Behaviorism

Mo et al (here, now)
 * Learning like an animal: Behaviorist theories of learning

Mo, Katie, Rob, Mike, Deby

Behaviorism is considered thoughtless conditioning that results in changes in observable behavior. It may be accompanied by reinforcers and punishments in order to reach the desired outcome. Research is often done on animals to discover laws of learning that may be applicable in a broader context. The learner is considered passive, and responding to the learning environment. Behaviorism focuses on the teacher's ability to present material effectively in order for learners to be able to perform well on assessments. As discussed in class, a behaviorism classroom would have a teacher giving a lesson and the students taking notes. Then a formal assessment would follow to evaluate the students' "learning". While this is a more traditional way of learning, cognitivism incorporates more student interaction and facilitates thinking outside of the parameters of the lesson. - Katie **

To expand more on what Katie said, behaviorism can account for some feelings and behaviors in a classroom. For example, if everytime a student answer a question wrong, we react by laughing and making the student feel unintelligent, the students will be far less likely to answer any question for fear of embarrassment. This is the same as training a dog (yes guy I know, again I mention an animal :) ) if everytime an animal shows a certain behavior, lets say jumping on a stranger, the animal is praised and given affection, logic shows that the animal will repeat this behavior in hope of obtaining the same reaction. On the same note, everytime that same dog jumps on a stranger, the dog is repremanded and made to feel bad, the dog will not continue this behavior for fear of the same reaction. To me, behaviorism is almost subconscience, and can simply come from life experiences rather then actual training. -Deby

It is important to note that behaviorism has four components. In a behaviorist classroom, the focus is on instruction that will have an observable learner performance. To monitor the change in performance or behavior, assessments would be done at very regular intervals. Also, there is an assurance that the learners can perform all prerequisite skills. The teacher could not move forward unless there is prior knowledge to build on. A third focus in a behaviorist classroom is that the teacher would need to present material and expect student response and feedback quickly. This would lay the foundation for that stimulus-response cycle that is defining in a behaviorist classroom. This brings us to the fourth requirement in a behaviorist classroom, consequences need to be implemented fairly and with a schedule. The crux of the stimulus-response cycle would be the reward or punishment at the end to reinforce the type or response that is desired. Students need to see that the reward/punishment system is fair for everyone involved. Maureen Hey guys, are we supposed to form this into a paragraph before monday???

To put some dull terms on the helpful examples that have been given, behaviorism focuses on modes of //reinforcement//. //Positive reinforcement// reinforces a behavior by the presentation of a stimulus. //Negative reinforcement// reinforces a behavior by removal of stimulus. Each type of reinforcement can used for both reward and punishment.

Some examples: Negative Reinforcement: A child receives an A+ on his/her report-card and this behavior is reinforced by the parent taking away unwanted chores.

Positive Reinforcement: A child receives an A+ on his/her report-card and this behavior is reinforces by the parent providing the child with Ice-cream & fun-time!

Behaviorism seeks to modify the behavior of a subject through operant conditioning. That is, when a stimulus is applied or removed, the subject learns to behave in a way that will affect the presence of the stimulus in a way that is favorable. If a student gets a gold star for participating, and a gold star is considered favorable, he will learn that participation begets gold stars, and continue to participate (positive reinforcement). When a student learns that good behavior means a reduction of homework, and the student wants homework reduced, he will learn to behave well. (negative reinforcement). The key is that much of behavioralist learning, as said in the above paragraphs, happens through conditioning. After a while, the students do not reason why they act, but simply react to changing stimuli. -Mike Learning behaviors: classical conditioning or operational conditioning Learning occurs when: · Learning must include a change of behavior, conversely, if one cannot detect that behavior has changed then no learning occurred · Behavior occurs due to experience in the environment · Learning must include an association between a stimulus and a response. Continuity learning = learning by association · The stimulus and the response must occur close together in time. Immediate feedback in educational settings is ideal · Learning processes are very similar across different species Classical conditioning = based on the pairing of involuntary behaviors with events that do not cause the behavior. Neutral stimuli becomes the conditioned stimuli and the behavior becomes the conditioned response. Involuntary behaviors include the unconditioned stimulus and then an unconditioned response Once a behavior is learned, it can be altered, expanded on, or eliminated by three mechanisms: 1. __Generalization:__ conditioned learning can be expanded to other similar stimuli - transfer 2. __Discrimination:__ a species can learn to differentiate between similar and different stimuli (shaping) 3. __Extinction:__ If the conditioned stimulus is paired repeatedly without the unconditional stimulus the learned behavior will disappear. 4. __Spontaneous Recovery:__ phenomena when a behavior is extinct, there is a trigger that might bring back the behavior. 5. __Conditioned Emotional Responses__ Can apply to teaching when: 1. Avoid conditioning negative responses 2. Link learning to positives emotions 3. Teach students to generalize and discriminate appropriately At best only emotions tied in with learning will be classically conditioned Operant conditioning: includes a pairing of events but this induces a voluntary behavior, such as raising a hand in class, originated by Thorndike __Law of Effect__: behaviors associated with good consequences (satisfiers) are more likely to occur I the future whereas behaviors associated with bad consequences (annoyers) are less likely to occur again Skinner = ABC’s of learning: __A__ntecedent occurs before the __b__ehavior, which evokes __c__onsequences. Cues – nonverbal events. . . . Prompts- verbal reminders that accompany a cue __Reinforcement:__ a consequence of a behavior that increases the future occurrence of that behavior __Punishment:__ a consequence of a behavior that decreases the future occurrence of that behavior · Positive reinforcement – adding something desirable to increase behavior · Negative reinforcement – taking something undesired to increase behavior · Positive or presentation punishment – adding something undesired to decrease behavior · Negative punishment – taking away something that is desired Need a continuous schedule to work at first but once behavior is learned then intermittent schedule of reinforcement will work · Continuous – reinforce after every response · Ratio schedules: based on a recurring number of times a behavior is achieved. · Interval schedules: based on a time elapse after behavior occurs · Fixed schedule: individual knows when to expect reinforcemnt · Variable schedule: usually the most affective, subject does not know when to expect reinforcement and will behave appropriately often to be rewarded. An intermittent schedule can work with reinforcement but punishment has to occur every time an infraction occurs – continuous schedule. To use consequences effectively: 1. Know the individual’s likes and dislikes 2. Understand the function of attention 3. Know when and how often to provide consquences 4. Use reinforcement more than punishment 5. Some punishments should not be used: -physical punishment -psychological punishment -extra homework -withdrawal of recess -out of school suspension These punishments are ineffective, that is, they do not allow the child to understand why a behavior should not be used so that one can generalize it. Also, the reasons for sing the punishment must outweigh the risk. Primary vs. Secondary Reinforcers = food, water, shelter vs. grades, money, status __To increase appropriate behaviors__: Premack principle – he found that students responded effectively by giving out free time instead of prizes as reinforcement Shaping – when the desired behavior is completely absent, there is nothing to reinforce, so you start with small steps to shape the behavior into what is desired Reinforcing incompatible behaviors – reinforce to increase the appropriate behavior so that the inappropriate behavior cannot occur because in this case they cannot occur at the same time. Praise and ignore – ignore inappropriate behaviors displayed by an individual while praising the appropriate behaviors of others. Positive practice – have the student perform the behavior the correct way to internalize the appropriate behavior __To decrease undesired behaviors:__ Satiation – make the student perform the undesired behavior so many times that they get sick of the activity and they find that it is no longer rewarding. Extinction – eliminate the behavior by removing any reinforcement, including attention. There may be an extinction burst (an initial increase of behavior due to the withdrawal of reinforcement). Overcorrection – making restitution for an inappropriate behavior on a large scale. Reprimand – verbal criticisms of behavior intended to be positive punishment. This is more effective if done in a quiet private approach to avoid attention. Response cost – taking away something that the individual desires Social Isolation – time-out, but consider this when other strategies have failed. This is only effective if students desire to be with others in the classroom.
 * ABA** (applied behavior analysis)

Can we think of some more examples of behaviorism to help put it into context for our classmates? I know we talked about them in class, but I'm sure a refresher would be helpful! - Katie

1. Teachers **reward** their class with a special treat (i.e.,stickers, cookies, extra credit) for good behavior throughout the week. Also, teachers may try to change behavior by **punishing** their students for bad behavior by taking away certain privileges in the classroom (i.e., recess, extra time to work on homework, etc.)