FACILITATING LEARNING

MODULE 11 NEO BEHAVIORISM : TOLMAN AND BANDURA

Neo-behaviorism the prediction and control of human behavior in which introspection

and /or independent thinking plat no essential part of its teaching method.

EDWARD TOLMAN’S PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM

*It has been referred to as SIGN LEARNING THEORY (Sign-Gestalt, Sign – Significance,
Expectancy Theory) and is often seen as a link between behaviorism and cognitive theory.
*Tolman believed that leaning is a cognitive process. Learning involves forming beliefs and obtaining
knowledge from the environment and then revealing that knowledge through purposeful and goal –
directed behavior.
* An organism learns by pursuing signs to a goal i.e., learning is acquired through meaningful
behavior.

TOLMAN’S KEY CONCEPTS

1. Learning is always purposive and goal- directed

2. Cognitive maps in rats
3. Latent Learning
4. The concept of Intervening variable
5. Reinforcement not essential for learning

SIX KINDS OF LEARNING

1. The Formation of Cathexis – from Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of motivation. For Tolman,
there is a tendency to seek certain goals when experiencing a desire.
2. Equivalence Beliefs - similar to Skinner’s conditioned reinforcers. These are not merely
beliefs which are to be followed by rewards or punishments, but cognitions that the situation
itself is equivalent to the reward or punishment.
3. Field Expectancies - cognitions about what the world is about. This is developed through
experience with the object world.
4. Field Cognition Molds – ways of learning, biases toward learning certain things more readily
that others, which are innate but to some extent learned.
5. Drive Discrimination – the ability to distinguish among different drives
6. Motor Patterns – the muscular skills by which one actually reaches a goals

BEHAVIOR AS GOAL DIRECTED ACTIONS

a. Behavior is goal – directed

b. Behavior frequently makes use of environmental props or supports as means-end readiness
c. Behavior is molar; therefore it is docile.
d. Principle of least effort

ALBERT BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

*Social Learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs with in a social context.
* Humans are flexible and capable of learning a multitude of attitudes, skills, and behaviors and that a
good bit of those learnings are a result of vicarious experiences.
* People can do learn from direct experience, much of what they learn is acquired through observing
others.
*Bandura(1986) stated that “if knowledge could be acquired only through the effects of one’s own
actions, the process of cognitive and social development would be greatly retarded, not to mention
exceedingly tedious”.

General Principles of Social Learning Theory

1) People can learn by observing
2) Learning can occur without a change
3) Cognition plays a role in learning
4) Bridge or a transition between behaviorist learning theories and cognitive learning theories

Main concepts in Social Learning Theory

1) Modeling – is the heart of observational learning
a. Live Model – actual person demonstrating the behavior
b. Symbolic Model – can be a person or action portrayed in other medium, such as
television, videotape, computer programs.
c. Verbal Instructional Model involves descriptions and explanations of behavior
Conditions necessary for effective modeling to occur
I. ATTENTION
II. RETENTION
III. MOTOR REPRODUCTION
IV. MOTIVATION
Effects of modeling on behavior
I. modeling teaches NEW behaviors
II. modeling increases the FREQUENCY of the previous learned behaviors
III. modeling may ENCOURAGE previous FORBIDDEN behavior
IV. modeling increases the FREQUENCY of SIMILAR behavior.
Principles that affects modeling
1. people most likely to model high status people
2. people who lack skill, power, or status are most likely to model
3. people tend to model behavior that they see as being rewarding to the model.

2) Observation – allows people to learn without performing any behavior.

Bandura(1986) believes that observational learning is much more efficient than
learning through direct experience.

3) Imitation – an act of reciprocating observed behavior.

Effects of Imitation
I. Modeling Effect – when an observer acquires a new response as a result of
seeing a model emit that response.
II. Inhibitory or disinhibitory Effect – the inhibitory effect is the suppression of a
deviant behavior in an observer as a result of seeing a model being punished for
engaging in the same behavior
III. Eliciting Effect – the emission of responses that do not precisely match those of
the model, but are related to the model’s response and belongs to the same
class of behavior.