Notes on Human Growth and Development

The Behavioral the notion that learning and

behavior were controlled by events
Perspective: A Focus on in the environment and could be
Observable Behavior explained with no reference to
mind or consciousness (Fancher,
The behavioral perspective is 1987).
the psychological approach that
suggests that the keys to
understanding development are Classical Conditioning and
observable behavior and external Emotional Responses
stimuli in the
environment. Behaviorism is Classical conditioning theory
a theory of learning, and learning helps us to understand how our
theories focus on how we respond responses to one situation become
to events or stimuli rather than attached to new situations. For
emphasizing internal factors that example, a smell might remind us
motivate our actions. These of a time when we were a kid. If
theories provide an explanation of you went to a new cafe with the
how experience can change what same smell as your elementary
we do. cafeteria, it might evoke the
feelings you had when you were in
Behaviorism emerged early in the school. Or a song on the radio
20th century and became a major might remind you of a memorable
force in American psychology. evening you spent with your first
Championed by psychologists such true love. Or, if you hear your
as John B. Watson (1878–1958) and entire name (Isaiah Wilmington
B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), Brewer, for instance) called as you
behaviorism rejected any reference walk across the stage to get your
to mind and viewed overt and diploma and it makes you tense
observable behavior as the proper because it reminds you of how your
subject matter of psychology. father used to use your full name
Through the scientific study of when he was mad at you, then
behavior, it was hoped that laws of you’ve been classically
learning could be derived that conditioned.
would promote the prediction and
control of behavior. Russian
physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849–
1936) influenced early behaviorism
in America. His work on
conditioned learning, popularly
referred to as classical
conditioning, provided support for
 Notes on Human Growth and Development

automatically salivate when the

food hit their palate, but before the
food comes? Of course, what
happened is that the dogs knew
that the food was coming because
they had learned to associate the
footsteps with the food. The
keyword here is “learned.”

A learned response is called a

“conditioned” response. Pavlov
Figure 1. Ivan Pavlov began to experiment with this
“psychic” reflex. He began to ring a
Classical conditioning explains how bell, for instance, prior to
we develop many of our emotional introducing the food. Sure enough,
responses to people or events or after making this connection
our “gut level” reactions to several times, the dogs could be
situations. New situations may made to salivate to the sound of a
bring about an old response bell. Once the bell had become an
because the two have become event to which the dogs had
connected. Attachments form in learned to salivate, it was called a
this way. Addictions are affected by conditioned stimulus. The act of
classical conditioning, as anyone salivating to a bell was a response
who’s tried to quit smoking can tell that had also been learned, now
you. When you try to quit, termed in Pavlov’s jargon, a
everything that was associated conditioned response. Notice that
with smoking makes you crave a the response, salivation, is the
cigarette. same whether it is conditioned or
unconditioned (unlearned or
Pavlov and Classical natural). What changed is the
stimulus to which the dog salivates.
Conditioning
One is natural (unconditioned) and
one is learned (conditioned).
Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) was a
Russian physiologist interested in
studying digestion. As he recorded Watson and Behaviorism
the amount of salivation his
laboratory dogs produced as they Let’s think about how classical
ate, he noticed that they actually conditioning is used on people, and
began to salivate before the food not just with dogs. One of the most
arrived as the researcher walked widespread applications of classical
down the hall and toward the cage. conditioning principles was brought
“This,” he thought, “is not natural!” to us by the psychologist, John B.
One would expect a dog to Watson. Watson proposed that the
 Notes on Human Growth and Development

process of classical conditioning Watson filmed this experiment for

(based on Pavlov’s observations) posterity and used it to
was able to explain all aspects of demonstrate that he could help
human psychology. He established parents achieve any outcomes they
the psychological school desired if they would only follow his
of behaviorism, after doing advice. Watson wrote columns in
research on animal behavior. This newspapers and in magazines and
school was extremely influential in gained a lot of popularity among
the middle of the 20th century parents eager to apply science to
when B.F. Skinner developed it household order. Parenting advice
further. was not the legacy Watson left us,
however; where he really made his
Watson believed that most of our impact was in advertising. After
fears and other emotional Watson left academia, he went into
responses are classically the world of business and showed
conditioned. He gained a good deal companies how to tie something
of popularity in the 1920s with his that brings about a natural positive
expert advice on parenting offered feeling to their products to enhance
to the public. He believed that sales. Thus the union of sex and
parents could be taught to help advertising!
shape their children’s behavior and
tried to demonstrate the power of
classical conditioning with his
famous experiment with an 18-
month-old boy named “Little
Operant Conditioning
Albert.” Watson sat Albert down
Now we turn to the second type of
and introduced a variety of
associative learning, operant
seemingly scary objects to him: a
conditioning. In operant
burning piece of newspaper, a
conditioning, organisms learn to
white rat, etc. But Albert remained
associate a behavior and its
curious and reached for all of these
consequence (Table 1). A pleasant
things. Watson knew that one of
consequence makes that behavior
our only inborn fears is the fear of
more likely to be repeated in the
loud noises so he proceeded to
future. For example, Spirit, a
make a loud noise each time he
dolphin at the National Aquarium in
introduced one of Albert’s
Baltimore, does a flip in the air
favorites, a white rat. After hearing
when her trainer blows a whistle.
the loud noise several times paired
The consequence is that she gets a
with the rat, Albert soon came to
fish.
fear the rat and began to cry when
it was introduced.
Psychologist B. F. Skinner saw that
classical conditioning is limited to
existing behaviors that are
 Notes on Human Growth and Development

reflexively elicited, and it doesn’t placed these animals inside an

account for new behaviors such as operant conditioning chamber,
riding a bike. He proposed a theory which has come to be known as a
about how such behaviors come “Skinner box” (Figure 1). A Skinner
about. Skinner believed that box contains a lever (for rats) or
behavior is motivated by the disk (for pigeons) that the animal
consequences we receive for the can press or peck for a food reward
behavior: the reinforcements and via the dispenser. Speakers and
punishments. His idea that learning lights can be associated with
is the result of consequences is certain behaviors. A recorder
based on the law of effect, which counts the number of responses
was first proposed by psychologist made by the animal.
Edward Thorndike. According to the
law of effect, behaviors that are
followed by consequences that are
satisfying to the organism are more
likely to be repeated, and
behaviors that are followed by
unpleasant consequences are less
likely to be repeated (Thorndike, Figure 3. (a) B. F. Skinner developed
1911). Essentially, if an organism operant conditioning for the systematic
does something that brings about a study of how behaviors are strengthened or
desired result, the organism is weakened according to their consequences.
more likely to do it again. If an (b) In a Skinner box, a rat presses a lever in
organism does something that an operant conditioning chamber to receive
does not bring about a desired a food reward. (credit a: modification of work
result, the organism is less likely to by “Silly rabbit”/Wikimedia Commons)
do it again. An example of the law
of effect is in employment. One of Skinner believed that we learn best
the reasons (and often the main when our actions are reinforced.
reason) we show up for work is For example, a child who cleans his
because we get paid to do so. If we room and is reinforced (rewarded)
stop getting paid, we will likely stop with a big hug and words of praise
showing up—even if we love our is more likely to clean it again than
job. a child whose deed goes unnoticed.
Skinner believed that almost
Working with Thorndike’s law of anything could be reinforcing. A
effect as his foundation, Skinner reinforcer is anything following a
began conducting scientific behavior that makes it more likely
experiments on animals (mainly to occur again. It can be something
rats and pigeons) to determine how intrinsically rewarding (called
organisms learn through operant intrinsic or primary reinforcers),
conditioning (Skinner, 1938). He such as food or praise, or it can be
 Notes on Human Growth and Development

something that is rewarding Learning Theory (SLT), began in

because it can be exchanged for the 1960s through research done
what one really wants (such as by Albert Bandura. The theory
receiving money and using it to proposes that learning occurs in
buy a cookie). Such reinforcers are a social context. It takes into
referred to as secondary consideration the dynamic and
reinforcers. reciprocal interaction of the person,
environment, and their own
behavior. [1]

Not all forms of learning are

accounted for entirely by classical
and operant conditioning. Imagine
a child walking up to a group of
children playing a game on the
Social Cognitive (Learning) playground. The game looks fun,
Theory: Observational but it is new and unfamiliar. Rather
Learning than joining the game immediately,
the child opts to sit back and watch
the other children play a round or
two. Observing the others, the child
takes note of the ways in which
they behave while playing the
game. By watching the behavior of
the other kids, the child can figure
out the rules of the game and even
some strategies for doing well at
the game. This is
called observational learning.

Observational learning is a
component of Albert
Bandura’s Social Learning
Theory (Bandura, 1977), which
posits that individuals can learn
Figure 4. Children observing a social model
novel responses via observation of
(an experienced chess player) to learn the
key others’ behaviors.
rules and strategies of the game of chess.
Observational learning does not
[Image: David R. Tribble,
necessarily require reinforcement,
https://goo.gl/nWsgxI, CC BY-SA 3.0,
but instead hinges on the presence
https://goo.gl/uhHola] of others, referred to as social
models. Social models are normally
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), of higher status or authority
originally known as the Social
 Notes on Human Growth and Development

compared to the observer, In this experiment, Bandura

examples of which include parents, (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1961) had
teachers, and police officers. In the children individually observe an
example above, the children who adult social model interact with a
already know how to play the game clown doll (Bobo). For one group of
could be thought of as being children, the adult interacted
authorities—and are therefore aggressively with Bobo: punching
social models—even though they it, kicking it, throwing it, and even
are the same age as the observer. hitting it in the face with a toy
By observing how the social models mallet. Another group of children
behave, an individual is able to watched the adult interact with
learn how to act in a certain other toys, displaying no
situation. Other examples of aggression toward Bobo. In both
observational learning might instances, the adult left and the
include a child learning to place her children were allowed to interact
napkin in her lap by watching her with Bobo on their own. Bandura
parents at the dinner table, or a found that children exposed to the
customer learning where to find aggressive social model were
the ketchup and mustard after significantly more likely to behave
observing other customers at a hot aggressively toward Bobo, hitting
dog stand. and kicking him, compared to
those exposed to the non-
Bandura theorizes that the aggressive model. The researchers
observational learning process concluded that the children in the
consists of four parts. The first aggressive group used their
is attention—one must pay observations of the adult social
attention to what they are model’s behavior to determine that
observing in order to learn. The aggressive behavior toward Bobo
second part is retention: to learn was acceptable.
one must be able to retain the
behavior they are observing in While reinforcement was not
memory. The third part of required to elicit the children’s
observational learning, initiation, behavior in Bandura’s first
acknowledges that the learner experiment, it is important to
must be able to execute (or acknowledge that consequences do
initiate) the learned behavior. play a role within observational
Lastly, the observer must possess learning. A future adaptation of this
the motivation to engage in study (Bandura, Ross, & Ross,
observational learning. In our 1963) demonstrated that children
vignette, the child must want to in the aggression group showed
learn how to play the game in less aggressive behavior if they
order to properly engage in witnessed the adult model receive
observational learning. punishment for aggressing against
 Notes on Human Growth and Development

Bobo. Bandura referred to this media, influencers,

process as vicarious reinforcement advertisements, etc.
because the children did not
experience the reinforcement or References:
punishment directly yet were still Behavioral Change Models. The Social
influenced by observing it. Cognitive Theory. Retrieved from
http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/S

BehavioralChangeTheories5.html. ↵
B/BehavioralChangeTheories/
Do parents socialize
children or do children Thorton, S. (1999). Creating conditions for
socialize parents? cognitive change: The interaction between task

Development, 70, 588-603. ↵

structures and specific strategies. Child

Bandura’s (1986) findings suggest

that there is interplay between the Chen, Zhe and Robert Siegler (2013). Young
children’s analogical problem solving: Gaining
environment and the individual. We insights from video displays. Journal of
are not just the product of our Experimental Child Psychology. Retrieved from
surroundings, rather we influence
ds/2019/02/Chen-Sieg13.pdf. ↵
http://siegler.tc.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploa
our surroundings. There is interplay
between our personality and the Yan, Z., & Fischer, K. W. (2002). Always under
way we interpret events and how construction: Dynamic variations in adult
they influence us. This concept is cognitive development. Human Development,
45, 141–160. LeFevre, J.-A. (2016). Numerical
called reciprocal determinism. cognition: Adding it up. Canadian Journal of
An example of this might be the Experimental Psychology/Revue canadienne de
interplay between parents and psychologie expérimentale, 70(1), 3-11.
children. Parents not only influence Loewen, Susan. (2006). Exceptional intellectual

High Ability Studies - HIGH ABIL STUD. 17. ↵

performance: A neo-Piagetian perspective.
their child’s environment, perhaps
intentionally through the use of

Span, 4th Edition. Pearson ↵

reinforcement, etc., but children Feldman, Robert (2018) Discovering the Life
influence parents as well. Parents
may respond differently to their
Span, 4th Edition. Pearson ↵
Feldman, Robert (2018) Discovering the Life
first child than with their
fourth. Perhaps they try to be the
perfect parents with their firstborn,
but by the time their last child
comes along, they have very
different expectations
of themselves and their child. Our
environment creates us and we
create our environment. Today
there are numerous other social
influences, from TV, games, the
Internet, i-pads, phones, social