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1. Behaviorist Views of
Learning

2. •What is Behaviorism?
• An attempt to make psychology more
scientific by studying only external behavior
• Behavior: response of an organism to stimuli; objective &
observable
• The study of how environmental stimuli bring about changes in
people’s behaviors
• Behaviorists ignore what goes on inside our mind since it can’t
be seen or measured
• Mind is a “black box”
•

3. What is Behaviorism?
According to Behaviorists, we are born as:
“blank slates” one’s environment writes on; “vessels” to pour knowledge into
“lumps of clay” that can be shaped by one’s environment
Believed the environment (extrinsic forces) is the only thing that matters
Learning = Behavior change due to experience
Doesn’t consider/believe in intrinsic motivation

4. Consequences for Behaviors
Positive Reinforcement – You behave in a way that results in a reward –
so you are more likely to repeat that behavior
Negative Reinforcement – You behave in a way that results in the
removal of something unpleasant – so you are more likely to repeat that
behavior (ex: doing a paper early)
In both cases, something happened that you saw as “good” and as a result, you
exhibited the behavior more.

5. Consequences for Behaviors
Punishment – Consequence that follows a behavior resulting in you
exhibiting the behavior less often in the future.
Punishment can involve adding something (paying a fine, staying after school)
or removing something you like (losing recess time, leaving your friends)
In both cases, adding something or removing something, you perceive it as
“bad” and as a result, you exhibit the behavior less.

6. Negative Reinforcement & Punishment
Negative reinforcement: Something unpleasant is removed & as a
result you are more likely to do it again
You see this as “good”
Punishment: A consequence happens that you don’t like and you are
less likely to do it again. The punishment can add something or take
something away.
You see this as “bad”

7. Shaping New Behaviors
Process of reinforcing a series of responses that increasingly resemble
the desired final behavior
When desired behavior occurs rarely or not at all, we use shaping
First reinforce any response that in some way resembles the desired behavior,
then one that is closer etc.
Think of animal training or the hyper kid who can’t stay in his seat – do things in
small steps

8. Behaviorism & Education
External rather than Internal Motivation
Focus on Rewards & Punishments
Classroom Management
Incremental View of Learning
Learning broken down into small chunks
Ex: must pass part 1 before beginning part 2
Repetition to strengthen stimulus response bonds – “Drill & Practice” activities
Mastery Learning
Focused on the Individual rather than Social
+

9. Motivation in Behaviorism
External motivation only
Skinner didn’t believe in internal motivation
We do things only for a reward or to avoid punishment
Grades
Praise
Stickers
Money
Social Status

12. Edward Thorndike was the
psychologist who first proposed
connectionism is key to learning.
He was popular in the first half of
century, was the first educational
He was the first person to bring
psychologists had studied about
human mind works and what
educators knew about how to
teach.

14. Connectionism - states that all learning is
the product of creating a
stimulus-response bond.

15. A stimulus is something that causes a
reaction
A response is just a reaction to a
stimulus

16. Connectionis
m is closely
related to the
word
'connect.
STIMULUS –RESPOND
BOND
OR
S-R BOND