Republic of the Philippines

BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY

City of Malolos, Bulacan
Tel/Fax (044) 79
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Facilitating Learner Centered Teaching

A.

I.Topic

Behaviorist Perspective

II. Introduction

First of all, behaviour is composed of reactions and movements that an organism gives and
does in a certain situation. The term, behaviour is mostly used for actions that can be observed
from outside. Behaviorist learning approach mostly focuses on how behaviours are acquired.
Behaviorist approach claims that learning can develop by means of establishing a connection
between stimulus and behaviour, and that any behaviour can be changed through
reinforcement.

III. Discussion of Topic

 History of Behaviorist Approach

By the early 20th century, the science of psychology has had important turnouts, 20-30
years after Wundt established the first psychology laboratory. Of all these turnouts, the method
of introspection is the leading one. Wundt and his followers thought that the subjects such as
conscious and feelings expected to be studied by psychology, could be studied just by
introspection and they didn’t consider it risky to use introspection as a scientific method.

 Fundamentals of Behaviorist Approach

1. A person’s learning is similar to other living things’ learnings. The same principles are valid
about a person’s learning in the same way a dog learns.

2. Depending on the first principle, behaviorists try to explain human behaviour by means of
the studies carried out with animals.

3. Like John Locke’s understanding of human mind, human is like a blank sheet from birth. The
environment shapes it.

4. Learning can be examined by means of focusing on measurable and observable events such
as physical subjects.

5. Most behaviorists believe that people’s qualities such as feeling, idea, motivation cannot be
observed or measured directly and so they cannot be handled and studied scientifically.

6. Principles of learning are based on the connection between stimulus and reaction.

7. Behaviorists use the term of conditioning rather than learning.

8. Learning is said to take place only when there is a change in one of the observable
behaviours of the organism.
9. Learning can be stated and expressed in a short and brief manner.

 Basic Concepts of Behaviorist Approach

Behaviorist approach came out against concepts that express mental processes such as
mind and conscious. The basic concepts of behaviorist approach are:

1. Conditioning - Behaviorist approach claims that learning takes place through conditioning.
Conditioning occurs in a way that an organism matches a certain stimulus around with a
certain reaction.

2. Organism - Behaviorist approach prefers using a more general term, organism instead of
human or individual. The term, organism included both people and animals.

3. Reaction - Behaviorist psychologists are also called S-R theorists. In this relationship,
reaction is a behaviour displayed by the organism to a stimulus.

4. Stimulus - Stimulus is composed of changes in the internal and external states that move the
organism.

5. Reinforcement and Punishment - Reinforcement is the process of increasing the possibility

of an organism to display behaviour to a certain stimulus once more. Punishment is also
accepted to be in two types. In the first type of punishment, an unpleasant stimulus is added
to the situation in which an organism lives while in the second type of punishment, a
pleasant stimulus is eliminated from the environment.

6. Extinction - “Repetitions that are not reinforced tend to fade away.” Conditioning should be
reinforced at least from time to time in order to continue after it is established.

7. Generalization - Generalization is called an organism’s displaying the same conditioned

reaction to a stimulus similar to the one to which the organism naturally responses.

8. Discrimination - It expresses organism’s ability to differentiate two separate stimula. The

process of discrimination should be processed especially when stimuli are given the same
reactions.

9. Reinforcement ratio - Skinner defined different applications of rewarding an organism

depending on time and behaviour. Carrying out reinforcement with variable and steady
intervals and ratio is called application of reinforcement ratio.

10. Spontaneous return - A forgotten behaviour starts to be displayed again after a certain time.

11. High-level conditioning - Conditioning is associating a stimulus with a reaction. High-level

conditioning occurs when an organism is provided to give reaction to a new stimulus as a
result of associating a different stimulus with the related stimulus.

REFERENCES

1. Arık, İ. A. (1991). Öğrenme psikolojisine giriş. İstanbul: İstanbul University Faculty of Letters.

2. Bacanlı, H. (2012). Eğitim Psikolojisi (18. b.). Ankara: Pegem Akademi Publication.
3. Hergenhahn, B. R. (1982). An introduction to theories of learning. Englewood Cliff s, NJ:
Prentice- Hall.

4. Kazancı, O. (1989). Eğitim Psikolojisi: Kuram ve ilkelerden uygulamaya. Ankara: Kazancı

Publication.

5. Schultz, D. P.,& Schultz, S. E. (2007). Modern psikoloji tarihi. (Translated by: Y. Aslay.) İstanbul:
Kaknüs Publication.

6. Schunk, D. H. (2009). Eğitimsel bir bakışla öğrenme teorileri. (Translated by: M. Şahin) Ankara:
Nobel Publication.

IV. Implication (As A Learner)

Learning have a different kind of absoptions, but on behaviorist perspective, learning is how
behaviour acquired. I realized, learning is not only on school and home, it is everywhere it
depends on us. We have a choice what stimulus should we give a good reaction so, we need to
choose the best or good and right. As an organism(term of human-as learner by behaviorist), I
understand that anything in this world can be learn, but don't avoid the idea of choosing what is
the better.

V. Implication (As A Would Be Educator)

Teachers claim the heaviest role in a classroom, not only for the topics to teach, but also
indicates the behaviour of the students. Observing a bunch of learners are very hard because
they have different ways to acquire learning, so it tends on lack of efficient teaching. As a
teacher someday, I also teach a manners that help my students match in good way their
possible reaction from the stimulus their encountered. It is very important because idea of
learners is like a black box according to the behaviorist, we can measure what comes in and out
but, the inside part is cannot be understood. Afterwards, I hold the belief "teach tge learners on
how is the topic not on what only is the topic".

Prepared by: Salvador, John Lloyd J.

Course/Year/Section: BSED 2- C

B.

Learning Activity

I. Direction: Write T if the statement is True and E if it is False.

_____1. Behaviorist learning perspective mostly focuses on cognitive knowledge.

_____2. Behaviour are fixed through reinforcement.

_____3. Wantd established the first psychology laboratory.

_____4. Bandura and Rotter are included on the group of methodological behaviorist.

_____5. Watson and Skinner are included on the group of methodological behaviorist.

_____6. Organism comprises only on animals and plants.

_____7. Understanding of human mind as like a blank sheet from birth is one of the
fundamentals of behaviorist perspective.

_____8. People's qualities such as feeling, ideas, motivations can be measured and observed.

_____9. Punishment is the process of increasing the possibility of an organism to display

behaviour to a certain stimulus once more.

_____10.Behaviorist psychology are also called S-R Theorists.

II. Direction: Fill in the blank with the corresponding answer.

1. Behaviorist approach claims that learning takes place through ____________________.

2. Behaviorist approach prefers using a more general term, ________________ instead of

human or individuals.

3. _______________ is a behaviour displayed by the organism to a stimulus.

4. On _________________ an unpleasant stimulus can be added and pleasant stimulus can also
eliminated from the environment.

5. ___________________ is called an organism displaying the same conditioned reaction to a

stimulus similar to the one to which the organism naturally responses.

6. The process of ____________________ should be processed especially when stimuli are

given the same reactions.

7. Carrying out reinforcements with variable and steady intervals and ratio is called application
of __________________________.

8. Behaviour fades away when it is not reinforced, but it has also been observed that after a
certain time, a learnt behaviour starts to be displayed again. This is called
________________________.

9. __________________________ expresses organism ability to differentiate two separate

stimula.

10. __________________________ occurs when an organism is provided to give reaction to a

real stimulus as a result of associating a different stimulus with the related stimulus.

Key to Corrections:

I.

1. E

2. E
3. E

4. T

5. E

6. E

7. T

8. E

9. E

10. T

II.

1. Conditioning

2. Organism

3. Reaction

4. Punishment

5. Generalization

6. Discrimination

7. Reinforcement ratio

8. Spontaneous return

9. Discrimination

10. High level conditioning