Download Theory Paper - Garrett Schmidt

Garrett Schmidt
Professor Mark Hawkes
29 March 2012
Behaviorism
Behaviorism is a learning theory in which every student’s thought or feeling is
said to a behavior. B.F. Skinner was the main theorist in developing and figuring out
behaviorism and its ways. Ivan Pavlov was another psychologist who made a big step
in behaviorism with his work in defining classical conditioning. Behaviorism is also
based on the concept that a human’s behaviors can be measured, trained, and then
changed
Ivan Pavlov is a famous scientist noted for his work on the mammalian digestive
system. But he may be known most for his work dealing with education in the year
1870 defining learning as a behavioral event. Pavlov wanted to measure how much
saliva was excreted when dogs were fed meat. Once Pavlov started to test these dogs
for 2 or 3 weeks he noticed a huge change, that the dogs were starting to salivate while
the attendant was entering the room. This raised Pavlov’s curiosity and he started
ringing a bell before the dogs would be fed their meet. After another couple weeks of
this experiment the dogs would start salivating at the ring of the bell. In conclusion,
Pavlov found that the dogs had been conditioned to salivate at the sound of the bell and
they now associated any type of bell with food.
An additional significant contribution was made to ideas of behaviorist learning
during the 1930’s is when B.F. Skinner started doing his experiments on operant
conditioning. His main goal was to observe the relationship between observable stimuli
and result. What Skinner created was known as a “Skinner Box” and inside that box
was a rat. The rat would go to one side of the box and touch a lever, depending on
when the rat touched the lever either it would be shocked by an electrical grid at its feet,
or food would be dispensed into a trough. What Skinner realized is that after a few
times a being shocked the rat would be extremely resistant at going to the other side of
the box, and sometimes would not go to that side at all. B.F. Skinner came to the
conclusion that the rat’s behavior was reinforced by a case of either positive or negative
reinforcement.
Even though psychologists like Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner have made great
breakthroughs some people are still skeptical at the validity of their experiments. In
1984 K. Boulding questioned Skinner’s application on the principles of animal behavior.
What Boulding really meant is that he wasn’t quite sure how a simple rat could
somehow be close to a complex-minded human being. This kind of testing on humans
would most likely be illegal, but Boulding suggested that perhaps B.F. Skinner could
have used a more complex animal besides an everyday lab rat.
Along with the main use of behaviorism there are a few different ways to use
behaviorism in the classroom however, the main way to use behaviorism is by using a
teacher-led approach. This would include direct contact with the students. B.F Skinner
also discovered breaking down tasks into small steps will increase the learning for the
students, leading to a greater outcome. Skinner also said that reinforcing and
rewarding good behavior is a must to attain the goals set by the teacher for the
classroom. The main focus behind behaviorism in the classroom is positive
reinforcement, so teachers are encouraged to check the students’ work regularly and
give them positive reinforcement with the right instruction.
Some people may ask why behaviorism is so important and simply the answer is,
behaviorism shows results. Behaviorism is based on past psychologists’ many
laboratory tests and simulations that have shown constant results. Early psychologists
figured out that the mind was more scientific than it was learning from past experiences
or learning behaviors. Behaviorism focuses mostly on concrete results that have
occurred in the past over and over again rather than scientific results that may happen
in the future. These “only believe the facts” theories give behaviorism more firm results
then other learning theories and leave less room for error.
Studies have shown that behaviorism not only creates better results for teachers
and other instructors, but also helps the students’ work ethic. Some experiments have
even shown that a classroom with a good behaviorism model decreases the amount of
tardiness and absentness a few students have had. A great example for a behaviorism
model is one that many of us have probably used on ourselves and that is a reward
system. Behaviorism doesn’t even have to be flexible that’s how flexible it is. When
New Year’s comes around and many people are starting diets using some sort of a
reward or points system, this is a behaviorism model. If somebody has ever given a
dog treats for rolling over or sitting properly, that’s another example of a behaviorism
system that works.
Behaviorism to some people could be called a hopeful model. That is, an
instructor is taking behaviors that have been learned in the past can be changed to the
point where they have little or no effect to current behaviors. If a student were to come
into a classroom with past studying problems for example, the instructor with a
behaviorism theory classroom will change those behaviors. However, for a behaviorism
model to fully work the theory needs to be taken away from the classroom as well, this
means the parents of the student need to be using a behaviorism model too.
The final, and probably biggest, step to enforcing a behaviorism setting is to keep
negativity away from the learners. Teachers or instructors should not use any type of
punishment for their students as this could lead to a behavior of. Patience is going to
be a virtue for instructors using this theory as it is strongly suggested by many
psychologists that they will be lenient as to when and where their students will
participate. A few teachers may think that allowing students to decide when they come
in will hinder their learning, but the instructor needs to be patient and let the behaviorism
theory follow through. Students will soon realize that learning is in their hands and this
will also help their maturity.
The straight definition of behaviorism is the branch of psychology dedicated to
the study of behaviors and the study of methods to change those behaviors. The main
feature of behaviorism is that it is based in the present and will change over time as
students and teachers change, respectively. Behaviorism is also widely-known to use
active methods that have proven to work. If some teachers have found a particular
method to not work as well, the behaviorism theory allows them to change to a different
method for better results. Education is not the only place that a behaviorism theory can
be put into effect as social work and psychiatry also use this theory as well. Today
behaviorism is used to enhance the functioning and performance of individuals in such
diverse areas such as; therapy, business and industry, child rearing, ecology and the
arts. Behaviorism models have been used ever since humanity began however, it took
Ivan Pavlov and B.F Skinner to really explain behaviorism and lead it to being a major
model in learning. The flexibility of behaviorism is its strong suit and the reason why
this model will continue to be used in classrooms for many years to come.
References
Cherry, Kendra. "What Is  Behaviorism?" About.com Psychology. About.com. Web. 29
Mar. 2012
Graham, George, "Behaviorism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
Jones, Kaye. "How to Use Behaviorism in a Classroom." EHow. Demand Media, 02
Apr. 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2012
"Psychology Colleges & Career." Behaviorism Is the Most Important Field in Psychology
†“ Psychology 2012. Psychology Colleges & Careers. Web. 04 Apr. 2012.
"Smart Work Ethics." What Is Behaviorism and Why Is It so Important to? Smart Work
Ethics. Web. 04 Apr. 2012.