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Assignment 4:
Behaviorist Learning Theory
Learning is a
behavior change caused by stimulus-response.
For instance, a pupil learns to touch a button when a light flashes.
Positive reinforcement: Rewarding desired behavior to encourage repetition.
Negative reinforcement: Removing an adverse stimulus after a desired activity
to encourage repetition.
Practice programs with prompt feedback on correct and incorrect responses. Positive reinforcement helps learning. Instructions that teach new ideas with frequent assessments and feedback. Monitoring student behavior and performance to find patterns and target reinforcement or intervention.
What is Behavioral Learning?
The use of technology in education has been shaped by
Behaviorist Learning Theory's emphasis on observable behavior and
reinforcement. Education may be more successful and enjoyable with tools that
provide quick feedback, promote proper behaviors, and adjust to individual learning
needs. Using technology properly can improve behaviorist learning by offering
consistent and accessible reinforcement.
John Watson and behaviorism
Behaviorism holds that factor in the environment cause behavior. It
prioritizes behavior and responses to the outside environment over emotions. Behavioral
learning is applied in many fields, but educators are familiar with it.
Long-standing behavioral learning theory is important to psychology and
learning.
Behaviorism is an approach to psychology based on
studying behaviors that can be observed rather than on internal feelings,
emotions, thoughts, or consciousness. Behaviorism began as a theory of psychology
by the American psychologist John Watson in 1913. At the time, the
psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freund and his student Carl Jung ruled the
psychological landscape. Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung’s psychoanalysis governed
psychology at the time.
Pavlov, classical conditioning, and
behavioral learning
You may have heard of “Pavlov’s dogs” and “Pavlovian response”. Russian
psychologist Ivan Pavlov conducted behavioral experiments on Pavlov's dogs.
Pavlov taught dogs to associate noise with eating. Based on how much saliva
dogs made upon hearing a bell, he assessed how much they connected food with
it. This met the behaviorism priority of measuring reaction by observation
rather than hypothesis or theory.
B.F. Skinner, operant conditioning, and behavioral
learning
Early behavioral learning theory contributor B.F. Skinner. While “operant
conditioning” may be unfamiliar, positive and negative reinforcement may be.
Some confuse positive and negative reinforcement with “rewards” and
“punishments.” Negative reinforcement includes taking something away for a
behavior, whereas positive reinforcement involves giving something. The two
sorts of reinforcement can boost behavior.
3 schools of thought The Cognitive School of Thought, The
Humanistic School of Thought, The Behavioral School of Thought
- The Cognitive, Humanistic, and Behavioral schools of psychology and education offer different viewpoints and different aspects of human behavior and learning. Teachers use different ideas to create a balanced and effective learning environment.
- Cognitive theories stress internal mental processes and learners' active engagement in knowledge construction, while behavioral theories emphasize external reinforcement and visible behaviors.
- Humanistic methods stress personal development, personal drive, and growth, while behaviorist approaches focus on rewards and conditioning.
Reference
What Is Behavioral Learning? |
BetterHelp. (2024, March 28). https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/behavior/what-is-behavioral-learning/
(What Is
Behavioral Learning? | BetterHelp, 2024)

Hi Sherrie! Great blog post.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Behaviorist Learning Theory is all about how behavior changes through stimulus-response. For example, a student might learn to press a button when a light flashes. Positive reinforcement means rewarding a behavior to encourage it, while negative reinforcement means removing something unpleasant to encourage behavior.
This theory has influenced educational technology by focusing on observable behavior and reinforcement. It makes learning more effective and enjoyable with tools that give quick feedback and encourage good habits.