theorized that learning was simply the formation of a connection or neural bond between a stimulus and response.These connections between stimulus and response when rewarded in a positive manner were strengthened, and conversely when rewarded in a negative manner were weakened. Thorndike called this the law of effect.
Additionally, Thorndike observed in his experiments that the more the connection between the stimulus and response is practiced the stronger the connection becomes and performance is enhanced with feedback. This he termed as the law of exercise. The first American psychologist to use Pavlov’s ideas as a basis for his work was John Watson.Watson posited that minimal foundational behaviors were innate in all individuals, and any and all other behaviors were conditioned through stimulus response associations.
To demonstrate classical conditioning, Watson mirrored Pavlov's experiments utilizing a young child and a small animal. At first, the child was not afraid of the animal, however over time whenever the child touched the animal a sudden loud metal clang would be sounded. The young child's fear of the noise, allowed the child to become conditioned to avoid and fear the animal.Watson also explored Pavlov's observations of stimulus generalization and extinction and observed the fear could be generalized to other small animals and extinguished by ceasing the sounding of the loud noise. (Brophy, 1990; Watson & Rayner, 1920).
Watson's publication of The Behavioral Learning Theory (1913) was responsible for the movement towards radical behaviorism by advocating the abandonment of introspection in psychological research and favored the study of behavior independent of any conscious concept. (Watson, 1913).Following on Watson's work was B. F. Skinner. Skinner based much of his work on the study of Watson’s former research.
Skinner would expand on Watson's theory and de-emphasize the exclusive emphasis on reflexes and conditioning, and incorporate the effect of prior knowledge when developing his theory of operant or response conditioning. Unfortunately this incorporation of prior knowledge is what would eventually lead to a heightened recognition of the limitations of behaviorism and the search for alternative theories to explain learning. Skinner did extensive research on rats and pigeons.Skinner placed the animal in a box (the "Skinner box") and conditioned the animal to press a lever in order to receive food.
Every time the lever was pushed the animal was rewarded with food. This reward reinforced the behavior of pushing the lever. Skinner's animal experiments can best be described as behavioral shaping. When placed in the cage the animal may take a very long time to figure out that pressing a lever will produce food.To accomplish the behavior of pressing the lever to produce food, successive approximations of the behavior are rewarded until the animal learns the association between lever and the food reward. To begin shaping, the animal may be rewarded for simply turning in the direction of the lever, then for moving toward the lever, for brushing the lever and finally for pawing the lever.
However, once the desired behavioral response is accomplished, reinforcement did not have to be one hundred percent consistent. In fact the behavioral response can be maintained more successfully through what Skinner referred to as partial reinforcement schedules - either interval or ratio.When the target response is reinforced after either a fixed amount of time or varied amount of time has passed since the last reinforcement, this is known as interval schedules. When there is either a fixed or varied number of correct responses which must occur before the reinforcement occurs this is known as a ratio schedule. Skinner observed that variable interval and variable ratio schedules produced steadier and more persistent rates of response because the learners cannot predict when the reinforcement will come although they know that they will eventually succeed.
Skinner also constructed a teaching machine. Skinner (1958) described the teaching machine: “In using the device the student refers to a numbered item in a multiple-choice test. He presses the button corresponding to his first choice of answer. If he is right, the device moves on to the next item; if he is wrong, the error is tallied, and he must continue to make choices until he is right” (pg. 971).
