BEHAVIORIST PERSPECTIVE

‘What Is Behaviorism?

Behaviorism theory surmises that human and animal behavior can only be explained by conditioning.
Behaviorists believe that psychology should focus on measurable and observable physical behaviors and
how these behaviors can be manipulated by changes in the external environment. There is no room in
behaviorist theory for thoughts or emotions, in contrast to other theories of psychology.

The four main psychologists who lead to the development of behaviorist theory were Watson, Pavlov,
Thorndike, and Skinner.

Behaviorism, also known as behavioral learning theory, is a theoretical perspective in psychology that
emphasizes the role of learning and observable behaviors in understanding human and animal actions.

Behaviorism is a theory of learning that states all behaviors are learned through conditioned interaction with
the environment. Thus, behavior is simply a response to environmental stimuli.

The behaviorist theory is only concerned with observable stimulus-response behaviors, as they can be
studied in a systematic and observable manner.

Some of the key figures of the behaviorist approach include B.F. Skinner, known for his work on operant
conditioning, and John B. Watson, who established the psychological school of behaviorism.

Classical Conditioning
Watson (1878–1958)

John Watson was the founder of behaviorist theory. Quite innovatively for the time, he found Freudian-
based explanations of behavior too theoretical and disagreed with the eugenic idea of heredity determining
how one behaves. Instead, he believed that people's reactions in various situations were determined by how
their overall experiences had programmed them to react.

In experiments he performed in the early 1900s he showed that he could condition, or train, children to
respond to a certain stimulus in a way that was different from what their normal response would be in the
absence of such training.

For example, one infant named Albert, who had previously liked and attempted to pet a white rat, was later
conditioned by Watson to come to fear it.

This was done by producing loud clanging noises whenever the rat was brought into Albert's line of sight; in
a few weeks, the rat alone could induce tears and an attempted flight response by the terrified baby. Because
Watson repeatedly stimulated Albert to feel fear when the rat was present, the infant's experiences taught it
to be afraid around rats and react accordingly.

Albert not only feared rats but had been programmed through the experiment to fear most other white and
fuzzy objects as well, from coats to Santa Claus beards.

Pavlov is known for his use of conditioning techniques on dogs. The dogs associated the bringing of food
with the sound of a metronome and thus salivated at the ringing of the metronome, even if food was not
present.
Pavlov (1849–1936)

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was the first to introduce the concept of conditioning through his experiments with
animals. His conclusions directly influenced Watson and provided him with the original scientific basis for
his beliefs.
In these experiments, Pavlov worked with dogs that, like most, salivated naturally in the presence of food.
Because this response is innate, the animals were displaying an unconditioned response (salivation) to an
unconditioned stimulus (food). Pavlov then, for the sake of experimentation, began to produce a metronome
sound at the time of each feeding. Eventually, the dogs started to drool after hearing it and in anticipation of
food, even when none was present.

At the end of his experiments, Pavlov was able to condition, or teach, these dogs to salivate in unnatural
situations (after hearing a sound) to stimuli which would normally not elicit that response (sound). In
essence, Pavlov had transformed salivation into a conditioned behavior, and the metronome had become a
conditioned stimulus.

Pavlov further discovered that conditioned behaviors of this type would disappear if they failed to deliver
the expected outcome; for example, if the metronome was sounded repeatedly and no food was presented,
dogs would eventually stop associating the two and their drooling response to the sound would vanish.

How Classical Conditioning Works

There are three stages of classical conditioning. At each stage, the stimuli and responses are given special
scientific terms:

Stage 1: Before Conditioning:

In this stage, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) produces an unconditioned response (UCR) in an organism.

In basic terms, this means that a stimulus in the environment has produced a behavior / response which is
unlearned (i.e., unconditioned) and therefore is a natural response which has not been taught. In this respect,
no new behavior has been learned yet.

For example, a stomach virus (UCS) would produce a response of nausea (UCR). In another example, a
perfume (UCS) could create a response of happiness or desire (UCR).
This stage also involves another stimulus which has no effect on a person and is called the neutral stimulus
(NS). The NS could be a person, object, place, etc.

The neutral stimulus in classical conditioning does not produce a response until it is paired with the
unconditioned stimulus.

Stage 2: During Conditioning:

During this stage, a stimulus which produces no response (i.e., neutral) is associated with the unconditioned
stimulus, at which point it now becomes known as the conditioned stimulus (CS).

For example, a stomach virus (UCS) might be associated with eating a certain food such as chocolate (CS).
Also, perfume (UCS) might be associated with a specific person (CS).
For classical conditioning to be effective, the conditioned stimulus should occur before the unconditioned
stimulus, rather than after it, or during the same time. Thus, the conditioned stimulus acts as a type of signal
or cue for the unconditioned stimulus.

In some cases, conditioning may take place if the NS occurs after the UCS (backward conditioning), but this
normally disappears quite quickly. The most important aspect of the conditioning stimulus is the it helps the
organism predict the coming of the unconditional stimulus.
Often during this stage, the UCS must be associated with the CS on a number of occasions, or trials, for
learning to take place.

However, one trial learning can happen on certain occasions when it is not necessary for an association to be
strengthened over time (such as being sick after food poisoning or drinking too much alcohol).

Stage 3: After Conditioning:

Now the conditioned stimulus (CS) has been associated with the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) to create a
new conditioned response (CR).

For example, a person (CS) who has been associated with nice perfume (UCS) is now found attractive (CR).
Also, chocolate (CS) which was eaten before a person was sick with a virus (UCS) now produces a response
of nausea (CR).

Classical Conditioning Examples

Pavlov’s Dogs

The most famous example of classical conditioning was Ivan Pavlov’s experiment with dogs, who salivated
in response to a bell tone. Pavlov showed that when a bell was sounded each time the dog was fed, the dog
learned to associate the sound with the presentation of the food.
He first presented the dogs with the sound of a bell; they did not salivate so this was a neutral stimulus. Then
he presented them with food, they salivated. The food was an unconditioned stimulus and salivation was an
unconditioned (innate) response.

He then repeatedly presented the dogs with the sound of the bell first and then the food (pairing) after a few
repetitions the dogs salivated when they heard the sound of the bell. The bell had become the conditioned
stimulus and salivation had become the conditioned response.

Fear Response

Watson & Rayner (1920) were the first psychologists to apply the principles of classical conditioning to
human behavior by looking at how this learning process may explain the development of phobias.
They did this in what is now considered to be one of the most ethically dubious experiments ever conducted
– the case of Little Albert. Albert B.’s mother was a wet nurse in a children’s hospital. Albert was described
as ‘healthy from birth’ and ‘on the whole stolid and unemotional’.

When he was about nine months old, his reactions to various stimuli (including a white rat, burning
newspapers and a hammer striking a four-foot steel bar just behind his head) were tested.

Only the last of these frightened him, so this was designated the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) and fear the
unconditioned response (UCR). The other stimuli were neutral because they did not produce fear.

When Albert was just over eleven months old, the rat and the UCSwere presented together: as Albert
reached out to stroke the animal, Watson struck the bar behind his head.

This occurred seven times in total over the next seven weeks. By this time the rat, the conditioned stimulus
(CS), on its own frightened Albert, and fear was now a conditioned response (CR).

The CR transferred spontaneously to the rabbit, the dog and other stimuli that had been previously neutral.
Five days after conditioning, the CR produced by the rat persisted. After ten days it was ‘much less marked’,
but it was still evident a month later

Carter and Tiffany, 1999 support the cue reactivity theory, they carried out a meta-analysis reviewing 41
cue-reactivity studies that compared responses of alcoholics, cigarette smokers, cocaine addicts and heroin
addicts to drug-related versus neutral stimuli. They found that dependent individuals reacted strongly to the
cues presented and reported craving and physiological arousal.

Classroom Learning

The implications of classical conditioning in the classroom are less important than those of operant
conditioning, but there is a still need for teachers to try to make sure that students associate positive
emotional experiences with learning.

If a student associates negative emotional experiences with school, then this can obviously have bad results,
such as creating a school phobia.

For example, if a student is bullied at school they may learn to associate the school with fear. It could also
explain why some students show a particular dislike of certain subjects that continue throughout their
academic career. This could happen if a student is humiliated or punished in class by a teacher.
Principles Of Classical Conditioning

Neutral Stimulus

In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus (NS) is a stimulus that initially does not evoke a response until it
is paired with the unconditioned stimulus.

For example, in Pavlov’s experiment, the bell was the neutral stimulus, and only produced a response when
it was paired with food.

Unconditioned Stimulus

In classical conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus is a feature of the environment that causes a natural
and automatic unconditioned response. In Pavlov’s study, the unconditioned stimulus was food.

Unconditioned Response

In classical conditioning, an unconditioned response is an unlearned response that occurs automatically

when the unconditioned stimulus is presented.

Pavlov showed the existence of the unconditioned response by presenting a dog with a bowl of food and
measuring its salivary secretions.

Conditioned Stimulus

In classical conditioning, the conditioned stimulus (CS) is a substitute stimulus that triggers the same
response in an organism as an unconditioned stimulus.
For example, Pavlov’s dog learned to salivate at the sound of a bell. Simply put, a conditioned stimulus
makes an organism react to something because it is associated with something else.

Conditioned Response

In classical conditioning, the conditioned response (CR) is the learned response to the previously neutral
stimulus. In Ivan Pavlov’s experiments in classical conditioning, the dog’s salivation was the conditioned
response to the sound of a bell.

Acquisition

In the initial learning period, acquisition describes when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus
and an unconditioned stimulus.

Extinction
In psychology, extinction refers to the gradual weakening of a conditioned response by breaking the
association between the conditioned and the unconditioned stimuli.

For example, when the bell repeatedly rang and no food was presented, Pavlov’s dog gradually stopped
salivating at the sound of the bell.

Spontaneous Recovery

Spontaneous Recovery is a phenomenon of Pavlovian conditioning that refers to the return of a conditioned
response (in a weaker form) after a period of time following extinction.

For example, when Pavlov waited a few days after extinguishing the conditioned response, and then rang the
bell once more, the dog salivated again.

Thorndike (1874–1949)

Edward Thorndike came up with the concept of instrumental conditioning and, like Pavlov, reached his
main conclusions using data gained through animal-based experimentation.

Such experiments included placing hungry cats in an enclosed container, which Thorndike referred to as a
puzzle box, from which they had to escape in order to reach food. The first time a cat was placed in this
situation it escaped only after several failed attempts and a single lucky successful guess (such as pushing
the right button). However, the time it took to escape decreased each time a cat was returned to the box.

This meant, first of all, that the cats remembered which behaviour was necessary to escape and get the
reward of food. If they had not, it would take approximately the same time for them to refigure it out and
there would not be the trend of a continually faster escape. Secondly, they were clearly able to recognize
their current situation (being placed in the puzzle box) was identical to the last time they were placed inside
of the puzzle box, and therefore that the same successful behaviour used before would achieve the same end
result the next time around: freedom and a feast.

As the cats continued to be placed in the puzzle box, they became more adept at escaping the box over time.

Using his data, Thorndike developed two main laws concerning conditioning. The first was the law of
exercise, stating simply that the repetition of a response strengthens it. Each time a cat was placed in the
puzzle box, it exhibited a stronger inclination to perform the behaviours required, exiting the box with
increased proficiency and in a shorter time span.

The second law, the law of effect, established that behaviours were either strengthened or weakened,
depending on whether they were rewarded or punished. Each time the successful behaviour was repeated, it
was done so more quickly because the cat no longer wasted time performing other behaviours which had
proven unsuccessful and kept the animal imprisoned.
A rendering of a Skinner Box, wherein a rat is giving a variety of stimuli to reinforce certain behaviours.

Skinner (1904–1990)

B.F. Skinner developed the behaviourist theory of operant conditioning. Contrary to the theories of both
Watson and Pavlov, Skinner believed that it wasn't what comes before a behaviour that influences it, but
rather what comes directly after it.

In operant conditioning, behaviours are manipulated when they are followed by either positive or negative
reinforcement. Positive reinforcement increases desired behaviours by following them with rewards. For
example, if rat food is dispensed every time a rat pushes a pedal, it will repeatedly push that same pedal to
get more edible treats. The action of pushing the pedal, the desired behaviour, has been reinforced with food.

Negative reinforcement increases desired behaviours by allowing subjects to escape punishment through
their performance. For example, if a rat received a painful electrical jolt that would not cease unless it
pressed a pedal, it would begin to press it quickly following each initial jolt to relieve its pain. The action of
pushing the pedal, the desired behaviour, has again been reinforced, though by a different method than
before.

Skinner also showed that behaviours could be altered through punishment or extinction. Punishing
behaviours after they occur, discourages them from being later repeated. For example, if a rat was jolted
with electricity when it pressed a pedal, it would begin to avoid touching it, avoiding performing the
undesirable behaviour.

Extinction is when behaviours that were previously reinforced are later unenforced, rendering the behaviours
inconsequential and causing them to decrease in frequency over time. If the rat that had been trained to push
a pedal for food ceased receiving food for pressing it, eventually it would press it less and less often. In time,
after it has become thoroughly discouraged by the lack of dispensed rat treats, it may stop pressing it
altogether.

If the rat that was zapped with electricity stopped being zapped, it would also push the pedal to stop the
voltage less frequently, as its reason for doing so would be gone. Extinction is the discontinuation of
behaviors that had been encouraged by either negative or positive reinforcement.
5 Principles Of Behaviorism

The behaviorist movement began in 1913 when John B. Watson wrote an article entitled Psychology as the
behaviorist views it, which set out several underlying assumptions regarding methodology and behavioral
analysis:

All behavior is learned from the environment:

One assumption of the learning approach is that all behaviors are learned from the environment. They can be
learned through classical conditioning, learning by association, or through operant conditioning, learning by
consequences.

Behaviorism emphasizes the role of environmental factors in influencing behavior to the near exclusion of
innate or inherited factors. This amounts essentially to a focus on learning. Therefore, when born, our mind
is “tabula rasa” (a blank slate).

Classical conditioning refers to learning by association, and involves the conditioning of innate bodily
reflexes with new stimuli.

Behavior is the result of stimulus-response:

Reductionism is the belief that human behavior can be explained by breaking it down into smaller
component parts.

Reductionists say that the best way to understand why we behave as we do is to look closely at the very
simplest parts that make up our systems, and use the simplest explanations to understand how they work.

Watson described the purpose of psychology as: “To predict, given the stimulus, what reaction will take
place; or, given the reaction, state what the situation or stimulus is that has caused the reaction.” (1930, p.
11).
All behavior, no matter how complex, can be reduced to a simple stimulus-response association).
Stimulus refers to any feature of the environment that affects behavior. For example, in Pavlov’s
experiment, food was a stimulus.
A response is the behavior elicited by the stimulus. For example, in Pavlov’s experiment, the dog’s
salivation was a response.

Psychology should be seen as a science:

Theories need to be supported by empirical data obtained through careful and controlled observation and
measurement of behavior. Watson (1913) stated:

“Psychology as a behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science. Its
theoretical goal is … prediction and control.” (p. 158).

The components of a theory should be as simple as possible. Behaviorists propose using operational
definitions (defining variables in terms of observable, measurable events).
Behaviorism introduced scientific methods to psychology. Laboratory experiments were used with high
control of extraneous variables.

These experiments were replicable, and the data obtained was objective (not influenced by an individual’s
judgment or opinion) and measurable. This gave psychology more credibility.

Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events like
thinking and emotion:

The starting point for many behaviorists is a rejection of the introspection (the attempts to “get inside
people’s heads”) of the majority of mainstream psychology.

While modern behaviorists often accept the existence of cognitions and emotions, they prefer not to study
them as only observable (i.e., external) behavior can be objectively and scientifically measured.

Although theorists of this perspective accept that people have “minds”, they argue that it is never possible to
objectively observe people’s thoughts, motives, and meanings – let alone their unconscious yearnings and
desires.

Therefore, internal events, such as thinking should be explained through behavioral terms (or eliminated
altogether).

There is little difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that in other animals:

There’s no fundamental (qualitative) distinction between human and animal behavior. Therefore, research
can be carried out on animals and humans.

The underlying assumption is that to some degree the laws of behavior are the same for all species and that
therefore knowledge gained by studying rats, dogs, cats and other animals can be generalized to humans.

Consequently, rats and pigeons became the primary data source for behaviorists, as their environments could
be easily controlled.

Questions:

1. What is the theory of behaviorism?

2. What is behaviorism? Cite an example?

An example of behaviorism is using systematic desensitization in the treatment of phobias. The individual
with the phobia is taught relaxation techniques and then makes a hierarchy of fear from the least frightening
to the most frightening features of the phobic object.

He then is presented with the stimuli in that order and learns to associate (classical conditioning) the stimuli
with a relaxation response. This is counter-conditioning.

3. How is behaviorism used in the classroom?

4. State the similarities and differences of Behaviorist perspectives.

5. State the implications of behaviorist perspectives to classroom management.

6. Give situations by which behaviorism is applied in the classroom.

7. Cite implications of behaviorist perspectives in designing learner centered instruction.