Main Ideas

The basic ideas of behaviorism are: human behavior is a product of the Stimulus-Response interaction and that behavior are modifiable. Study of animal is beneficial in that it help us understand/analyze human behavior.

Stimulus - Response

All complex forms of behavior, including reasoning, habit , and emotional reactions are composed of simple stimulus-response events which can be see and measured. We can trace a child's attitude back to a specific stimulus. Once we've identified a stimulus that produced certain response, we can predict the individual's behavior. Furthermore, if we can control the stimulus, we can control the individual's behavior.

There are two kinds of responses:

elicited response: the response occur in the presence of a stimulus
emitted response: the movement was emitted by the organism - not as a response to a stimulus. Skinner called this type of response "operant" indicating that the organism was taking the initiative and operating on its environment.

Conditioning

There are two forms of conditioning:

Respondent (Classical ) Conditioning

A form of learning in which an old response is evoked by a new stimulus
Theory developed by Pavlov
Found to be used more in the early years of development and diminishes as we grow older
Examples: the deer flees as soon as it smells a hunter; our saliva begins to flow when we hear dinner bell

Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning

A form of learning in which a new response is acquired as a result of satisfying a need
Developed by Skinner in 1938
Technique: provide repeated reward for behavior that comes closer to what we want. Skinner refined this process and called this "Behavior Shaping"
Two types of reinforcement were used- positive and negative - to increase the probability of the addition or removal of a certain response
Human learning is based more on operant conditioning than the classical one
Example: when we are thirsty, we turn the faucet counter-clockwise. If the water flows, we are rewarded and would do it again next time. Otherwise, we try the other way.

Behavior Modification

The following five steps can be used to implement a behavior change program:

Set behavior goals
Determine appropriate reinforcers
Select procedures for changing behavior
Implement procedures and record results
Evaluate progress and revise as needed

Impact of Behaviorism on Instruction

As M. H. Dembo mentioned in Applying Educational Psychology in the Classroom, "All teachers have a belief or theory about learning that is the very fabric of their teaching strategy." Teachers who agreed with the following statements are supported by the behavioral psychologists:

Learners need grades, gold stars, and other incentives as motivation to learn and to accomplish school requirements
Students should be graded according to uniform standards of achievement, which the teacher sets for the class
Curriculum should be organized along subject matter lines that are carefully sequenced

Teachers who accept the behavioral perspective assume that the behavior of the students is a response to their past and present environment and that all behavior is learned. As a result, any behavior can be analyzed in terms of its reinforcement history. Since learning is a form of behavior modification, the teacher's responsibility is to construct an environment in which the correct behavior of the student is reinforced.

The undesired behaviors of the student in the classroom can be modified using principles of the behavior modification. Dr. Dembo suggested the following procedures to control or eliminate undesired classroom behaviors:

Strengthening of the desirable behavior that will compete with and eventually replace undesirable patterns of behavior.
Weakening the undesired behavior by removing the reinforcing events that maintain the behavior.
Using the technique of "satiation" which is a procedure that encourages a person to engage in a problem behavior over and over again until tired of it.
Changing the stimulus condition that influences the behavior.
Using punishment to weaken behavior.

One important application of the operant conditioning introduced in the instruction fields is Programmed Learning. In this technique subject matter is broken into small, understandable steps or "frames," each followed by a question which the student can almost always answer correctly. The object is to reinforce the learning process through an immediate response and the reward of getting it right.

The authors of the book The Learning Gap think that one of the reason that American school is failing is because we do not use "error" effectively. "American conceive errors as a possible precursor of ultimate failure. People should strive to avoid errors and to give only the correct response - a routine that fits our culture and has been strengthened by the writings of behavioral psychologist such as B. F. Skinner."

Impact of Behaviorism on Instructional Technology

Behavior principles have proven useful for managing both classroom behaviors and instruction delivery. Behaviorism has influenced the development and design of several technologies.

Teaching Machines uses the principles of the programmed learning to provide a self-pacing delivery of the instruction. In 1968, Fred Keller proposed using the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) for college instruction. There are two programming designs for this technology: linear and branch. Linear design lays out the sequence of frames for all students to follow; whereas, in branch design, a student's response determines what follows.
Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) The rapid growth of the personal computers in the society facilitated the explosion of educational (instructional) software packages. Hundreds of software products hit the market every school year. No doubt, the first generation of the software was generally designed linearly. Key behavior modification principles are used to program these applications. These principles include:

Stating the purpose of the software
Apply the appropriate reinforcer - text or visual or audio
depending on the application, shaping, chaining, modeling, punishment, and award principles are used
Very often, a scoring (monitoring) system is present
Provides the status of progress

CAI comes in various forms: Drill and Practice Activities, Simulations, and Tutorials. Electronic learning could be fun using multi-media approach, but the educators do not think the CAIs can replace active classroom teachers.

Virtual Reality According to Chris Byrne of Human Interface Technology Lab, Virtual Reality has great potential in the education field. Byrne thinks that VR is particularly useful in the science field because it provides the students a 3D view of the world from inside the world. I feel that the weakness of CAI is the human interface and the lack of appropriate form of reward (reinforcement). VR can definitely address the human interface part if it can provide a "real" teacher to give instruction. Furthermore, if the student can create their own teacher image to teach them. Then, the reward system would be more effective comparing with a mechanical "good job" sign. The VR teacher can even give the child a pat on the head when called for. VR creates a brand new learning environment for the world to explore. Behavioristic principles, like other learning theories, will play a major role in the building of this environment.

Conclusion

References:

Educational Psychology, The Instructional Endeavor .

Dembo, Myron H. (1988). Applying Educational Psychology in the Classroom. Longman Inc.

Dr iscoll, Marcy P. (1994). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. Allyn and Bacon.

Goldenson, Robert M. (1970). The Encyclopedia of Human Behavior: Psychology, Psychiatry, and Mental Health. Doubleday & Company.

Stevenson, Harold W. and Stigler, James W. (1992). The Learning Gap. Simon & Schuster.

inst1229@cl.uh.edu