Download Behaviorist Theory

Behaviorist
Theory
By: Hailey Donohue
& Amber Rowe
Historical context and contributors:
 Founder John B. Watson. He believed psychology
should only concern itself with the study of
behavior and one's documented behaviors.
 Watson's work was based on the experiments of
Ivan Pavlov's model of classical conditioning based
off one's personality and characteristics. (Schunk,
2012, p. 72)
 B.F. Skinner tested Watson's theories which he was
able to associate with behaviorism. Skinner
believed that people respond to their environment
through operant conditioning (Schunk, 2012).
 Behaviorist theories ultimately explain how one
learns through documented behaviors and
tenancies as well as props and associations.
What is behaviorism?
 Behaviorism is connected with thinking, feeling,
and knowing.
 It is a systematic approach to the understanding of
human and animal behavior. That all behavior are
produced by a response to certain stimuli in the
environment, or a consequence of that individual's
history (Ajzen, 2002).
 Behaviorism combines elements of philosophy,
methodology, and psychological theory.
Underlying assumptions
 Behaviorism is always naturalistic
 that thoughts, feelings, intentions, and mental
processes, do not determine what we do.
 views behavior as the product of conditioning
 Humans react to stimuli
 behaviorism teaches that we are not responsible
for our actions. anything we do is inevitable
 Behaviorism is manipulative.
 Skinner developed the idea of "shaping." By
controlling rewards and punishments, you can
shape the behavior of another person (Dixon,
2011).
Classical Conditioning
 Procedure involving unconditioned stimulus that
conducts an unconditioned response
 Subject can unlearn their response over time
(spontaneous recovery)
 Subject can make connections to something similar
to conditioned stimulus and have same reaction to
conditioned response (Generalization).
Thorndike's Connectionism: Trialand- Error Learning
 The most fundamental type of learning involves the
forming of associations between sensory
experiences and neurological responses (Schunk,
2012, p 73).
 He believed that learning often occurs by selecting
and connecting or trial and error. (Schunk, 2012)
Associated Instructional Strategies
 Behaviorism focuses on observed measurable
behaviors.
 This can include consequences of behavior as
rewards or punishments.
 Reward; stickers, treats, food
 Punishment; no play time, extra chores, and taking
away items.
 Reinforcements that are rewards can strengthen
behaviors or increase the behavior.
 The goal of punishments are to decrease the
behavior or likelihood of the behavior happening
again. (Schunk, 2012)
Why are we conditioned to
think….
Red
 Stop
 Warning
 Incorrect/Wrong
 Focal point
 Love
Yellow
 Slow down
 Relax
 “You’re on the right
track”
 Highlight
Green
 Good
 Go, Go, Go
 Right/ correct
 Safe
What do you think these
colors Symbolize?