BEHAVIOURISM

Behaviourism and Education …………………………

Classical Conditioning

IVAN PETROVICH PAVLOV

Pavlov's work with classical conditioning was of huge influence to how humans conceive of themselves, their behavior and learning processes and his studies of classical conditioning continue to be central to modern behavior therapy. Classical conditioning is a reflexive or automatic type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.

Operant Conditioning

BURRHUS FREDERIC SKINNER

Operant conditioning can be described as a process that attempts to modify behaviour through the use of positive and negative reinforcement. Through operant conditioning, an individual makes an association between a particular behaviour and a consequence.

• Example 1: Parents rewarding a child’s excellent grades with candy or some other prize.
• Example 2: A schoolteacher awards points to those students who are the most calm and well-behaved. Students eventually realize that when they voluntarily become quieter and better behaved, that they earn more points.
• Example 3: A form of reinforcement (such as food) is given to an animal every time the animal (for example, a hungry lion) presses a lever.

The term “operant conditioning” originated by the behaviourist B. F. Skinner, who believed that one should focus on the external, observable causes of behaviour (rather than try to unpack the internal thoughts and motivations)

Reinforcement comes in two forms: positive and negative.

Positive and negative reinforces

• Positive reinforces are favourable events or outcomes that are given to the individual after the desired behaviour. This may come in the form of praise, rewards, etc.
• Negative reinforces typically are characterized by the removal of an undesired or unpleasant outcome after the desired behaviour. A response is strengthened as something considered negative is removed.

The goal in both of these cases of reinforcement is for the behaviour to increase.

Positive and negative punishment

Punishment, in contrast, is when the increase of something undesirable attempts to cause a decrease in the behaviour that follows.

• Positive punishment is when unfavourable events or outcomes are given in order to weaken the response that follows.
• Negative punishment is characterized by when an favourable event or outcome is removed after a undesired behaviour occurs.

The goal in both of these cases of punishment is for a behaviour to decrease.

What is the difference between operant conditioning and classical conditioning? In operant conditioning, a voluntary response is then followed by a reinforcing stimulus. In this way, the voluntary response (e.g. studying for an exam) is more likely to be done by the individual. In contrast, classical conditioning is when a stimulus automatically triggers an involuntary response.

Behaviourism focuses on one particular view of learning: a change in external behaviour achieved through a large amount of repetition of desired actions, the reward of good habits and the discouragement of bad habits.

In the classroom this view of learning led to a great deal of repetitive actions, praise for correct outcomes and immediate correction of mistakes. In the field of language learning this type of teaching was called the audio-lingual method, characterised by the whole class using choral chanting of key phrases, dialogues and immediate correction

 Within the behaviourist view of learning, the "teacher" is the dominant person in the classroom and takes complete control, evaluation of learning comes from the teacher who decides what is right or wrong. The learner does not have any opportunity for evaluation or reflection within the learning process, they are simply told what is right or wrong. The conceptualization of learning using this approach could be considered "superficial" as the focus is on external changes in behaviour; not interested in the internal processes of learning leading to behaviour change and has no place for the emotions involved the process.