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Behavioral Theories Of Learning
EDU 6303
Psychology of Teaching and Learning
Overview
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Definition of learning
Pavlov
Thorndike
Skinner
Principles of Behavioral Learning Theory
Bandura
Meichenbaum
What is learning?
• Learning is usually defined as a change in
an individual caused by experience not by
reflexes (Slavin, 2003).
Pavlov
• Unconditioned stimulus – elicits a response
automatically
• Unconditioned response – occurs
automatically unconditioned stimulus
• Neutral stimulus – does not automatically
elicit a response, but can become a
• Conditioned stimulus during
• Classical conditioning
Thorndike – Law of Effect
• Thorndike went beyond Pavlov by showing that
stimuli that occurred after a behavior had an
influence on future behaviors
• An act that is followed by a favorable effect is
more likely to be repeated in similar situations;
an act that is followed by unfavorable effect is
less likely to be repeated.
Skinner
• Skinner’s work focused on the relationship
between behavior and its consequences.
• Operant conditioning – the use of pleasant
and unpleasant consequences to change
behavior.
• Skinner Box – allows the study of behavior
in a controlled environment.
Principles of Behavioral
Learning
• Behavior changes according to its immediate
consequences (immediacy of consequences is
key).
• Reinforcers – consequences that are likely to
increase the frequency of the behavior, i.e.,
strengthen the behavior.
• Primary reinforcers – satisfy basic human needs.
• Secondary reinforcers acquire their value for
being associated with primary reinforcers.
Principles (continued)
• Shaping – guiding behavior toward goals
by reinforcing the many steps that lead to
success.
• Extinction – removing reinforcers from
previously learned behavior until the
behavior disappears.
• Extinction burst – the increase in levels of
behavior in the early stages of extinction.
Principles (continued)
• Positive reinforcement – are usually things
given to students that they value, e.g.,
praise.
• Negative reinforcement – escape from an
unpleasant or a way of preventing
unpleasant behavior from occurring.
Principles (continued)
• Punishment – consequences that weaken
behavior; punishment like reinforcement is
in the eye of the receiver and the impact on
behavior.
Principles (continued)
• Removal punishment – forbidding a desirable
task or situation;
• Presentation punishment (aversive stimulus) –
imposing an undesirable task or situation; and
• No reinforcement discourage behaviors.
• However, positive reinforcement generally works
better to shape behavior than punishment.
Principles (continued)
• Premack principle (grandma’s rule) – you can
encourage less-desired (to the individual by
linking them to a desired behavior.
• Intrinsic motivators – behaviors that people enjoy
for the pleasure of the behavior.
• Extrinsic motivators – rewards given to people to
motivate them to engage in behavior that they
might not engage in otherwise.
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Fixed interval – reinforcer
is given after a fixed
number of behaviors.
(Fixed ratio schedules are
effective in motivating
individuals to do a great
deal of work especially
with high requirements
for reinforcement
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Variable interval –
variable number of
behaviors are necessary
for reinforcement. This
reinforcement schedule is
very effective for
maintaining a high rate of
behavior and are highly
resistant to extinction.
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Fixed interval
schedule –
reinforcement is
available on at certain
times - can encourage
cramming, e.g., end of
grade test.
Schedules of Reinforcement
• Variable interval –
reinforcement is
available at some
times, but not at
others – spot checks
Maintenance
• Some behaviors that
have been acquired
through reinforcement
become intrinsically
motivating, e.g.,
reading, soccer.
• Variable interval
schedules produce
behaviors that are
resistant to extinction.
Role of Antecedents
• Cueing – antecedent behavior or cues tell
people what behavior will be reinforced
• Discrimination is the use of cues, signals,
or information to know when behavior is
likely to be reinforced – learning is largely
a matter of mastering more and more
complex discriminations.
Generalization
• Is the transfer of behavior under one set of
conditions to other situations.
• Generalization must be planned for; it is most
likely to occur across similar settings or similar
concepts.
• It is more likely to occur is using many relevant
examples.
• The instruction is repeated in a variety of
settings.
Social Learning Theory
• Bandura and observational learning – he
noted that Skinnerian emphasis of the
consequences of behavior largely ignored
the phenomena of modeling – the imitation
of others.
• Observational learning involves four
phases:
Social Learning Theory
• Attentional phase – the first phase of
observational learning is paying attention
to model.
• Retention phase – once teachers have
students’ attention, it is time to model the
behavior they want the students to imitate
and then give students a chance to practice
and rehearse.
Social Learning Theory
• Reproduction phase – student’s try to
match their behavior to the model’s.
• Motivational phase – students will imitate
a model because they believe that doing so
will increase their own chances of being
reinforced.
Social Learning Theory
• Vicarious Learning - People learn in this
process learn by seeing other people
rewarded or punished.
• Self-regulation – people can observe their
own behavior, judge it against their own
standards, and reinforce or punish
themselves.
Social Learning Theory
• Meichenbaum’s model of self regulated
learning argues that students can be taught
to monitor and regulate their own behavior,
which is often called cognitive behavior
modification.
Michenbaum’s Model of SelfRegulated Learning
1. An adult model performs a task while talking to
self out loud (cognitive modeling).
2. The child performs the same task under the
direction of the model’s instructions (overt,
external guidance).
3. The child performs the task while instructing
self aloud (overt, self-guidance).
Michenbaum’s Model of SelfRegulated Learning
4. The child whispers instructions to self as
he or she goes through the task (faded,
overt self-guidance).
5. The child performs the task while guiding
his or her performance via private speech
(covert self-instruction).
Strengths and Limitations of
Behavioral Learning Theories
• The basic principles are as firmly
established as any in psychology and have
been demonstrated under many different
conditions.
• However, the theories only deal with
observable behavior.
• In some ways in complements cognitive
theories of learning.
Reference
• Slavin, R. E. (2003). Educational
Psychology: Theory and Practice, 7th
Edition.