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MODULE 5: BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORIES

“Give me a child, and I will shape him into anything.”- B.F. Skinner

There are many theories today that are grounded on behaviorism; theories that describe significant
changes to human behavior. In this module, you will learn its important principles and how such concepts are
applied to facilitate learning in a learner- centered classroom for you to be able to cope up easily in the real
world of teaching. At the end of this module, you should be able to:

 analyze learning theories under behaviorism;

 explain the different phenomena of learning under behaviorism;
 discuss applications of behaviorism theories to teaching.

LESSON 1: PAVLOV’S CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

Classical Conditioning is a theory developed by IVAN PAVLOV, a Russian physiologist. His most
renowned experiment involved meat, a dog and a bell. It is a form of learning based on the association of
neutral stimulus with unconditioned stimulus. He emphasized that if two stimuli repeatedly occurs together,
they will become associated. The key element in classical conditioning is association.

Image from www.slideshare.com (An illustration of Pavlovian Conditioning)

Pavlovian conditioning in a Nutshell

Pavlovian theory of conditioning set of multilayered procedures. Initially, the food is called the
unconditioned stimulus (UCS). In psychology, any environmental organism is called stimulus. The food is
an unconditioned stimulus because it leads to an unconditioned response (UCR) without any learning taking
place. The immediate salivation of the dog is referred to as the UCR. The UCS and UCR are considered
unlearned stimulus-response units termed as reflexes (Bulusan et. al., 2019).

Conditioning the dog requires recurrent presentation of a neutral stimulus paired with the UCS. For
instance, came the with buzzer the was sounded repeatedly but caused no dog's salivation at all. However,
when the buzzer came with the food, the dog salivated Later, by just hearing the buzzer, the dog salivated.
The buzzer is now called a conditioned stimulus (CS) that elicited the salivation of the dog, now termed as
a conditioned response (CR) (Bulusan et. al., 2019).

Classroom Application of Classical Conditioning

 When applied in the classroom, the use of the pointer or stick to whip unruly learners in class
may affect other pupils. They may associate the stick with whipping, thus triggering fear. Later,
merely hearing or seeing a stick in class may elicit fear among them. This is why expert
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educators in the country suggest that classroom teachers should avoid using the stick as
pointers. Instead, they are advised to use their open palm to pointing words on the chalkboard
(Bulusan et. al., 2019).
 The key element in classical conditioning is association, therefore teachers are required to
associate a variety of positive and pleasant events in the classroom. For example:
o use attractive learning aids;
o decorate the classroom;
o encourage students to work in small groups for difficult learning tasks;
o greet the students and smile at them when he comes to the classroom;
o inform the students clearly and specifically the format of quizzes, tests, and
examinations;
o ake the students understand the rules of the classroom.

Other Phenomena in Classical Conditioning

 Generalization is another phenomenon that takes place when the dog salivates by just merely
hearing the buzzer, it is likely to elicit similar CS when it hears a faster or a slower beat of the buzzer or
any device with quite a similar sound. Harris (2006), however, pointed out that the more different the
new stimulus to the CS, the lesser generalization surfaces.
 Discrimination. It is when the dog recognizes that the sound of the buzzer is different from other
stimuli (i.e., the sound of a bell), thus salivating only upon hearing the buzzer.
 Extinction. According to Buoton and Moody (2004), it is the phenomenon that occurs when the CS is
repeatedly unreinforced, that is, without the UCS, the CR will eventually diminish in intensity and effect.
 Spontaneous recovery. It is the recovery-after-extinction phenomenon that happens when the
extinction of learning passes through time, the CR may still be restored (Robins, 1990). This means
that extinction does not completely involve unlearning of the pairings (Redish et al., 2018)
 Higher- Order Conditioning. Once the dog has been conditioned to associate the bell with food,
another unconditioned stimulus, such as a light may be flashed at the same time that the bell is rung.
Eventually, the dog will salivate at the flash of the light without the sound of a bell.

LESSON 2: WATSONIAN CONDITIONING

According to JOHN B. WATSON, if Pavlov is successful in proving associationism between stimulus

and response people can also have such ability to associating certain feelings behaviors, instances, and even
symbols. He theorized that unlearning and relearning can occur. He also posited that humans are born
with emotional responses such as love, fear, and hate. Perhaps the most popular conditioning
experiment he did was Little Albert." Here, Watson tried to prove that emotions can be learned. Initially, Albert
played with the white rat, thus not eliciting any fear upon seeing the rat. After some time, Watson and his
partner, Rosalie Rayner, accompanied the appearance of the white rat with a banging sound, so Albert was
conditioned to fear the rat. Later, Watson and Rayner accompanied the presentation of the rat with other
objects. They found out that Albert also feared the occurrence of the objects even without the rat's presence.
This experiment became the anchor of Watson's belief that learning happens by association.

Watsonian Conditioning Illustration (Image from www.troab.com )

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LESSON 3: CONNECTIONISM THEORY

The proponent of this theory is EDWARD L. THORNDIKE. He explained that learning is the result of
associations forming between stimuli and response. The main principle of connectionism was that learning
could be adequately explained without considering any unobservable internal states.

Thorndike’s theory on connectionism states that learning has taken place when a strong connection or
bond between stimulus and response is formed.

Three Primary Laws of Connectionism

 Law of Effect. S-R is strengthened when the consequence is positive and weakened when the
consequence is negative.
 Law of Exercise. When S-R bond is practiced, the stronger it will become.
 Law of Readiness- the more readiness the learner has to respond to the stimulus, the stronger will
be the bond between them.

Other Laws of Learning

 Law of Primacy. The first thing learned has the strongest S-R bond and is almost inerasable.
 Law of Intensity. Exposing the students in real- world applications of the skills and concepts makes
them most likely to remember the experience.
 Law of Recency. The concepts or skills most recently learned are least forgotten.
 Principles of Associative Shifting. Humans tend to show an almost similar response to an entirely
different stimulus if, on recurring instances, that stimulus has slight changes compared to the
previously known one.
 Generalization. The transfer occurs when the context of learning have identical elements and call for
similar responses.

Principles Derived from Thorndike’s Connectionism

 Learning requires both practice and rewards (laws of effect/ exercise).

 A series of S-R connections can be chained together if they belong to the same action sequence ( law
of readiness).
 Transfer of learning occurs because of previously encountered situations.
 Intelligence is a function of the number of connections learned

LESSON 4: OPERANT CONDITIONING

BURRHUS FREDERICK SKINNER is the pioneer of this theory. Operant Conditioning states that
learning is a result of change in overt behavior. It is also called instrumental conditioning. It is a form of
learning in which the consequence (reinforcement and punishment) following a behavior increases or
decreases the probability of the occurrence of the behavior.

 Reinforcement: It is a consequence that increases the probability that a behavior will occur.
 Punishment: It is a behavior that decreases the probability that a behavior will occur.

Types of Reinforcement

 Positive Reinforcement is giving or adding any stimulus to increase a response (E.g. plus points-
positive reinforcer).
 Negative Reinforcement is withdrawing or removing any stimulus that results in the increased
frequency of a response. It is not a punishment but a reward. (E.g. removing the periodical test if they
got a perfect score in the mastery test- negative reinforcer.)

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Schedule of Reinforcement

Schedule refers to when reinforcement is utilized (Skinner, 1938). Reinforcement is effective if it is

given immediately after a target behavior is observed. Schedule of reinforcement is important in determining
when a behavior will be reinforced.

 Continuous Schedule. Reinforcement is given every time the desired response is given.
 Intermittent Schedule. Reinforcement is given irregularly as desired response is given.
 Fixed interval schedule: A behavior will be reinforced after a certain period of time.
 Variable interval schedule: In variable interval schedule, the time that passes is not
constant.
 Ratio Schedule. Reinforcement is given depending on the number of correct responses or the
rate of responding.
 Fixed-ratio schedule: A behavior is reinforced after a set number of responses have
occurred.
 Variable-ratio schedule: On a variable-radio schedule, the number of responses
needed to gain the reinforcement is not constant.

Punishment

The main aim of punishment is to weaken the response. However, it does not necessarily eliminate
the behavior; when the threat of punishment is removed, the punishment response may recur (Merett &
Wheldall, 1984).

 Positive Punishment is an addition of an unpleasant stimulus to decrease the behavior.

 Negative Punishment is the removal of rewarding stimulus to decrease the behavior.

Dangers of Punishment

Punishment is the fastest way of changing behavior (but has negative consequences).

 It can hurt the one who is punished.

 It creates an aggressive behavior on who is punished.
 It can suppress one inappropriate behavior but another behavior is created.

Alternatives to Punishment (Bulusan et. al., 2019).

 Change the discriminative stimuli. (Move misbehaving student away from other misbehaving
students.)
 Allow the unwanted behavior to continue. (Have students continue standing (if they are standing
when they are supposed to be sitting.))
 Extinguish the unwanted behavior. (Ignore minor misbehavior so that it is not reinforced by
teacher’s attention.)
 Condition an incompatible behavior. (Reinforce learning progress, which occurs only when a
student is not misbehaving.)

Applying Operant Conditioning in Classroom

Reinforcement and punishment are the two main concepts in operant conditioning. The following are
some examples on how to operant conditioning can be applied in the classroom:

 recognize and reinforce positive behaviors and genuine task accomplishments;

 use various types of reinforcement such as teacher approval (praise, smiles, attention, and pats on the
shoulder). And privileges (longer recess time and more time with friends);
 reinforce good behaviors and punish bad ones consistently;
 use schedule of reinforcement, such as surprise rewards, to encourage persistence;

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 use positive punishment as the last option. Use negative punishment, such as detention class, instead;
 punish student’s behavior, not their personal qualities.

LESSON 5. NEO- BEHAVIORISM

Tolman’s Purposive Behaviorism

Purposive learning summarizes Edward Tolman's theory. He asserted that all behavior is directed for a
purpose. Therefore, all behaviors are concentrated on attaining some goals by cognition- an intervening
variable. He believed that a behavior is never merely the result of mindless S-R connections. He further
believed that "mental processes are to be identified in terms of the behaviors to which they lead.” In other
words, his intervening variables are tied to observable behaviors.

In his experiment, two groups of rats were put in mazes for 17 days. The first group of rats was fed
(rewarded) every time they found their way out. The second group of rats was non-reinforced. The rats did
not receive any food from days 1 to 10 even if they have seen the end point. Later, it was observed that in the
first 10 days, the rats developed a cognitive map. Hence, from day 11 onward, they were motivated to perform
and look for the end point faster than the first group to find food because they were hungry.

From this experiment, Tolman concluded that an organism performs a behavior because it has a
purpose or a goal. It has also led to the birth of latent learning-a form of learning that occurs without visible
reinforcement of the behavior or associations that are learned. In addition, latent learning occurs every time an
organism sees a reason to perform or show it. For instance, a 4-year-old boy observed his father in using the
TV remote control. When he would be left alone and had the opportunity to turn on the TV using the remote
control, he could easily demonstrate the learning.

Another distinctive feature of the purposive behaviorism is the coining of the term, “cognitive map”.
According to Tolman, it is a mental illustration of the layout of the environment. It is believed that everything
in our cognitive map influences our interaction with the environment. Hence, making our cognitive map more
detailed and comprehensive helps facilitate our learning.

Tolman's Other Salient Principles

 Behavior is always purposive. By this, he meant that all behavior is ignited to accomplish a specific
goal.
 Behavior is cognitive. The expectations that underlie and guide behavior are cognitions
 Reinforcement establishes and confirms expectancies. The more often an expectancy is
established, the more likely it is that the stimuli (signs) associated with it will become linked with the
relevant significate (expectancy).

LESSON 6: BANDURA'S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

Social learning theory happens within the social context and by observing and copying others
behavior or imitation (Akers & Jensen. 2006.): Albert Bandura is the proponent of this theory, where modeling
is a crucial component. Modeling refers to a change in one's behavior by observing models (Rosenthal &
Bandura, 1978). Historically, modeling was equated with imitation, but modeling is a more inclusive concept
(Mussen, 1983). It is also called the social- cognitive theory because of the influence of cognition in this
theory. Social learning theory and cognitive psychology are bridged by Self- efficacy; one’s evaluation of his/
her own ability to accomplish or perform an action in a particular context.

Fundamental Principles of Social Learning Theory

1. One may learn without changing his/ her behavior.

2. Learning takes place by imitating a model.

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3. An observing person will always react to the one being imitated depending on whether the model is
rewarded or punished.
4. Acquiring and performing behavior are different.
5. Interaction is vital for successful social learning.
6. Learning is self- regulated.
7. Learning may be acquired vicariously.
8. Learning may be reinforced by the model or by others.

Components of Successful Modeling

1. Attention.
2. Retention
3. Production
4. Motivation

REFERENCE

Source: Bulusan F., Raquepo M., Balmeo M., Gutierrez J., (2019). Facilitating Learner- Centered
Teaching. Sampalok Manila, RBSI

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