BEHAVIORISM

Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, Skinner

THEORY OF BEHAVIORISM
focuses on the study of observable and measurable behavior emphasizes that behavior is mostly learned through conditioning and reinforcement (rewards and punishment)

ASSUMPTIONS OF BEHAVIORISM:
1.

The primary means of investigating learning is by observation. Principles of learning apply equally to different behaviors and to different species of animals. Behaviorists typically state that human beings and other animals learn in similar ways.

2.

ASSUMPTIONS OF BEHAVIORISM

3. Learning processes can be studied most objectively when the focus of study is on stimuli and responses. Typically learning is described as a stimulus and response relationship, S = R. 4. Internal cognitive processes are largely excluded from scientific study.

ASSUMPTIONS OF BEHAVIORISM

5. Learning involves a behavior change. Some behaviorists proposed that if no observable change happens, then no learning has happened. 6. Organisms are born as blank slates. Organisms are not born with any predispositions to be made in certain ways. Since each organism has a different experience with the environment, each will have a different set of behaviors.

ASSUMPTIONS OF BEHAVIORISM

7. Learning is largely the result of environmental events. Behaviorists tend to use the term conditioning instead of learning to reflect this. The most useful theories tend to be universal ones. 8. The learning of all behavior is best explained by as few learning principles as possible.

THE BEHAVIORISTS
Ivan John

Pavlov Watson Thorndike Frederick Skinner

Edward Burrhus

IVAN PAVLOV
1849-1936

Russian physiologist developed the theory of classical conditioning or stimulus substitution through the study of dogs

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

is creating relationships by association.

is a reflexive or automatic type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus.

PAVLOV'S EXPERIMENT (CLASSICAL CONDITIONING) Pavlov's experiment involves a meat, a dog and a bell. Before conditioning, ringing the bell (neutral stimulus- i.e. the bell itself did not produce the dogs salivation) caused no response from the dog. Placing food (unconditioned stimulus) in front of the dog initiated salivation (unconditioned response).During conditioning, the bell was rung a few seconds before the dog was presented with food. After conditioning, the ringing of the bell (conditioned stimulus) alone produced salivation (conditioned response).This is classical conditioning.

Stage 1-Before Conditioning

Bell (neutral stimulus)

No Response