Behaviorism
From WikEd
[edit] Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of
According the Miriam-Webster Online Dictionary , Behaviorism is "the school of psychology that takes the objective evidence of behavior (as measured responses to stimuli) as the only concern of its research and the only basis of its theory without reference to conscious experience." Behaviorists then, do not take cognitive psychology into consideration, and they concentrate on the stimulus-response.
The Origins of Behaviorism:John B. Watson
http://www.usu.edu/psycho101/lectures/chp1history/watson.jpg
Behaviorism originated with the work of John B. Watson, an American psychologist. John B. Watson believed that psychological data which did not result from direct observation was useless (Alberto and Troutman, 2003). Watson did not believe in human instinct, thought or emotion. Instead, he concluded that human behavior is strictly shaped by one’s environment. Watson claimed that psychology was not concerned with the mind or with human consciousness. Instead, psychology would be concerned only with behavior. In this way, men could be studied objectively, like rats and apes.
Watson's Inspiration: Pavlov
Watson's work was based on the experiments of Ivan Pavlov, who had studied animals' responses to conditioning. In Pavlov's best-known experiment, he rang a bell as he fed dogs several meals. Each time the dogs heard the bell they knew that a meal was coming, and they would begin to salivate. Pavlov then rang the bell without bringing food, but the dogs still salivated. They had been "conditioned" to salivate at the sound of a bell, and Pavlov deemed this classical conditioning. Pavlov believed, as Watson was later to emphasize, that humans react to stimuli in the same way.
http://www.juliantrubin.com/bigten/bigtenimages/pavlovdog.jpg
Behaviorism Today: B.F. Skinner
http://www.usu.edu/psycho101/lectures/chp1history/skinner.jpg
Behaviorism is associated today with the name of B.F. Skinner, who made his reputation by testing Watson's theories in the laboratory. Skinner's studies led him to reject Watson's almost exclusive emphasis on reflexes and conditioning. People respond to their environment, he argued, but they also operate on the environment to produce certain consequences.Skinner developed the theory of operant conditioning, the idea that we behave the way we do because this kind of behavior has had certain consequences in the past. For example, if your girlfriend gives you a kiss when you give her flowers, you will be likely to give her flowers when you want a kiss. You will be acting in expectation of a certain reward. Like Watson, however, Skinner denied that the mind or feelings play any part in determining behavior. Instead, our experience of reinforcements determines our behavior.
- A demonstration of operant conditioning
Organization and Divisions of Behaviorism
George Graham, a scientist at Stanford University, notes that it has sometimes been said that “behave is what organisms do," thus behaviorism is built on this assumption, and its goal is to promote the scientific study of behavior. He divides the term behaviorism into 3 distinct categories:
1.Methodological behaviorism is a normative theory about the scientific conduct of psychology. It claims that psychology should concern itself with the behavior of organisms (human and nonhuman animals). Psychology should not concern itself with mental states or events or with constructing internal information processing accounts of behavior. According to methodological behaviorism, reference to mental states, such as an animal's beliefs or desires, adds nothing to what psychology can and should understand about the sources of behavior. Mental states are private entities which, given the necessary publicity of science, do not form proper objects of empirical study. Methodological behaviorism is a dominant theme in the writings of John Watson (1878-1958).
2.Psychological behaviorism is a research program within psychology. It purports to explain human and animal behavior in terms of external physical stimuli, responses, learning histories, and (for certain types of behavior) reinforcements. Psychological behaviorism is present in the work of Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), Edward Thorndike (1874-1949), as well as Watson. Its fullest and most influential expression is B. F. Skinner's (1904-90) work on schedules of reinforcement.
3.Analytical behaviorism is a theory within philosophy about the meaning or semantics of mental terms or concepts. It says that the very idea of a mental state or condition is the idea of a behavioral disposition or family of behavioral tendencies. When we attribute a belief, for example, to someone, we are not saying that he or she is in a particular internal state or condition. Instead, we are characterizing the person in terms of what he or she might do in particular situations. Analytical behaviorism may be found in the work of Gilbert Ryle (1900-76) and the later work of Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-51). More recently, the philosopher-psychologist U. T. Place (1924-2000) advocated a brand of analytical behaviorism restricted to intentional or representational states of mind, such as beliefs, which Place took to constitute a type, although not the only type, of mentality. (See Graham and Valentine 2004. See also Melser 2004.)
Graham also writes that: Behaviorism, the doctrine, is committed in its fullest and most complete sense to the truth of the following three sets of claims:
1. Psychology is the science of behavior. Psychology is not the science of mind.
2. Behavior can be described and explained without making reference to mental events or to internal psychological processes. The sources of behavior are external (in the environment), not internal (in the mind).
3.In the course of theory development in psychology, if, somehow, mental terms or concepts are deployed in describing or explaining behavior, then either (a) these terms or concepts should be eliminated and replaced by behavioral terms or (b) they can and should be translated or paraphrased into behavioral concepts.
Compare Behaviorism, Empiricism, and Positivism.
[edit] Application in classrooms and similar settings
- Behaviorists believe that when a student is punished, his or her punished behaviors will decrease (Mayer, 247). On the same token, those behaviors that are rewarded will increase (Mayer, 247). According to Webster's Dictionary, a token economy is a form of operant conditioning that is used in the behavior modification that involves rewarding desirable behaviors with tokens which can be exchanged for items or privileges and punishing undesirable behaviors by taking away tokens. Please see Token Economies for more information
- The application of operant conditioning to education is simple and direct. Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement under which students learn. They learn without teaching in their natural environments, but teachers arrange special contingencies which expedite learning, hastening the appearance of behavior which would otherwise be acquired slowly or making sure of the appearnce of behavior which otherwise would never occur. (Skinner, 1968, pg. 64)
- "...Behavior Modification techniques suggest that specific rewards and punishments will yield predictable results in the behavior of children. Behaviorism suggests a system that will modify children to comply with prescribed norms. Compliance with these prescribed norms restricts student autonomy. As would be expected in the Newtonian paradigm, the theory is to predict results by detailing correct initial conditions and equations that prescribe action upon those initial conditions. In the case of Skinner behaviorism, the initial conditions are individuals and the equations are those behavioristic techniques set out to modify the individuals...Bracey (1994) states that "15 years of research have confirmed that offering a reward for an enjoyable behavior can decrease the likelihood that the behavior will be performed under subsequent nonrewarded conditions" (p. 494). In the name of being scientific like Newton, educators impose Assertive Discipline on children. Skinner's behaviorism and Canter's Assertive Discipline are attempts by one of the social sciences, psychology, to imitate the Newtonian paradigm." -excerpt from article by Gene Van Tassal, Practical Classroom Applications of Current Brain Research
- "When applied to the education system, behaviorism seems a bit radical, but there are many areas in which operant techniques and reinforcements are used (Bjork, 1993, p. 110). For instance, a child who is doing their work in class as instructed by the teacher should receive a positive reinforcement to encourage or condition the student to do the same the next day. Negative reinforcements are used as well to deter certain behaviors. Unfortunately, negative reinforcements seem to be the more customary method of conditioning behaviors. Children are fearful of getting bad grades and breaking the rules because of the consequences or negative reinforcements that come with those behaviors...It is no surprise that behaviorism has a strong link to education, because education implies learning and learning is the foundation of behaviorism. A behaviorist classroom is structured and has prepared lesson plans each day. The student usually sits in an assigned seat and listens to the lesson taught by the teacher, along with the rest of his classmates. Environmental stimuli can be produced to influence a behavior, such as the teacher offering candy to those students who tell her three things they learned during her lesson. This would encourage the students to be more aware of her lesson. Unfortunately, candy doesn’t always work. They may actually learn something new, but it is not because they wanted to learn; they wanted candy. Kids see right through incentives but they still work because both the student and teacher in this case are being satisfied through physical behaviors. This may not be a problem to a behaviorist because physical behavior is all there is, but to a humanist that is not the case."-excerpt from article by Amanda Neilson, St. Martin's homepage
[edit] Evidence of effectiveness
- "Behaviorism is in practice throughout our schools. If one employs behaviorism in the classroom, it is imperative that it be used correctly. Skinnerian teachers would avoid the use of punishment. Research indicates that reinforcing appropriate classroom behaviors, such as paying attention and treating classmates well, decreases misbehavior (Elliot & Busse, 1991), and behaviorist classroom management techniques are often effective when others are not. Behavioral teaching and learning tends to focus on skills that will be used later. You learn certain facts about American history because it is assumed that you will make a better adult citizen because of that knowledge. Behavioral learning does not usually demand that a learner be able to put the skills or knowledge to use in a "real" or "authentic" situation. It is simply believed that the learner will be able to do so because he/she has the correct knowledge or skills needed for such a situation. The breaking down of complex tasks into smaller, more manageable subskills, such as the teaching of reading or mathematics, is very common in American schools today. Behavioral instruction is primarily "teacher-centered" as opposed to "learner-driven." The true behaviorist teacher believes that learning is passive and that students must learn the correct response. The reinforcement for that correct response must be swift and appropriate. Knowledge according to a behaviorist teacher is a matter of remembering rather than acquiring information. Understanding on the part of the learner would simply be a matter of recognizing existing patterns. The concept of behaviorism has been around the educational circles for many years. Some of its philosophy has proven to be very useful to educators in terms of behavior modification techniques and the place they have in classroom manangement" - Spearfish School District
[edit] Critics and their rationale
- Generally, cognitive theorists believe the punished behaviors will decrease and vice versa with the awarded behaviors will only change if the student understands the cause-and-effect of the punishment to the punished behavior (Mayer, 247).
- Bandura found behaviorism to be too simplistic
- Alfie Kohn's book Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes (1993) goes so far as to say that behavior analysts are unconcerned about the protection and welfare of children and do not understand the behavior of children.
[edit] Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
[edit] Signed ‿life experiences‿, testimonies and stories
When I was in middle school, I remember a teacher who used to give pop quizzes when the class would get noisy. Because of this, I associated noise with a quiz and I used to get very nervous about taking quizzes, especially ones that I did not know to study for. So every time the class would get noisy, I would get this sense of dread and helplessness. I think that it is important for teachers to set up as positive experience as possible for students so that they do not begin to associate negative feelings with the teacher/school or learning. ~Mindy Waters
[edit] References and other links of interest
Watson & Rayner study (1920)- beginning of application of behaviorism to humans.
http://moodle.ed.uiuc.edu/wiked/index.php/Behavior_modification
Alberto, P. & Troutman, A. C. (2003). Applied behavior analysis for teachers (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Mayer, R. (2003). Learning and Instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Skinner, B.F. (1968) The technology of teaching. New York: Merideth Corporation.
Suggested Readings:
(compiled from various websites, including the Spearfish School District site and the WikEd sites)
Cangelosi, J.(2000). Classroom management strategies. (4th ed.). New York: Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Driscoll, M.(2000). Psychology of learning for instruction.(2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Edwards, C. H.(2000). Classroom discipline and management.(3rd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Eggen,P.,& Kauchak, D.(2001). Educational psychology windows on classrooms. (5th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Elliot, S., & Busse, R.(1991). Social skills assessment and intervention with children and adolescents. School Psychology International,12,63-83.
Kazdin, A.E. (2001) Behavior modification in applied settings.(6th ed.). Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
Miltenberger, R.G. (2001) Behavior modification principle and procedures. (2nd ed.). Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
