Facilitating Learner-Centered Teaching

Module 7 - Behaviorism Perspective

After completing this module, you will be able to:

1. explain the basic principles of behaviorism;

2. make a simple plan applying the primary laws of learning;
3. determine how to use rewards in the learning process more effectively.

Give your idea about the quotation below:

“Give me a child, and I will shape him into anything.”

- B.F. Skinner

Behaviorism

The theory of behaviorism focuses on the study of observable and measurable

behavior. It emphasizes that behavior is mostly learned through conditioning and
reinforcement (rewards and punishment). It does not give much attention to the mind
and the possibility of thought processes occurring in the mind. Contributions in the
development of the behaviorist theory largely came from Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike
and Skinner.

Pavlovian Conditioning Theory

In the parlance of psychology, behaviorism is concerned with the behavioral

changes and the role of the environment in these changes. Behaviorism claims that
nurture is crucial in the process of acquiring knowledge (Dastpak et, al. 2017). One
known behaviorist is John B. Watson (1982), who writes that the ultimate goal of
behaviorism is to derive laws to explain the relationships existing among antecedent
conditions (stimuli), behavior (responses), and following conditions (rewards,
punishments, or neutral effects). The theory of behaviorism may be dichotomized into
association and reinforcement.

The name Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) rings a bell within the context of the
association theory in behaviorism. Pavlov was a Russian physiologist , who, out of
serendipity, discovered classical conditioning. In 1904, he won the Nobel Prize for his
outstanding studies on the physiology of digestion. He spent the rest of his life studying
reflexes of dogs, which led him to the discovery of classical conditioning, also known
as association theory.

Still recognized as a essential parcel of contemporary psychological knowledge

and classical conditioning has become the basis for many early learning theories. In his
discovery, Pavlov found out that the sight of food does not only trigger the salivation of

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dog, but any stimulus may result to such effect if paired with the food (Le Francois,
2000). In another version, the salivation of the dog is influenced by associating the steps
of the attendant with the food (Schunk, 2012)

Pavlovian Conditioning in a Nutshell

The theory of Pavlovian conditioning involves a set of multilayered procedures.

Initially, the food is called the unconditioned stimulus (UCS). In psychology, any
environmental event that affects the organism is called stimulus. The food is an
unconditioned stimulus to an unconditioned response (UCR), without any learning
takes place. The immediate salivation of dog is referred to as the UCR. The UCS and UCR
are considered unlearned stimulus-response units termed as reflexes.

Conditioning the dog requires recurrent presentation of a neutral stimulus with

the UCS. For instance, the buzzer was sounded repeatedly but caused no dog’s salivation
at all. However, when the buzzer came with the food, the dog salivated. Later, by just
hearing the buzzer, the dog salivated. The buzzer is now called a conditioned stimulus
(CS) that elicited the salivation of the dog, now termed as a conditioned response (CR).

Figure 1. An illustration of Pavlovian Conditioning Theory

When applied in the classroom, the use of the pointer or stick to whip unruly
learners in class may affect other pupils. They may associate the stick with whipping,
thus triggering fear. Later, merely hearing or seeing a stick in class may elicit fear among
them. This is why expert educators are advised to use their palm to pointing words on
the chalkboard.

Pavlov also had the following 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.

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Spontaneous Recovery. Extinguished responses can be “recovered” after an

elapsed time, but will soon extinguish again if the dog is not presented with food.

Discrimination. The dog could learn to discriminate between similar bells

(stimuli) ans 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 the food, another unconditioned stimulus, such as a light may be flashed at
the same time the bell is rung. Eventually, the dog will salivate at the flash of the light
without the sound of the bell.

Thorndike’s Connectionism Theory

Edward Lee Thorndike’s Connectionism Theory gave us the original S-R

Framework of behavioral psychology. More than a hundred years ago he wrote a text
book entitled, Educational Psychology. He was the first one to use this term. He
explained that learning is a result of association forming between stimuli (S) and
response. Such associations or “habits” become strengthened or weakened by the nature
and frequency of the S-R pairings. The model for S-R theory was trial and error learning
in which certain responses came to be repeated more than others because of rewards.
The main principle of connectionism was that learning could be adequately explain
without considering any unobservable internal states.

Thorndike’s theory on connectionism states that learning has taken place

when a strong connection or bond between stimulus and response is formed. He
came up with the three (3) primary laws of learning:

1. Law of Effect. The law of effect states that a connection between a

stimulus and response is strengthened when the consequence is positive (reward) and
the connection between the stimulus and response is weakened when the consequence
is negative. Thorndike later on, revised this “law” when he found out that negative
rewards (punishment) do not necessarily weaken bonds, and that seemingly pleasurable
consequences do not necessarily motivate performance.

2. Law of Exercise. This tells us that the more as S-R bond is practiced the
stronger it will become. “Practice makes perfect” seem to be associated with this law.
However, like the law of effect, the law of exercise also had to be revised when Thorndike
found out that, practice without feedback does not necessarily enhance performance.

3. Law of Readiness. This states that the more ready is the learner has to
respond to the stimulus, the stronger will be the bond between them. When a person is
not ready to respond to stimulus and is not made to respond, it becomes annoying to
the person.

Principles derived from Thorndike’s Connectionism:

1. Learning requires both practice and rewards (law of effect/exerise)

2. A series of S-R connections can be chained together if they belong to the same
action sequence (law of readiness)
3. Intelligence is a function of the number of connections learned.

John Watson

John B. Watson was the first American psychologist to work with Pavlov ideas.
He too was initially involved in animal studies, then later became involved in human
behavior research.

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He considered that human are born with a few reflexes and the emotional
reactions of love and rage. All other behavior is learned through stimulus-
response associations through conditioning. He believed in the power of
conditioning so much that he said he is given a dozen of healthy infants he can
make them into anything you want to be, basically through making stimulus-
response connections through conditioning.

Experiment on Albert. Watson applied classical conditioning in his

experiment concerning Albert, a young child and a white rat. In the beginning,
Albert was not afraid of the rat, but Watson made a sudden loud noise each time
Albert touched the rat. Because Albert was frightened by the loud noise, he soon
became conditioned to fear and avoid the rat. Later, the child’s response was
generalized to other small animals. Now, he was also afraid of small animals.
Watson then “extinguished” or made the child “unlearn” fear by showing the rat
without the loud noise.

Burrhus Frederick Skinner

Like Pavlov, Watson and Thorndike, Skinner believed in the stimulus-response

pattern of conditioned behavior. His theory zeroed in only on changes in observable
behavior, excluding any likelihood of any processes taking place in the mind.

Skinner’s work differs from that of the three behaviorists before him, in that he
studied operant behavior (voluntary behaviors used in operating in the environment).
Thus, his theory came to be known as Operant Conditioning.

Operant Conditioning is based upon the notion that learning is a result of

change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result on an individual’s response
to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. A response produces a consequence
such as defining a word, hitting a ball, or solving a Math problem. When a particular
Stimulus-Response (S-R) pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is conditioned
to respond.

Reinforcement - is the key element in Skinner’s S-R theory. A reinforcer is

anything that strengthens the desired response. There is a positive reinforcer and a
negative reinforcer.

Positive reinforcer - is any stimulus that is given or added to increase the

response. For instance, a teacher promise an extra time in the play area to children who
behave well in the lesson, and another, when a mother promises a new cellphone for her
son who gets good grades.

Negative reinforcer - is any stimulus that results in the increased frequency of

a response when it is withdrawn or removed. Negative reinforcer is not a punishment, in
fact it is a reward. For example, a teacher announces that a student who gets an average
grade of 1.5 for the midterm will no longer take the final exam. The negative reinforcer
is removing the final exam, which we realize is a form of reward for working hard and
getting the grade of 1.5.

Implications of Operant Conditioning

1. Practice should take the form of question (stimulus) - answer (response)

frames which expose the learner to the subject in gradual steps.

2. Require that the learner makes a response for every frame and receives
immediate feedback.

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3. Try to arrange the difficulty of the questions so the response is always

correct and hence, a positive reinforcement.

4. Ensure that good performance in the lesson is paired with secondary

reinforcers such as verbal praise, prizes and good grades.

Principles Derived from Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

1. Behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur;

intermittent
reinforcement is particularly effective

2. Information should be presented in small amounts so that responses can

be reinforced (shaping).

3. Reinforcement will generalize across similar stimuli (stimulus

generalization) producing secondary conditioning.

1. Write 5 activities or stimulus which can be considered as positive

reinforcement in enhancing learners academic performance in the class.

2. Give only one (1) classroom activity that you would apply for each of the
following primary laws of learning:
Primary Laws of Learning How I will apply the Primary Law in the classroom?
1. Law of Readiness

2. Law of Effect

3. Law of Exercise

____________

A. In your own words, explain the following principles of the following

behavioral theories:
1. Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
2. Thorndike’s Connectionism Theory
3. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

B. Explain how to use rewards in the learning process effectively.

After completing this module, I realized that:

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References:

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 Facilitating Learner-Centered Teaching

Brawner, Dalisay G. & Leus, Marcela J. (2018) Facilitating Learner-Centered

Teaching: Manila, Philippines: Adriana Publishing Co., Inc.

Bulusan, F., Raquepo, M., Balmeo, Marilyn., & Gutierrez J. (2019) Facilitating
Learner-Centered Teaching: Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store, Inc.

Lucas, MR.D., Corpuz, B.B. (2014) Facilatating Learning: A Metacognitve Process:

Manila, Philippines: Lorimar Publishing, Inc.

Online:

https://www.google.com/search?q=illustration+of+pavlov%27s+conditioning+th
eory&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=CkGt6bMJRZJQMM%252CEGwX53AARx3qM
%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_kRMLQ7bznEz2skPfkYtc9SMYABmdg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEw
i1uaWpl_ftAhWCwosBHSTRBwMQ9QF6BAgJEAE#imgrc=CkGt6bMJRZJQMM

Prepared by: Noted by: Approval Recommended: Approved:

RAYMUNDO B. SALISI, MAEd CELSO R. REGALIA, PhD RICHARD R. BERMUNDO, MAEngEd EMERITA R. RELLEVE, PhD

College Instructor College Dean Director for Administration College Administrator

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