Behavioral Learning Theories

BEHAVIORISM
 A theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired
through conditioning.
 All learning occurs through interaction with the environment.

Classical Conditioning
IVAN PAVLOV
 Russian physiologist
 won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1904
 24th most cited psychologist of the 20th century

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
 A learning process that occurs through associations between an
environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus.

UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS
 One that unconditionally, naturally, and automatically triggers a response.

UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE
 Is the unlearned response that occurs naturally in response to the
unconditioned stimulus.

CONDITIONED STIMULUS
 Previously neutral stimulus that, through conditioning, evokes conditioned
response.

CONDITIONED RESPONSE
 Learned reaction to conditioned stimulus that occurs because of previous
conditioning.
 FIVE KEY PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
ACQUISITION
 the initial stage of learning when a response is first established and
gradually strengthened.
EXTINCTION
 when the occurrences of a conditioned response decreases or disappears.

SPONTANEOUS RECOVERY
 the reappearance of the conditioned response after a rest period or period
of lessened response.

STIMULUS GENERALIZATION
 the tendency for the conditioned stimulus to evoke similar responses after
the response has been conditioned.

STIMULUS DISCRIMINATION
 Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between a conditioned
stimulus and other stimuli that have not been paired with an
unconditioned stimulus.

Classical Conditioning Examples

Classical Conditioning of a Fear Response
 One of the most famous examples of classical conditioning was John B.
Watson's experiment in which a fear response was conditioned in a boy
known as Little Albert.

Taste Aversion
 A conditioned response in which a person/animal establishes an
association between a particular food and being/feeling ill after having it in
the past.
 CONNECTIONISM THEORY
EDWARD THORNDIKE
 He was a psychologist who first proposed that connectionism is the key to
learning.
 The first person to bring together what psychologists had studied about
how human mind works and what educators knew about how to teach.

THORNDIKE’S CONNECTIONISM THEORY

 The learning theory of Thorndike represents the original S-R framework of
behavioral psychology: Learning is the result of associations, forming
between stimuli and responses.

THREE PRIMARY LAWS OF LEARNING

 LAW OF READINESS
- Learning takes place when an action tendency is aroused through
preparatory adjustment, set or attitude.
 LAW OF EXERCISE
- Learning to drive a motorcar, typewriting, singing, or memorizing a
poem or a mathematical table, and music etc. need exercise and
repetition of various movements and actions many times.
 LAW OF EFFECT
- If the response satisfies the subject, they are learnt and selected,
while those which are not satisfying are eliminated.

SECONDARY LAWS OF LEARNING

 LAW OF PRIMACY
- Primacy, the state of being first, often creates a strong, almost
unshakable, impression.
 LAW OF INTENSITY
- The more intense the material taught, the more likely it will be
retained. A sharp, clear, vivid, dramatic, or exciting learning experience
teaches more than a routine or boring experience.
 LAW OF RECENCY
- The principle of recency states that things most recently learned are
best remembered.

Principle of Associative shifting

 According to this law we may get a response, of which a learner is
capable, associated with any other situation to which he is sensitive.

Generalization
 implies that not only skills should be taught in one isolated topic, but also
that other related subjects or topics should provide opportunities for the
students to apply them.
 Operant Conditioning
BURRHUS FREDERIC SKINNER
 Born in Pennsylvania in 1904, psychologist B. F. Skinner began working on
ideas of human behavior after earning his doctorate from Harvard.
 Skinner's works include The Behavior of Organisms (1938) and a novel
based on his theories Walden Two (1948).
 He explored behaviorism in relation to society in later books, including
Beyond Freedom and Human Dignity (1971). Skinner died in
Massachusetts in 1990.

OPERANT CONDITIONING
 It is the type of learning whereby learning occurs as a consequence of the
learner’s behavior.

REINFORCEMENT VS PUNISHMENT

Reinforcement Punishment
 It is defined as something that  It does not necessarily
strengthens the behaviors or is eliminate the behavior; when
sometimes called as response the threat of punishment is
strengthener (Schultz, 2006). removed, the punished
response may recur (Merrett &
Wheldall, 1984).

Reinforcement Punishment
(increasing the (decreasing the
behavior) behavior)
Positive (adding) Adding something to Adding something to
increase the behavior decrease the behavior
Negative Subtracting something Subtracting something
(subtracting) to increase the behavior to decrease the behavior

ALTERNATIVES TO PUNISHMENT
A. Change the discriminative stimuli. Move misbehaving student away
from other misbehaving students.
B. Allow the unwanted behavior to continue. Have student who stands
when he or she should be sitting continue to stand.
C. Extinguish the unwanted behavior. Ignore minor misbehavior so that it
is not reinforced by teacher attention.
 D. Condition an incompatible behavior. Reinforce learning progress,
which occurs only when a student is not misbehaving.

SCHEDULE OF REINFORCEMENTS
1. CONTINUOUS SCHEDULE
- Reinforcement is given every time the animal gives the desired
response.
2. INTERMITTENT SCHEDULE
- Reinforcement is given irregularly as the animal gives the desired
response.
3. RATIO SCHEDULE
- Reinforcement is given depending on the number of correct responses
or the rate of responding.

Neo- behaviorism
 It is a behavior that cannot be fully understood simply in terms of
observable stimuli and reactions. Neo-behaviorism introduces mediating
variables into the behaviorist stimulus-response scheme.

TOLMAN’S PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM

 Also referred to as Sign Learning Theory.
 All behavior is directed because of a purpose
 All behaviors are focused on achieving some goals by cognition---an
intervening variable

Tolman’s Key Concepts

 LEARNING IS ALWAYS PURPOSIVE AND GOAL-DIRECTED
- Individuals do more than merely respond to stimuli; they act on beliefs,
attitudes, changing conditions, and they strive towards their goal.

COGNITIVE MAPS
 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.

LATENT LEARNING
 A form of learning that occurs without any visible reinforcement of the
behavior or associations that are learned.

THE CONCEPT OF INTERVENING VARIABLE

 Variables that are not readily seen but serves as determinants of behavior.

Tolman’s Other Salient Principles

 Behavior is always purposive
 Behavior is cognitive
 Reinforcement establishes and confirms expectancies
BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
 Also called the social-cognitive theory
 People learn from one another, including such concepts as observational
learning, imitation and modeling.
 Modeling – refers to a change in one’s behavior by observing models

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

 One may learn without changing his or her behavior.
 Learning takes place by imitating a model
 An observing person will always react to the one being imitated depending
on whether the model is rewarded or punished
 Acquiring and performing behavior are different.
 Interaction is vital for successful social learning
 Learning is self-regulated
 Learning may be acquired vicariously
 Learning may be reinforced by the model or by others

Components of Successful Modeling

1. ATTENTION
 to meaningfully perceive relevant behaviors, one should pay attention.
At any given moment, one can attend to many activities.
2. RETENTION
 Paying attention to something should result in retention that requires
cognitively organizing, rehearsing, coding, and transforming modelled
information for storage in memory.
3. PRODUCTION
 to strengthen learning through observation, one needs to translate the
visual and symbolic conceptions into observable behavior.
4. MOTIVATION
 is a critical process of observational learning that teachers promote in
various ways, including making learning interesting, relating material
to student interests, having students sets goals and monitor goal
progress, providing feedback indicating increasing competence, and
stressing the value of learning.