CONTRIBUTORS

• John B. Watson

• Ivan Pavlov

• B.F. Skinner

• E. L. Thorndike

• Albert Bandura

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KEY CONCEPTS

Behaviorism is a worldview that assumes a learner is essentially passive, responding to environmental stimuli. The learner starts off as a clean slate (i.e. tabula rasa) and behavior is shaped through positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement. Both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement increase the probability that the antecedent behavior will happen again. In contrast, punishment (both positive and negative) decreases the likelihood that the antecedent behavior will happen again. Positive indicates the application of a stimulus; Negative indicates the withholding of a stimulus. Learning is therefore defined as a change in behavior in the learner. Lots of (early) behaviorist work was done with animals (e.g. Pavlov’s dogs) and generalized to humans.

 

Behaviorism precedes the cognitive worldview. It rejects structuralism and is an extension of Logical Positivism.

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RADICAL BEHAVIORISM

Developed by BF Skinner, Radical Behaviorism describes a particular school that emerged during the reign of behaviorism. It is distinct from other schools of behaviorism, with major differences in the acceptance of mediating structures, the role of emotions, etc.

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Behaviorism outlined

Behaviorism historically consists of two central components operand and classical 

conditioning. Operand conditioning – upon which most modern behaviorism is based – is defined as the shaping of future acts based on past rewards or punishments, and is largely the context that behavioral psychology places behavior in.

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While a fairly simple concept, there is more to this than meets the eye. For example, positive punishment refers to the addition of negative consequences to behavior (e.g. a child has to clean up their room for making it messy), while negative punishment refers to the removal of consequences in response to behavior (e.g. the child doesn’t get any pocket money for making their room messy).

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There is also negative reinforcement, and positive reinforcement. The latter, positive reinforcement, is what we would traditionally think of as a reward – something positive is gained from an action. Negative reinforcement refers to the aversion of something negative through actions (e.g. putting on sunscreen to avoid getting burnt).

Negative reinforcement can be split further into escape, and active avoidance. Escape refers to actions that get away from a negative stimulus, while active avoidance is preventative of encountering such a stimulus.

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Behaviorism Pros and Cons

 

Behaviorism Pros

• Observable behaviors, so it is easier to quantify and collect data and information.

• Behaviorism contains effective therapeutic techniques such as intensive behavioral intervention, behavior analysis, token economies and discrete trial training.

 

Behaviorism Cons

• Many critics argue that behaviorism is a one-dimensional approach to understanding human behavior and that behavioral theories do not account for free will and internal influences such as moods, thoughts and feelings.

• Behaviorism does not account for other types of learning, especially learning that occurs without the use of reinforcement and punishment.

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Activity 1 : Behaviorism Example

Example 1

After the completion of the Thinking Skills training course, a test will be distributed to the trainees (Stimulus)

those who pass the test by 95% will win a free course (positive reinforcement).
Those who receive less than 75% attend the training course again (negative reinforcement)

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Example 2

for the Behavioral theory to improve the environment of the workplace.
"The Secret Friend" Game
Is a game to change the behavior of employees in the work environment towards each other and spread love and appreciation among them. It continues for a week in which a secret friend of each person in the work (Stimulus) is appointed by the director of the game and this person have to bring a gift to his secret friend (positive reinforcement) but without telling him from whom it is writing on it "a gift from your secret friend". The person, who found the gift on his desk will be happy and cheerful (positive reinforcement), will seek to find this friend among all employees and that will make him communicate and interact with the rest of the staff (positive behavior) and will also buy a gift to his friend to repeat the positive action among employees (spreading positive behavior).

The employees who are late in buying their friends' gifts look at the employees who brought them the gift, they will be ashamed. then they will automatically buy the gifts to their friends (negative reinforcement).
At the end of the week, the best gift (positive reinforcement) will be announced and the best friend will be given the best gift.

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Example 3

The employees will be told that those who come early to work will receive a complimentary breakfast (Stimulus).
The employees will come early to get breakfast (response).
When the employees actually come early they get a breakfast meal of their choice (positive reinforcement).
The employees who are late will pay for the breakfast (negative reinforcement).
 

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REFERENCES

1. Skinner, B. F. (2011). About behaviorism. Vintage.

2. Watson, J. B. (2013). Behaviorism. Read Books Ltd.

3. Pavlov, I. P., & Anrep, G. V. (2003). Conditioned reflexes. Courier Corporation.

4. Ohman, A., Fredrikson, M., Hugdahl, K., & Rimmo, P. A. (1976). The premise of equipotentiality in human classical conditioning: Conditioned electrodermal responses to potentially phobic stimuli. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 103, 313-337.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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