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6 Theoretical Frame Work

The Theoretical Frame Work of this study is based on Behavioral Theory (or behaviourism) is
a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans. It assumes that all behaviors
are either reflexes produced by a response to certain stimuli in the environment, or a
consequence of that individual's history, including especially reinforcement and punishment,
together with the individual's current motivational state and controlling stimuli. Although
behaviorists generally accept the important role of inheritance in determining behavior, they
focus primarily on environmental factors.

Behaviorism combines elements of philosophy, methodology, and psychological theory. It

emerged in the late nineteenth century as a reaction to depth psychology and other traditional
forms of psychology, which often had difficulty making predictions that could be tested
experimentally. The earliest derivatives of Behaviorism can be traced back to the late 19th
century where Edward Thorndike pioneered the law of effect, a process that involved
strengthening behavior through the use of reinforcement.

During the first half of the twentieth century, John B. Watson devised methodological
behaviorism, which rejected introspective methods and sought to understand behavior by only
measuring observable behaviors and events. It was not until the 1930s that B. F. Skinner
suggested that private events including thoughts and feelings should be subjected to the same
controlling variables as observable behavior, which became the basis for his philosophy called
"radical behaviorism”. While Watson and Ivan Pavlov investigated the stimulus-response
procedures of classical conditioning, Skinner assessed the controlling nature of consequences
and also its potential effect on the antecedents (or discriminative stimuli) that strengthens
behavior; the technique became known as operant conditioning.

Skinner's radical behaviorism has been highly successful experimentally, revealing new
phenomena with new methods, but Skinner’s dismissal of theory limited its development.
Theoretical behaviorism recognized that a historical system, an organism, has a state as well as
sensitivity to stimuli and the ability to emit responses. Indeed, Skinner himself acknowledged the
possibility of what he called “latent” responses in humans, even though he neglected to extend
this idea to rats and pigeons. Latent responses constitute a repertoire, from which operant
reinforcement can select.
The application of radical behaviorism known as applied behavior analysis is used in a variety
of settings, including, for example, organizational behavior management, to the treatment of
mental disorders, such as autism and substance abuse. In addition, while behaviorism and
cognitive schools of psychological thought may not agree theoretically, they have
complemented each other in cognitive-behavior therapies, which have demonstrated utility in
treating certain pathologies, including simple phobias, PTSD, and mood disorders.

Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based on the idea
that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning occurs through interaction
with the environment. Behaviorists believe that our responses to environmental stimuli shape
our actions. According to this school of thought, behavior can be studied in a systematic and
observable manner regardless of internal mental states. Basically, only observable behavior
should be considered cognitions, emotions, and moods are far too subjective.

Strict behaviorists believed that any person can potentially be trained to perform any task,
regardless of genetic background, personality traits, and internal thoughts (within the limits of
their physical capabilities). It only requires the right conditioning.

Behavioral theory seeks to explain human behavior by analyzing the antecedents and
consequences present in the individual's environment and the learned associations he or she
has acquired through previous experience. This entry describes the various traditions within the
behavioral perspective (classical conditioning, operant conditioning, cognitively mediated
behavioral theory, and functional contextualism) and the clinical applications that are derived
from them. Common criticisms are discussed in light of the ongoing evolution of behavioral
theory and the fit of its tenets with the field of social work.

The Theoretical Frame Work of this study is also based on Perception Theory. Perception
theory is a process of acquiring and processing of information divided by two basic grups,
according to the direction of information flow. The first is a group of theories which suppose
using only bottom up process when acquiring and processing sensory data. By bottom up
process, we mean process that start at the lowest sensory levels.

On the contray, the topdown theories suppose that in the process of discrimination, but mainly
when processing sensory stimulus, we start by “feeling” sensory data on receptors, but their
processing presumes a downward influence of higher cognitive contents which organize and
later determine them. Such influence we can call the topdown effect. The core of this approach
is the fact that in order to process sensory stimulus, one needs to have prior experience or
knowledge, or other influences which help to organize and form cognitive contents.