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BEHAVIORISM
HOW IT WORKS IN THE CLASSROOM
Irina Leonov
Kathleen Coolman
Kori Cohen
Morgan Carey
Sarah Dummer
Tyler Bayer
Roots of Behaviorism
John B. Watson
 Ivan Pavlov
 B.F Skinner
 Launched in 1913
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John Broadus Watson (1878- 1958)
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Watson was born to a large,
poor, rural family in South
Carolina.
Influenced by the Nobel Prizewinning (1904) work of Russian
physiologist Ivan Pavlov
(1849-1936)
B.F. Skinner
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Born in Susquhanna, PA.
He was a teacher,
psychologist and inventor
Studied and taught at
Harvard
Photo taken in 1971 by Joyce Dopkeen - New York Times/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
(Accessed July 30, 2009 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/334034/109857/BF-Skinner-1971)
Ivan Pavlov
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Born on September 14,
1849 in Ryazan, Russia
Russian physiologist
Research on the physiology
of digestion would earn him
the Nobel Prize
How it works
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Focuses on the learning of behaviors
Goal was to predict and control behavior
All behavior can be explained through the process
of learning.
Emphasizes the role of experience in a person’s life,
shaping development from childhood into
adulthood.
Psychology of development should study behavior
rather than speculate about unobservable behavior.
Social, Emotional & Cognitive

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Emphasizes the role of more experienced people in
the process of learning.
Zone of Proximal Development
Cognitive development should be studied through
the observations of behavior.
Two Types of Conditioning
Classical Conditioning

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov
(1849–1936)
Operant Conditioning

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B.F Skinner (1904–90)
Thorndike
Classical Conditioning

When a natural stimulus is replaced by a
new or “conditioned” stimulus and still
produces the original response.
Before Conditioning
Unconditioned
Stimulus
Neutral
Stimulus
Unconditioned
Response
No
Response
During Conditioning
Neutral
Stimulus
Unconditioned
+
Stimulus
Unconditioned
Response
After Conditioning
Neutral
Stimulus

Conditioned
Response
When alone, the neutral stimulus now produces the
original response. Therefore, the neutral stimulus has
become the conditioned stimulus producing the
conditioned response.
http://www.northern.ac.uk/learning/NCMaterial/Psychology/lifespan%20folder/PAVLOV.gif
Operant Conditioning

When behavior is maximized if followed by
reinforcement, or minimized if followed by
punishment.
“The act operates on the environment to produce
rewarding or punishing stimuli.”
- David G. Myers
http://www.legacee.com/Assets/LeaderImages/OperantConditioning.jpg
Criticisms of Behaviorism

Behaviorism is naturalistic. This means that the
material world is the ultimate reality, and
everything can be explained in terms of natural
laws. Man has no soul and no mind, only a brain
that responds to external stimuli.
Criticisms of Behaviorism cont.

Behaviorism teaches that man is nothing more than
a machine that responds to conditioning. One writer
has summarized behaviorism in this way: “The
central principle of behaviorism is that thoughts,
feelings, and intentions, mental processes all, do not
determine what we do. Our behavior is the product
of our conditioning. We are biological machines
and do not consciously act; rather we react to
stimuli.
Criticisms of Behaviorism cont.

Consistently, behaviorism teaches that we are not
responsible for our actions. If we are mere
machines, without minds or souls, reacting to stimuli
and operating on our environment to attain certain
ends, then anything we do is inevitable.
Sociobiology, a type of behaviorism, compares man
to a computer: Garbage in, garbage out
Criticisms of Behaviorism cont.

Behaviorism is manipulative. It seeks not merely to
understand human behavior, but to predict and
control it. From his theories, Skinner developed the
idea of “shaping.” By controlling rewards and
punishments, you can shape the behavior of another
person.
Behaviorism in the
Classroom
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Classroom behavior management
Small rewards can motivate students
Games with a point system can be used in
memorization tasks
Keep a pleasant environment during class to avoid
conditioning kids to dislike certain subjects
Use behaviorist methods (rewards or punishment) to
practice what has already been taught, not to teach
students.ou.edu/.../images/JHerb%20Classroom.JPG
Social Studies
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Behaviorism does little to develop analytical and
comprehension skills, so it may be of limited use in
the social studies classroom
Helpful in memorization of facts or important dates,
but this type of information should only play a
supporting role in understanding the larger concepts
being studied.
Mathematics

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Behaviorism is especially applicable to memory
tasks that may be required in math class
Reward system will motivate kids to answer
correctly, but will not directly aid in understanding
concepts
http://twobarkingdogs.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/mathematics.jpg
References
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Babkin, B.P. (1949). Pavlov: A Biography. Toronto, Canada: The University of
Chicago Press.
"behaviourism n." A Dictionary of Psychology. Edited by Andrew M. Colman.
Oxford University Press 2009. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University
Press. Portland State University. 11 August
2009 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main
&entry=t87.e951>
Gauvain, Mary, E. Mavis Hetherington, Virginia Otis Locke, and Ross D.
Parke. Child Psychology A Contemporary Viewpoint Sixth 6th Edition. New
York: Mcgraw Hill, 2006.
Myers, David G. (2004). Psychology: Seventh Edition Modules. New York:
Worth Publishers.
O'Donnell, J. M. (1985). The origins of behaviorism: American psychology,
1870-1920.New York: New York University Press.
Phillips, D. C., and Jonas F. Soltis. Perspectives on Learning (Thinking About
Education Series). New York: Teachers College Press, 2004.