BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORIES

BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORIES
INTRODUCTION
According to behaviorist learning is defined as relatively permanent change in behavior brought about as a result of experience or practice. (Note an internal event displayed by overt behavior; contrasted with biological maturation or genetics as an explanation for relatively permanent change.) The term learning theory is often associated with the behavioral view. Researchers who affiliate with this position do not generally look with favor the term “Behavior potential” that is capable of performing but not for some reason including illness. The focus on behavioral approach is on how the environment impacts overt behavior. When writing instructional objectives Tunia (2005) provides an excellent overview of the behavior approach applied to learning. Behavior analysis is the term used to describe the scientific study of behavior and behavior modification is the term used to describe the application of behavior analysis concepts and principles for the systematic or programmatic changing of behavior.

General assumptions of behaviorist theories
Principles of learning apply equally to different behaviors and to different species of animal. (Equipotentiallity)
Learning process cab be studied most objectively when focus of study is on stimuli and response,
Internal cognitive processes are largely excluded from scientific study .
learning involves behavior change,
Organisms are born as blank slates.
Learning is largely the result of environmental events.
The most useful theories tend to be parsimonious ones.
Educational implications of Behavior
1. Emphasis on behavior.
Students should be encouraged to be active respondents. People learn to learn when they have change in behavior. Students learning must be evaluated because measurable behavior change can confirm that learning has taken place.
2. Drill and practice.
Repetition of stimulus and response habits strengthens the learning process.
3. Breaking habits
Teaching and learning are seen as stimulus and response, and one way to break a response-stimulus habit is to continue to present the stimulus until the individual is too tired to respond in the habitual way or the exhaustion method. Also the stimuli can be presented faintly so that the individual learns over time to respond in the habitual manner or the threshold method. Lastly the incompatible stimulus method would replace the habit with another where eventually the individual adopts the new behavior to respond to the stimulus.
4. Rewards
Many people have emphasized the importance of rewards for motivation and reinforcement for learning to take place effectively.




Types of behavioral learning theories
1. Contiguous conditioning
It was formulated by the psychologists Guthrie who said that any stimulus and response connected or paired in time and/or space will tend to be associated ( a baseball player wearing a certain pair of socks on the day he hits three home runs; a student making good grade after trying several study techniques) He termed this as associative learning. The basic concept in this type of conditioning is connectionism which is linking of stimulus or associative strength.
He also believed that rewards are not necessary for learning to take place; the key mechanism is contiguity (close pairing in time) between stimuli and response. It does not matter whether the response is satisfying or not just a simple pairing without consequences could lead to learning.
Terminology
Stimulus- Environmental event
Response- Action/behavior/overt behavior

2. Classical (respondent) conditioning
It was advanced by Ivan Pavlov. Association of stimuli can antecedent stimulus will reflexively elicit an innate emotional or psychological response; another stimulus will elicit an orienting response. It involves presenting an unconditioned stimulus to elicit unconditioned response. This type of conditioning was the first type of learning to be discovered and studied within the behaviorist tradition. Pavlov gave a very good example of a dog that salivates after seeing an attendant with food and when it is done repeatedly it will salivate only when it sees the attendant even if without food.
Terminology
Extinction: the disappearance of a conditioned response when a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus.Spontaneous Recovery: the reappearance of a conditioned response after extinction has occurred.Stimulus Generalization: when individuals respond to other stimuli in the same way that they respond to conditioned stimuli.Stimulus Discrimination: the ability to differentiate between to similar stimulus and respond accordingly.Higher-Order Conditioning: where a conditioned stimulus is paired with another neutral stimulus, which then takes on the same response.Sensory Preconditioning: where a response occurs to a stimulus due to an unrelated association to another stimulus

3. Operant (instrumental) conditioning
It was advanced by B.F Skinner. Learning is about increased probability on behavior based on reinforcements which has taken place in the past so that the antecedent of the new behavior includes the consequences of the previous behavior.
Observational (social) learning, learning through observing and modeling is sometimes considered a behavioral theory. According to this type of conditioning there are four types of reinforcements
negative reinforcements
positive reinforcements
punishments
extinction
Terminology
Free Operant Level (Baseline): the frequency of an operant in the absence of reinforcement. Terminal Behavior: the form and frequency of a desired response at the end of a planned reinforcement program.Extinction: when a response in no longer followed by a rein forcer, and it eventually returns to its baseline rate.Superstitious Behavior: the behavior that occurs in response to randomly reinforced behavior.Shaping: the teaching of a behavior when the free operant level for that behavior is very low or when the desired terminal behavior is different in form from any responses that the organism exhibits.Chaining: the process of teaching a chain of responses by first reinforcing just one response, then reinforcing two responses in a row, then reinforcing a sequence of three.
. History of theorists
Ivan Pavlov
Russian Physiologist
Research throughout 1890's and early 1900's included the physiology of conditioning reflexes
His ideas played a large role in the behaviorist theory of psychology, introduced by John Watson around 1913.
Edward Thorndike
American Psychologist
Learning theory applied to animals and human beings relating to success, pleasure, and satisfaction.
Law of effect: Responses to a situation that are followed by satisfaction are strengthened; responses that are followed by discomfort are weakened.
Law of exercise: Stimulus-response connections
Invented the puzzle box to investigate how animals such as cats and dogs solve problems.
John B. Watson
American Psychology
Law of frequency: The more frequently a stimulus and response occur in association with each other, the stronger that S-R habit will become.
Law of recency: The response that has most recently occurred after a particular stimulus is the response most likely to be associated with that stimulus.

Edwin R. Guthrie
Law of contiguity: A stimulus that is followed by a particular response will, upon its recurrence, tend to be followed by the same response again. This S-R connection gains its full strength on one trial.
Guthrie had the notion of one-trial learning - that an S-R connection is fully formed on one pairing.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner
American Psychologist
Introduced the theory of operant conditioning: a behavior followed by a reinforcing stimulus results in an increased probability of that behavior occurring in the future.
Followed in the footsteps of Pavlov and Watson.
Conclusion
The behaviorist theory of instruction and learning is based solely on a change in behavior. Behaviorists do not measure understanding because they do not feel that mental capacity can be measured. They agree that behavior can be learned through a series of stimuli and responses. The Classical Conditioning Theorists lean towards a stimulus first, followed by a response. This pattern is repeated as often as necessary to achieve the desired behavior change. The Operant Conditioning Theorists believe that a desired behavior can be achieved by a use of rein forcers. There are different types of rein forcers and schedules of reinforcement, which can affect a change in behavior.
I believe that the Operant Conditioning theory is more plausible from an instructional standpoint. The Classical Conditioning theory is, in my opinion, too basic. It can be easily shown how a program of rein forcers can, in fact, change behavior. Parents will often use these techniques in teaching their children how to behave. We can also observe the reinforcing motivation of classroom rewards and grades.

Reference:
1. Bugelski B.R (1964) The psychology of learning applied to teaching. Bobs Merric Association
2. Theodore L.H & Wilson E.S (1960) The learning process. Oxford University Press.
3. Houston J.P (1954) Fundamentals of learning. Academic press.
4. Cronbach L.J (1954) Educational Psychology. 3rd Edition Harcot Brace.