Behaviorism and Education

Behaviorism is a learning theory that considers the process of learning to be a reaction to external stimuli where participants learn by passively acquiring new behavior. (eLearning) The Behaviorists only concerned themselves with the individual’s observable and measurable behaviors giving little credence to thought processes inside a learner’s mind (Admin, n.d.).

According to The behaviourist approach, Behaviorists utilize two processes to explain how people learn: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. These theories date back to the late 1890s and early 1900s through the work of Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike, and B.F. Skinner (Sammons, n.d.).

Classical Conditioning

Most people are familiar with the 1897 story of Ivan Pavlov’s dogs and how they salivated when they saw the technician who fed them. This is a perfect example of classical conditioning because natural stimuli produce a response. A neutral stimulus then reinforces the natural response. In Pavlov’s study, he introduced a bell as a neutral stimulus that enabled him to produce the response without the food being present. The dogs associated the bell with food. Later Pavlov introduced the concept of extinction, where the reactions occur less frequently when the conditioned stimulus (food) is present without the unconditional stimulus (bell). In addition, he later discovered that he could reintroduce the response after pausing and create a similar reaction. This response was referred to as spontaneous recovery (Schwartz, 2018) (Stangor & Walinga, 2014).

While Pavlov did study generalization, where he was able to introduce similar tones to create a response, his work was expanded upon by Pawel Lewicki in 1985. Lewicki conducted an experiment where students needed to ask a research assistant a question. The researcher gave the student either a good response or a bad response. The students were then led into a different room with two researchers, one that looked like the previous researcher and one who did not. The study results concluded that the students who received a negative response from the first researcher avoided the second researcher who looked like her. There was a similar study with berries that produced a similar response. People who became ill from eating a red berry avoided other red berries in the future. So, generalization can be influenced by good experiences, such as the friendly researcher, or bad experiences, like food poisoning. (Stangor & Walinga, 2014).

The opposite of generalization is discrimination. This is when you respond to similar but not the same stimuli. For example, Pavlov’s dogs knew that similar tones did not produce food, so they ignored them.

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning happens when a response is reinforced through positive or negative reinforcement. Basically, people learn from the consequences of their actions, such as not putting their hands on a hot stove after getting burned. Another example of operant conditioning is when we look at Edward Thorndike’s 1898 study of cats, where he put them into a puzzle maze. Of course, the cats were not happy initially, but they discovered a lever that produced a reward. The next time the cats were placed in the box, they found the lever quicker. This study led Thorndike to create the law of effect in 1911, which states that pleasurable experiences get stamped into your memory and create positive outcomes. (Stangor & Walinga, 2014).

In the 1950s, B.F. Skinner continued to study operant conditioning by putting rats and birds in boxes. At first, they would scratch to get out until he learned that if he pressed a lever, he would be rewarded with food, thereby strengthening the behavior. Unlike Pavlov, Skinner’s box was not based upon a natural response to stimuli. Skinner then decided to see how the animals would react to punishments. For example, using an electric grid or loudspeaker creates unpleasant experiences for the animals, and the animals quickly learn to avoid the experience. He used the term reinforcer for any event that increased the likelihood of a behavior and the term punisher for any event that decreased the probability of a behavior. (Stangor & Walinga, 2014).

Behaviorism’s role now

Behaviorism’s primary goals are to create measurable and observable learning outcomes, use tangible rewards and informative feedback and provide students with predictable skills; it still has its place in modern times. Although it has evolved from the days of Skinner, behaviorist methodologies are still used today. This is especially true when you consider the use of gamification in learning. (Schwartz, 2018) (Keramida, 2015).

Examples of modern uses of behaviorism

Teacher-led and designed learning
Repetition, drills, and practice
Learning is measurable and defined by learning objectives
Question-answer (stimulus-response) with instant feedback
External motivation
Chaining-predetermined steps to be followed
Learners are assessed primarily through testing
Instructional cues

(Schwartz, 2018)

Behaviorism and Instructional Design

As an instructional designer, you may be called upon to create learning experiences that use behaviorism. One such way is discrimination. By using discrimination, learners should be able to identify critical characteristics to classify concepts. One example might be a drop-and-drag exercise where students can categorize items. (Keramida, 2015).

Generalization is another way you can use behaviorism. Learners must identify attributes from one item and apply them to another. An example that comes to mind is how we identify animals. Do they have wings, feathers, fur, or scales? (Keramida, 2015).

Associations, especially when creating matching exercises, are examples of learning activities grounded in behaviorism. (Keramida, 2015).

Chaining refers to the learner’s ability to follow steps. Performing drill tasks is an example of objectives that are mastered through chaining. (Keramida, 2015).

Providing immediate feedback is also helpful. Immediate feedback is something you seem a lot in when using gamification. Depending upon the game, the learner should immediately know if they answer correctly, they can earn points and rewards and advance in levels. DuoLingo is an application that teaches foreign languages. Players pre-test their skills, learn concepts and test them to earn badges. They have cute characters and reminders. It helps make learning fun, but it is modifying their behavior too.

Although many of the learning theories of yesterday seem a little outdated, you will still find some of their principles still hold true today. I find that sometimes to reach a student, you can’t just take a one size fits all approach, and I believe that today’s educational psychologists and instructional designers also believe this to be true.

Sources:

Admin. (n.d.). A quick, no-nonsense guide to basic instructional design theory. A Quick, No-Nonsense Guide to Basic Instructional Design Theory. Retrieved September 3, 2022, from https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/345615/a-quick-no-nonsense-guide-to-basic-instructional-design-theory

Keramida, M. (2015, May 12). Behaviorism In Instructional Design For eLearning: When And How To Use It. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/behaviorism-in-instructional-design-for-elearning-when-and-how-to-use

Sammons, A. (n.d.). The behaviourist approach: the basics. psychlotron.org.uk. Retrieved September 3, 2022, from http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/newResources/approaches/AS_AQB_approaches_BehaviourismBasics.pdf

Schwartz, M. (2018, May 12). The Implications Of 3 Adult Learning Theories On Instructional Design. eLearning Industry. Retrieved September 3, 2022, from https://elearningindustry.com/adult-learning-theories-on-instructional-design-implications-3

Stangor, C., & Walinga, J. (2014, October 17). 8.2 Changing Behaviour through Reinforcement and Punishment: Operant Conditioning – Introduction to Psychology – 1st Canadian Edition. Pressbooks. Retrieved September 3, 2022, from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/7-2-changing-behavior-through-reinforcement-and-punishment-operant-conditioning/

Syed Ahmad, Tuan Sarifah Aini & Hussin, Anealka & Yusri, Ghazali. (2019). A review of learning theories for gamification elements in instructional games. Retrieved September 3, 2022, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336701970_A_review_of_learning_theories_for_gamification_elements_in_instructional_games