Behaviorist

Perspective
-Focuses on the study of observable and measurable behavior
-Emphasizes that behavior is mostly learned through conditioning and reinforcement (rewards and
punishment)
-Does not give much attention to the mind and the possibility of thought processes occurring in the
mind
Behaviorism

Classical Operant
Connectionism
Conditioning Conditioning
(Thorndike)
(Pavlov/ Watson) (Skinner)

Primary Laws: Law of Effect, Law of Reinforcement,

Exercise, Law of Readiness Law of Behavior
IVAN PAVLOV: Classical Conditioning

Stage 1: Before Conditioning

Bell
No response
(Unconditioned Stimulus)

Stage 2: During Conditioning

Bell Meat Salivation
(Neutral Stimulus) (Unconditioned Stimulus) (Unconditioned Response)

Stage 3: After Conditioning

Bell Salivation
(Conditioned Stimulus) (Conditioned Response)
IVAN PAVLOV: Other Findings

Stimulus Generalization. Once the dog has learned to salivate at the sound of the bell, it will salivate
at other similar sounds.

Extinction. If you stop pairing the bell with the food, salivation will eventually cease in response to the
bell.

Spontaneous Recovery. Extinguished responses can be recovered after an elapsed time, but will
soon extinguish again if the dog is not presented with the food.

Discrimination. The dog could learn to discriminate between similar bells and discern which bell would
result in the presentation of food and which would not.

Higher-Order Conditioning. Once the dog has been conditioned to associate the bell with food,
another unconditioned stimulus, such as light may be flashed at the same time that the bell is rung.
Eventually the dog will salivate at the flash of the light without the sound of the bell.
EDWARD L. THORNDIKE: Connectionism Theory
Learning is the result of the associations formed
Stimulus Response between the stimulus and response. Such
associations or “habits” become strengthened or
weakened by the nature and frequency of the S-R
pairings.
Connectionism Theory stated
that learning has taken place
when a strong connection or
bond between stimulus and
response if formed.
EDWARD L. THORNDIKE: Three Primary Laws

1. Law of Effect. A connection between S-R is strengthened when the consequence is

positive (reward) and this connection weakens when the consequence is negative.
He found that negative reward does not necessarily weakened bonds, and some rewards do not
necessarily motivate performance.

2. Law of Exercise. The more S-R bond is practiced, the stronger it will become. “Practice
makes perfect”.
He found that practice without feedback does not necessarily enhance performance.

3. Law of Readiness. The more readiness the learner has to respond to the stimulus, the
stronger will be the bond between them.
EDWARD L. THORNDIKE: Principles Derived from Connectionism

1. Learning requires both practice and reward (Laws of Effect/ Exercise).

2. A series of S-R connections can be chained together if they belong to the same action
sequence (Law of Readiness).

3. Transfer of learning occurs because of previously encountered situations.

4. Intelligence is a function of the number of connections learned.

JOHN B. WATSON: Role of Conditioning in the Development of Emotional Responses to Certain
Stimuli
BURRHUS FREDERICK SKINNER: Operant Conditioning

Learning is a result of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior is a result of an individual’s

response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. When a particular S-R pattern is reinforced
(rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond.

Reinforcement. Key element in Skinner’s S-R Theory. A reinforcer is anything that strengthen the
desired response.

Positive Reinforcer. Any stimulus that is given
or added to increase the response.
Example: Mother promises a new cell phone
for her son who get good grades.
Punishment. Is a consequence intended to
result in reduced responses.
Example: A student who comes in late cannot
join the group activity, thus loses points.
Negative Reinforcer. Any stimulus that results in
the increased frequency of a response when it is
withdrawn or removed. It is not a punishment but
a reward.
Example: A student gets an average of 1.5 is
exempted from taking the final exam.
Extinction or Non-reinforcement. Responses
that are not likely reinforced or repeated.
BURRHUS FREDERICK SKINNER: Operant Conditioning

Shaping of Behavior. To shape a behavior, we have to give reward after accomplishing the behavior through
successive approximations.
Behavioral Chaining. Come about when a series of steps are needed to be learned.

Reinforcement Schedules. Once the desired behavioral response is accomplished, reinforcement does not
have to be 100%; it can b maintained more successfully through what he referred to as partial reinforcement
schedules. Two types are: interval and ratio schedules.

Fixed Interval. The target response is Example: The bird in a cage is given food
reinforced after a fixed amount of time has (reinforcer) every 10 mins., regardless of how
passed since the last reinforcement. many times it presses the bar.

Variable Interval. Similar to fixed interval but the Example: The bird may receive food (reinforcer)
amount of time that must have pass between at different intervals, not every 10 mins.
reinforcement varies.
BURRHUS FREDERICK SKINNER: Operant Conditioning
Fixed Ratio. A fixed number of correct responses
must occur before reinforcement may occur.
Variable Ratio. The number of correct
repetitions of the correct response for
reinforcement varies
Example: The bird will be given food (reinforcer)
everytime it presses the bar 5 times.
Example: The bird is given food (reinforcer) after
it presses the bar 3 times, then after 10 mins.,
then after 4 times. So the bird will not be able to
predict how many times it needs to press the
bar before it gets food again.
Implications of Operant Conditioning Principles Derived from Operant Conditioning

1 Practice should take the form of question (S)

- answer (R) frames which expose the 1 Behavior that is positively reinforced will
reoccur; intermittent reinforcement is
students to the subject in gradual step. particularly effective.

2 Require that the learner makes a response

for every frame receives immediate 2 Information should be presented in small
amounts so that responses can be
feedback. reinforced (shaping).

3 Try to arrange the difficulty of the questions

so the response is always correct and 3 Reinforcements will generalize across
similar stimuli (stimulus generalization)
hence, a positive reinforcement. producing secondary conditioning.

4 Ensure that good performance in the lesson

is paired with secondary reinforcers such as
verbal praise, prizes and good grades.