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Behavioral Learning Theories In The Effective Learning
Environment
MaryAnn Butcher
October 2010
University College of the Cayman Islands
Post-Graduate Diploma in Education
EDU 520 – Psychology of Education
Dr. Louise Malcolm
Behavioral Learning Theories In The Effective Learning Environment
ABSTRACT
I was asked to write a paper on how aspects of selected behavioral theories of learning
can help to contribute to an effective learning environment of students receiving either
kindergarten, or primary, or secondary or tertiary level education.
The school system faces many challenges in fulfilling its function of educating our
children. While cognitive development or gaining knowledge may usually seem to be the
ultimate goal, huge emphasis is placed on developing appropriate behaviors to help rather than
disrupt the day to day functioning of the school environment. For this reason, it is important for
educators to have an awareness and understanding of some of the theories regarding human
development, especially those that are concerned with behavior management or behavior
modification.
This paper will explain how teachers can utilize elements from two Behavioral Learning
Theories to establish and support good classroom management which is so vital to an effective
teaching and learning environment.
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Behavioral Learning Theories In The Effective Learning Environment
Behavioral Theories Explained
According to Slavin (2009) a Behavioral Learning Theory is an explanation of learning
that emphasizes observable change. Learning can be generally defined as “the relatively
permanent change in an organism’s behavior brought about as a result of experience or practice.”
(Myers, 2001) Learning takes place at all stages of life and in many different ways. The focus of
the behavioral approach is on how the environmental conditions (or stimuli) impact overt
behavior. Behaviorists may acknowledge that learning can be impacted on by inner thoughts,
feelings and motives. However, it is not recognized as learning until it is displayed by overt
behavior.
It is generally accepted that learning often takes place by association. Our minds naturally
connect events that occur in sequence. By linking two events together and consistently applying
a specific behavior, we exhibit associative learning. The events might be in the form of two
stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant
conditioning). Conditioning is defined as the process of learning associations. (Myers, 2001)
Classical Conditioning
Classical Conditioning, the first type of learning to be discovered and studied within the
behaviorist tradition, was first described by the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov. In the late 1800s to
the early 1900s, as he and his colleagues studied the digestive process in dogs, Pavlov became
intrigued with his observation that dogs deprived of food began to salivate when one of his
assistants walked into the room. He began to investigate this phenomenon and established the
laws of classical conditioning.
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Behavioral Learning Theories In The Effective Learning Environment
From his previous experiments, Pavlov was already aware that the presence of food,
predictably and understandably, caused the dogs in his lab to salivate. Later, he would identify
the food in this case to be the Unconditioned Stimulus and the salivation to be the Unconditioned
Response. The unconditioned stimulus is one that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically
triggers a response. The unconditioned response is the unlearned behavior that occurs naturally
in response to the unconditioned stimulus.
The dog’s salivation triggered by the presence of his assistant, Pavlov soon realized, was
as a result of conditioning. Over a period of time, the dog had come to pair the sight of the
assistant with the food he delivered. Even when the assistant brought no food, the dog salivated.
In the Classical Conditioning theory, the assistant has become the Conditioned Stimulus. The
conditioned stimulus is previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the
unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response. The dog’s tendency
to salivate on seeing the assistant only was identified as his Conditioned Response. The
conditioned response is the learned response to the previously neutral stimulus.
John B. Watson further extended Pavlov’s work and applied it to human beings. In 1921,
Watson studied Albert, an 11 month old infant child. The goal of the study was to condition
Albert to become afraid of a white rat by pairing the white rat with a very loud, jarring noise. At
first, Albert showed no sign of fear when he was presented with rats, but once the rat was
repeatedly paired with the loud noise; Albert developed a fear of rats. It could be said that the
loud noise induced fear. The implications of Watson’s experiment suggested that classical
conditioning could cause some phobias in humans.
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Behavioral Learning Theories In The Effective Learning Environment
It is generally easy to see examples of classical conditioning in the behavior of animals.
A cat may come running for food the moment if it hears someone using a can-opener or even
walking towards a particular drawer. Many dog trainers use classical conditioning techniques to
help people train their pets.
In reality, people do not respond exactly like Pavlov's dog, however, derivatives of these
classical conditioning techniques are also useful in the treatment of compulsions, phobias or
anxiety problems. Using Aversive Conditioning, counselors sometimes provide people who
abuse alcohol with unpleasant experiences (such as nausea) that may reverse their positive
associations with alcohol. Using Systematic Desensitization, a person who is afraid of spiders is
exposed to stimuli that are increasingly threatening, each time gaining a level of tolerance.
Stimuli may at first be a picture of a spider, then a toy spider, then a dead spider followed by a
live one.
Teachers are also able to apply classical conditioning in the class by creating a positive
classroom environment to help students overcome anxiety or fear. Pairing an anxiety-provoking
situation, such as performing in front of a group, with pleasant surroundings helps the student
learn new associations. Instead of feeling anxious and tense in these situations, the child will
learn to stay relaxed and calm.
Classical conditioning can also occur unintentionally. Too frequent exposure to
humiliation, failure, or other negative feedback may lower in individual’s self-confidence and
lead to withdrawal. For example, if a child is constantly corrected during a reading exercise, the
child’s feelings of humiliation may ultimately be replaced by a fear of reading aloud. Eventually
whenever the teacher announces read-aloud-time, the child may withdraw or begin exhibiting
undesirable behavior. For this reason, it is important for teachers to be careful or prepare their
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Behavioral Learning Theories In The Effective Learning Environment
students very well when engaging in such potentially “risky” activities in the classroom; it is
important to minimize embarrassment or disappointment in the case of failure.
The use of non-verbal cues in the classroom is also an example of classical conditioning.
Often, students are not aware that their behavior has reached unacceptable standards. Just like
any other reflexive behavior, talking or playing around when in a group of one’s peer is only
natural. Rather than constantly telling students to be quiet or pay attention, teachers often utilize
the following alternatives. A PE teacher may only have to blow on his whistle to make a large
class stop what they are doing and pay attention. A band director might achieve the same result
by simply standing at her podium and raising her baton. In the classroom, the teacher with the
frequently disruptive student might find proximity to be more effective tool for correcting this
behavior. By having the teacher simply stand near to him, the student is reminded of proper
classroom behavior.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning was the work of American Psychologist B. F. Skinner. As stated
previously, operant conditioning involves the association of a behavior to its consequence.
Behaviors followed by reinforcers increase. Those followed by punishment decrease.
A reinforcer is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows but they
may be categorized in different ways. Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that
are presented after the behavior. In situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or
behavior is strengthened by the addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward.
Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavorable events or outcomes after the display
of a behavior. In these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of something
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Behavioral Learning Theories In The Effective Learning Environment
considered unpleasant. A teacher might allow students to do a lighter activity (such as playing a
game) if they show focus and are successful in completing a more difficult one (such as written
exercises)
Primary reinforcers satisfy basic human needs such as food, water or security. Secondary
reinforcers are reinforcers that acquire their value by being associated with a primary reinforcer.
Money and grades are examples of secondary reinforcers. Good grades and certificates of
recognition are commonly used in schools but their value to the student is primarily linked to the
positive attention and praise that they then receive from their parents, teacher and peers.
In discussing application of reinforcers to the classroom setting, it is important to also
note the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic reinforcers. Intrinsic reinforcers are behaviors that a
person enjoys engaging in for their own sake, without any other reward. These include hobbies
such as reading, singing, playing games or drawing. Extrinsic reinforcers are rewards or praise
given to motivate people to engage in behavior that they might not engage in without them.
Teachers are cautioned against applying extrinsic motivators towards activities which students
are already intrinsically motivated to engage in. It is though that this may in some ways
undermine the intrinsic reinforcers over a period of time.
Sometimes punishment is mistakenly called negative reinforcement. However, the two
are quite distinct. Negative reinforcement is the removal of something unpleasant as the result of
a desired behavior while punishment, on the other hand, is the presentation of an adverse event
or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows. There are two kinds of punishment.
Punishment by application, which is sometimes referred to as positive punishment, involves the
presentation of an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the behavior which it
follows. An example of punishment by application is scolding and lashing. Punishment by
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Behavioral Learning Theories In The Effective Learning Environment
removal, also known as Negative punishment, occurs when a favorable event or outcome is
removed after a behavior occurs.
Punishment in schools is thought to be even more ineffective than general punishment
because there is often a time lag between the undesired behavior and the selected punishment.
For children this can lead to a mental disconnect between the action and the consequence so
behavior modification is less likely to occur. Consider the following scenario: a student
misbehaves in the classroom causing the teacher to write a disciplinary action request for that
student, yet the student remains in the classroom until the principal acts on the disciplinary
referral. Integrating the principal into the discipline system has created a significant delay
between the disruptive behavior and the punishment. The prescribed punishment is also often
ineffective with many students. Students consistently given in-school-suspension can quickly
become desensitized to the punishment. This form of punishment does little to actually help the
student constructively deal with-or consider the consequences of-their disruptive behavior.
Put simply, neither the classical conditioning nor the operant conditioning theory
recommends punishment as a way to shape behavior. Instead, both theories prefer to focus on
trying to identify elements which bring the individual to some form of pleasurable or desirable
result. (Mahto, 2006)
There are an overwhelming number of examples of reinforcers and punishments at work
in the classroom but note should also be made of the following principles which govern how and
when they should be applied.
One of the most important principles of behavioral learning theories states that
consequences which immediately follow behaviors in time affect behavior far more than delayed
consequences do.
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The Premack Principle states that enjoyable activities can be used to reinforce
participation in less enjoyable activities. (Slavin, 2009) In schools and home alike children are
often told that if they complete difficult or undesirable tasks such as reading or eating their
vegetables, then they would be allowed to participate in enjoyable activities such as playing
games or eating ice cream.
According to Mahto, (2006), identifying the baseline behavior helps us understand the
effect of operant conditioning. The baseline behavior level is the starting point, the behavior
present prior to the introduction of reinforcement. In a classroom, for example, teachers can use
their observations of behavior at the beginning of the school year to identify the baseline
behavior. The baseline behavior will be different for each student. When asking students to line
up, for example, a teacher may observe that some students do so quickly and quietly, while
others may push others around or wander off.
Terminal behavior usually refers to a very specific outcome or objective. For example,
the teacher’s desired terminal behavior may be something similar to “I want all of my students to
quietly line up within one minute of my first asking them to do so.”
Immediacy of reinforcement is important to teaching, but so is the decision as to what to
reinforce. Shaping in behavioral learning theories refers to the teaching of new skills or
behaviors by reinforcing learning for approaching the desired final behavior. In a differentiated
lesson the teacher can reward mastery by students at different levels and not just the ones who
are the most academically gifted. By setting out smaller developing tasks, the teacher is able to
teach the skills step by step, gradually shaping the final learning objective.
Another behavioral learning theory that can contribute to an effective learning
environment is Extinction. This is the weakening and gradual disappearance of a behavior as
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reinforcement is withdrawn. (Slavin, 2009) A popular example of extinction in classroom
management practice is when teachers ignore students who call out answers without raising their
hands. The student who does this is often seeking attention and any acknowledgement from the
teacher would only serve as reinforcement of this behavior. Ignoring the student removes the
reinforcer and so eventually the child will stop calling out and raise his hand.
According to Myers, D. (2001), if a desired response is reinforced each time it occurs,
learning occurs rapidly. This is called continuous reinforcement. However, real life or real
classroom situations do not usually allow for continuous reinforcement. Partial reinforcement is
more often found.
Schedules of reinforcement can be used to increase the probability, frequency, or
persistence of desired behavior. Reinforcement schedules may be based on ratios or intervals and
maybe fixed or variable. In a fixed-ratio schedule, the reinforcer is given after a fixed number of
behaviors. This may take the form of the teacher promising a sticker if ten math problems are
correctly completely. A variable-ratio schedule is one in which the number of behaviors required
for reinforcement is unpredictable, although it is a certainty that the behaviors will eventually be
reinforced. When students in a classroom raise their hands to answer questions, they never know
when they will be reinforced by being able to correctly answer the question but they expect that
at some point in time this will happen.
In fixed-interval schedules, reinforcement is only available at certain known periodic
times. An example of this type of schedule is the end-of-term exam or other predicable periodic
assessment. While the predictability of the end of term exam might motivate students to prepare
by studying, this often results in procrastination and cramming. In a variable-interval schedule,
reinforcement is available at unexpected times. An example of this would be pop quizzes or
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random book checks. Students are then motivated to maintain a consistently good standard of
work throughout the year.
Conclusion
Classical conditioning and operant conditioning can both be used in a variety of ways to
help facilitate the effective learning environment. Behaviors, whether reflexive or learned, must
fit within the rules and practices of the classroom environment in order to ensure that all students
are able to get their best chance at learning. The process is not one-sided. Rather, the best
instances of behavior modification in action involve teacher, students and parents. All parties
must be fully aware of the expected behaviors and the appropriate reinforces. Reinforcers (and
when necessary, punishiers) must always be applied in a timely and consistent fashion.
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REFERENCES
ATHERTON J S (2010) Learning and Teaching; Behaviourism
http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/behaviour.htm
MAHTO, A (2006) Classical and Opertant Conditioning: Potential Tools for Classroom
Management
MYERS, D (2001) Psychology – 6th ed.
SLAVIN, R (2009) Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice – 9th ed.
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