Behaviorism is a theory of learning that believes all behaviors are acquired through conditioning by the environment, not innate or based on internal mental states. According to behaviorism, learning is achieved through rewarding correct responses and reinforcing behaviors. In education, this led to an emphasis on direct instruction to achieve rigidly defined objectives, rote memorization, repetition of skills, and adherence to procedures over understanding or situated learning. Critics argue this behaviorist approach promoted a teacher-centered model of instruction that dominated 20th century classrooms.

1. PROPONENT:
MARILYN M. POMOY
Master Of Arts In Mathematics Education

2. RATIONALE
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:

3. "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and
my own specified 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, even
beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents,
penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race
of his ancestors."

4. WHAT IS
BEHAVIORISM?
Behaviorism is a theory of learning base 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.

5. According to this school of thought, also known as
behavioral psychology, behavior can be studied in a
systematic and observable manner regardless of internal
mental states. Behavioral theory also says that only
observable behavior should be studied,
as cognition, emotions, and mood are far too subjective.

6. Strict behaviorists believe that any person—
regardless of genetic background, personality
traits, and internal thoughts— can be trained
to perform any task, within the limits of their
physical capabilities. It only requires the right
conditioning.

7. Simply put, strict behaviorists believe that all
behaviors are the result of experience. Any
person, regardless of their background, can be
trained to act in a particular manner given
the right conditioning.

9. According to behaviorism focuses on the manipulation of
external conditions to the learner to modify behaviours that
eventually lead to learning. In a behaviorist oriented
environment completion of tasks is seen as ideal learning
behavior and mastering basic skills require students to
move from basic tasks to more advanced tasks. In addition,
learning is considered a function of rewarding and
reinforcing student learning. Likewise, the emphasis is on
correct answers rather than of partially correct answers
(Elliot, Kratochwill, & Travers, 1996). Inspired by linear
programming theories developed particularly during the
Second World War, learning and teaching in behaviorist
terms is a matter of optimizing and manipulating the
instructional environment towards the fulfilment of rigidly
and specifically designed educational objectives.

10. In addition, behaviourists saw the student’s affective
domain as different from the cognitive domain. The
Bloom Taxonomy, for example, classifies educational
objectives in cognitive, affective and psychomotor
domains (Krathwohl, Bloom, & Masia, 1964). They
categorized emotions “as imaginary constructs” that are
causes of behavior (McLeod, 1992). Consequently,
behaviorists assume that certain emotions and attitudes
can influence behavior, although, in general, affective
issues are neglected (McLeod, 1992). Teachers’ and
students’ minds were seen as “black-boxes” or machines
(Shavelson & Stern, 1981) in which attitudes and
behaviour occur somehow or even are not relevant
(Nespor, 1987).

11. It has been said that behaviorism emphasizes a process-
product and teacher-centredness model of instructions
that have been prevalent in classroom teaching and in
teacher education programs in the twentieth century
(Marland, 1994). A behaviorist teaching style in
mathematics education tends to rely on practices that
emphasize rote learning and memorization of formulas,
one-way to solve problems, and adherence to procedures
and drill. Repetition is seen as one of the greatest means
to skill acquisition. Teaching is therefore a matter of
enunciating objectives and providing the means to reach
those objectives and situated learning is given little value
in instruction (Leder, 1994). This over emphasis on
procedures and formulas resembles traditional formalist
and logicist ideas.