WHAT IS BEHAVIORISM?

 Behaviorism is a theory of learning based on the idea

that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning,
and conditioning occurs through interaction with the
environment. Behaviorists believe that our actions are
shaped by environmental stimuli.
History of Behaviorism

 Behaviorism was formally established with the 1913

publication of John B. Watson's classic paper,
"Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It. It is best
summed up by the following quote from Watson,
who is often considered the father of behaviorism
 “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own
special world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any
one at random and train him to become any type of specialist
I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes,
beggarman and thief.”– John B. Watson, Behaviorism
 Three important concepts of
behaviourism
Classical conditioning

 A type of learning that happens

unconsciously. When you learn through
classical conditioning, an automatic
conditioned response is paired with a specific
stimulus. This creates a behavior.
Operant conditioning

 Is a learning process that involves either

reinforcing or punishing a behavior. Reinforcement
makes it more likely that the behavior will occur
again in the future, where punishment makes it
less likely that the behavior will be repeated.
 OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

 Observational learning or
modelling is a process in
which learning occurs
through observing the
behaviors of others and
then imitating those
behaviors.
Behaviorist teaching strategies.

 Drills. Teachers may practice skills using drill patterns to help students see the
repetition and reinforcement that behavioral learning theory uses.
 Question and answer. Teachers can use a question as a stimulus and answer as a
response, gradually getting harder with questions to help students.
 Guided practice. Teachers can be directly involved in helping students go through
problems to give them the reinforcement and behavior demonstration you want
them to follow.
 Regular review. Reviews are important to behavioral learning theory. Going back
over material and giving positive reinforcement will help students retain information
much better.
 Positive reinforcement. Behaviorist classrooms utilize positive reinforcement
regularly. This can be in the form of verbal reinforcement and praise, reward
systems, added privileges, and more. 
How does behaviourism influence
education?

 If teachers provide positive

reinforcement, or rewards
whenever students perform a
desired behaviour, they will learn
to perform the behaviour on their
own.
 Conclusion
 Although behaviourism does show us how we respond to things through
association, it still has many flaws. Behaviourism is scientifically sound in its
approach because of its emphasis on an experimental investigation of observable
behaviours. Classical conditioning explains why we react to the world through
stimulus and response whereas operant conditioning reminds us that
reinforcement is also important in learning behaviours.