QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY

DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Module 11 Behaviorism: Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson, Skinner

FOCUS ON
LEARNING
Competencies 1. Explain the basic principles of behaviourism
2. Make a simple plan applying the primary laws of learning
3. Determine how to use rewards in the learning process more
effectively
Discussion
The theory of behaviourism focuses on the idea that all behaviors are
learned through the interaction with
the environment.

It centers on the study of observable

and measurable behaviour. It
emphasizes the behaviour is mostly
learned through conditioning & reinforcement (rewards and punishment).
It does not give much attention to the mind and the possibility of thought
processes occurring in the mind. Contributions in the development of the
behaviourist theory came from Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike and Skinner.

Behaviorism

Classical Conditioning Connectionism Operant Conditioning

(Pavlov/Watson) (Thorndike) (Skinner)

Reinforcement
Primary Laws

Shaping of Behavior
Law of Effect

Law of Exercise

Law of Readiness

What is the behavioral learning theory?

Every teacher knows that

they will usually have a
student in class who is
difficult to manage and work
with. Their behavior is
usually hard to control and it
can be extra work to get
them to pay attention and
stop distracting others. If
you’re studying to become a
teacher, your courses will
help you learn classroom management techniques that will prepare you
for difficult students. Additionally, it’s extremely valuable to learn about
learning theories and recognize that there are different methods and
thoughts about how people learn.

VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

“Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Behaviorism or the behavioral

learning theory is a popular concept
that focuses on how students learn.
Behaviorism focuses on the idea that all
behaviors are learned through
interaction with the environment.
This learning theory states that
behaviors are learned from the
environment, and says that innate or inherited factors have very little
influence on behavior.

Major Points:

 focuses on the study of observable and measurable behavior

 behavior is mostly learned through conditioning and
reinforcement
 it does not give much attention to the mind

1. Classical Conditioning (Stimulus

Substitution) by Ivan Pavlov

Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) – a Russian physiologist, is

well-known for his work in classical conditioning or
stimulus substitution. Pavlov’s most renowned
experiment
involved meat, a
dog and a bell.

Pavlov’s Dogs is a popular

behaviorism experiment. A group of
dogs would hear a bell ring and
then they would be given food. After
enough time, when the bell would
ring the dogs would salivate,
expecting the food before they even
saw it. This is exactly what
behaviorism argues—that the things we experience and our environment
are the drivers of how we act.

The stimulus-response sequence is a key element of understanding

behaviorism. A stimulus is given, for example a bell rings, and the
response is what happens next, a dog salivates or a pellet of food is given.

Let us define:

Stimulus – A stimulus (plural stimuli) is something that causes

a response. Ex. snake Susan saw a snake.
Response – something that moves one to action
Ex. Susan saw a snake (stimuli) so she cried for help (response.)
More examples of stimulus and response:
Tony is hungry so he eats some food.
The dog gets scared so it runs away.

VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

“Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

2. Connectionism Theory by Edward Lee Thorndike

He explained that learning is the result of

association is forming between stimulus (S) and
responses (R) .Learning has taken place when a
strong connection or bond between stimuli ad
response is formed. He came up with the three
primary laws of learning:

1. Law of Effect – S-R is strengthened when the consequence is

positive (reward) and the connection between the S-R is weakened
when the consequence is negative. He revise his law when he found
out that negative rewards (punishment) do not weaken bond, and
that some pleasurable consequences do not necessarily motivate
performance.
2. Law of Exercise – the more S-R bond is practiced the stronger it
will become. ”Practice makes perfect.”
3. Law of Readiness – the more ready the learner has to respond to
the stimulus, the stronger will be the bond between them. When a
person is ready to respond to a stimulus and is not made to
respond, it is annoying to the person. For example, if the teacher
says, “ we will now watch the movie (stimulus) and suddenly the
power goes off (brownout), the students will feel frustrated
because they were ready to respond to the stimulus but were
prevented from doing so. Likewise if the person is not at all ready to
respond to a stimuli and is asked to respond, that also becomes
annoying. That is why teachers should remember to say the
question first, and wait for few seconds before calling on anyone to
answer.

4. Operant /Instrumental Conditioning by Burrhus Frederick

Skinner

Behavioral Learning Theory

In the classroom, the behavioral learning theory is

key in understanding how to motivate and help
students. Information is transferred from teachers
to learners from a response to the right stimulus.
Students are a passive participant in behavioral
learning—teachers are giving them the information
as an element of stimulus-response. Teachers use behaviorism to show
students how they should react and respond to certain stimuli. This needs
to be done in a repetitive way, to regularly remind students what behavior
a teacher is looking for.

Positive reinforcement is key in the behavioral learning theory. Without

positive reinforcement, students will quickly abandon their responses
because they don’t appear to be working. For example, if students are
supposed to get a sticker every time they get an A on a test, and then
teachers stop giving that positive reinforcement, less students may get A’s

VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

“Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

on their tests, because the behavior isn’t connected to a reward for them.

Repetition and positive reinforcement go hand-in-hand with the

behavioral learning theory. Teachers often work to strike the right balance
of repeating the situation and having the positive reinforcement come to
show students why they should continue that behavior.

Motivation plays an important role in behavioral learning. Positive and

negative reinforcement can be motivators for students. For example, a
student who receives praise for a good test score is much more likely to
learn the answers effectively than a student who receives no praise for a
good test score. The student who receives no praise is experiencing
negative reinforcement—their brain tells them that though they got a good
grade, it didn’t really matter, so the material of the test becomes
unimportant to them. Conversely students who receive positive
reinforcement see a direct correlation to
continuing excellence, completely based
on that response to a positive stimulus.

Behaviorism and social learning

theory.
The behavioral learning theory and the
social learning theory stem from similar
ideas. The social learning theory agrees
with the behavioral learning theory
about outside influences on behavior. However, the social learning theory
goes a step further and suggests
that internal psychological
processes are also an influence on
behavior. Students or individuals
may see things being done, but the
social learning theory says that
internal thoughts impact what
behavior response comes out.

Behaviorism doesn’t study or

feature internal thought processes
as an element of actions. Social
learning argues that behavior is
much more complicated than the simple stimulus and response of
behaviorism. It suggests that students learn through observation, and
then they consciously decide to imitate behavior. There are underlying
emotions like peer pressure and a desire to fit in that impact behavior.

VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

“Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, 3401 Quirino

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Behaviorist teaching strategies:

 Teachers can implement behavioral learning strategy techniques in

their classroom in many ways, including:

 Drills. Teachers may practice skills using drill patterns to help

students see the repetition and reinforcement that behavioral
learning theory uses.

 Question and answer. Teachers can use a question as a stimulus

and answer as a response, gradually getting harder with questions
to help students.

 Guided practice. Teachers can be directly involved in helping

students go through problems to give them the reinforcement and
behavior demonstration you want them to follow.

 Regular review. Reviews are important to behavioral learning

theory. Going back over material and giving positive reinforcement
will help students retain information much better.

 Positive reinforcement. Behaviorist classrooms utilize positive

reinforcement regularly. This can be in the form of verbal
reinforcement and praise, reward systems, added privileges, and
more.

References Lucas, Ma. Rita, Corpuz, Brenda B. 2014. Facilitating Learning: A

Metacognitive Process (OBE & K-12 Based). Quezon City: LORIMAR
Publishing, Inc.
Lucas, Ma. Rita. Et. Al. 2013. Facilitating Learning. LORIMAR
Publishing, Inc.
https://cmcacalda19.wordpress.com/2017/10/23/14-learner-centered-principle/

VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

“Molding Minds, Shaping Future”