Behaviorist Perspective: MODULE 7: Behaviorism: Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, Skinner

BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE
MODULE 7: Behaviorism:
Pavlov, Thorndike,
Watson, Skinner
BAI SAGUIRA M. ABDULAH, MAEd
ariugas_bhai@yahoo.com
Behaviorism
Classical Conditioning Connectionism Operant Conditioning

(Pavlov/Watson) (Thorndike) (Skinner)
Primary Laws
Reinforcement
Law of Effect
Shaping of Behavior
Law of Exercise
Lawariugas_ofbhai@yahooReadiness.com
• Ivan Pavlov
A Russian psychologist, I
well know for his work in
classical conditioning or
stimulus substitution.
Experiment involved meat,
a dog and a bell.
Pavlov’s Experiment
• Stimulus Generalization – once the dog has
learned to salivate at the sound of the bell, it will
salivate at other similar sounds.
• Extinction – if you stop pairing the bell with the
food, salivation eventually cease in response to
the bell
• Spontaneous recovery – extinguished
responses can be “recovered” after an elapse
time but it will soon extinguished again if the dog
is not presented with food.
• Discrimination – the dog could learn to
discriminate between similar bells (stimuli) and
discern which bell would result in the
presentation of food and which would not.
• 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.
• Edward L. Thorndike
Connectionism theory gave us

the original S-R framework of
behavioral psychology.
The main principle of

connectionism was that
learning could be adequately
explained without considering
any observable internal states.
“
• Learning has taken place
when a strong connectionism
or bond between stimulus and
response is formed”
• Law of Effect - connection between a stimulus
and response is strengthened when the
consequences is positive (reward) and the
connection between the stimulus and the
response is weakened when the consequence is
negative.
• Law of Exercise – the more S-R (stimulus
response) bond is practice 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.
Principles Derived from Thorndike’s Connectionism
1. Learning requires both practice and rewards

(laws of effect/exercise)
2. A series of S-R connectionism can be
chained together if they belong to the same
action sequence (law of readiness)
3. Transfer of learning occurs because
of previously encountered situations.
4. Intelligence is a function of the number of
connections learned.
• John Watson
First American psychologist to
work with Pavlov’s ideas. He
considered that humans are
born with a few reflexes and the
emotional reactions of love and
rage.
All other behavior is learned
through stimulus-response
associations through
conditioning.
Experiment on Albert
• His work did clearly show the role of conditioning

in the development of emotional responses to
certain stimuli. This may help us understand the
fears, phobias and prejudices that people
develop.
• Burrhus Frederick Skinner
• Believed in the S-R pattern

of conditioned behavior.
• Wrote Walden Two

(1948) and Science and
Human Behavior (1953)
• Studied operant behavior

(voluntary behaviors used in
operating on the
environment
Operant Conditioning
• Based upon the notion that learning is a result of

change in overt behavior. Change in behavior
are the result of individual’s response to event
(stimuli) that occur in the environment.
• Reinforcement - is the key element in

Skinner’s S-R theory.
• Reinforcer – anything that strengthen the
desired responses.
• Positive reinforcer – any stimulus that is
given or added to increase the response.
• Negative reinforcer - any stimulus that results

in the increased frequency of a response when it
is withdrawn or removed . A negative reinforcer is
not a punishment, it is a reward.
• Punishment - consequence intended to result

in a reduced responses.
• Extinction or Non-reinforcement: responses
that are not reinforced are not likely to be
repeated.
• Shaping behavior - successive approximation
of the behavior are rewarded.
• Behavior chaining - comes about when a
series of steps are needed to be learned.
• Reinforcement schedules – once the desired
behavioral response is accomplished,
reinforcement does not have to be 100%
• Fixed interval schedule - target response is
reinforced after a fixed amount of time has
passed since the last reinforcement.
• Variable inter schedule – similar to fixed
interval schedule but the amount of time that
must pass between reinforcement varies.
• Fixed ratio schedule - fixed number of correct
responses must occur before reinforcement may
recur.
• Variable ratio schedule – number of
correct repetitio9ns of the correct response
for reinforcement varies
Implication of Operant Conditioning
1. Practice should take the form of question

(stimulus) - answer (response) frames which
expose the student to the subject in gradual
steps.
2. Require that the learner makes a response for
every frame and received immediate feedback
3. Try to arrange the difficulty of the questions
so the response is always correct and hence,
a positive reinforcement.
4. Ensure that good performance in the lesson is
paired with secondary reinforcers such as
verbal praise, prizes and good grades.
Principles derived from Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
1. Behavior that is positively reinforced will

reoccur; intermittent reinforcement is
particularly effective.
2. Information should be presented in small
amounts so that responses can be reinforced
(shaping).
3. Reinforcements will generalized across similar
stimuli (stimulus generalization) producing
secondary conditioning.

Behaviorist Perspective: MODULE 7: Behaviorism: Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, Skinner

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Behaviorist Perspective: MODULE 7: Behaviorism: Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, Skinner

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BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE

BAI SAGUIRA M. ABDULAH, MAEd

Classical Conditioning Connectionism Operant Conditioning

• Higher –Order Conditioning – once the dog

Connectionism theory gave us

The main principle of

1. Learning requires both practice and rewards

• His work did clearly show the role of conditioning

• Believed in the S-R pattern

• Wrote Walden Two

• Studied operant behavior

• Based upon the notion that learning is a result of

• Reinforcement - is the key element in

• Negative reinforcer - any stimulus that results

• Punishment - consequence intended to result

1. Practice should take the form of question

1. Behavior that is positively reinforced will

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