NEO

BEHAVIORISM:
TOLMAN AND
BANDURA
BEHAVIORISM
The prediction and control of human behaviour and
which introspection and/or independent thinking
play no essential part of it’s teaching methods.

NEO BEHAVIORISM
Is a behaviour cannot be fully understood simply in
terms of observable stimuli and reactions. Neo
behaviorism introduce mediating variables into the
behaviorst stimulus-response scheme.
NEO BEHAVIORISM

 Edward Tolman
Purposive Communication

 Albert Bandura
Social Learning Theory
TOLMAN’S PURPOSIVE BEHAVIORISM
Purposive behaviorism has also been reffered to as Sign
Learning Theory and is often seen as the link between
behaviorism and cognitive theory. Tolman’s theory was
founded on two psychological views: Those of the
Gestalt Psychologists and those of John Watson, the
behaviorist.

Tolman believe that learning is a cognitive process.

Learning involves forming beliefs and obtaining
knowledge about the environment and then revealing
that knowledge through purposeful and goal-directed
behavior. He stated in his sign theory that an organism
learns by pursuing signs to a goal.
Ex. Learning is acquired through meaningful
behavior. He stressed the organized aspect of
learning:
“ The stimuli which are allowed in are not
connected by just simple by one-to-one switches to
the outgoing responses rather the incoming impulses
are usually worked over and elaborated in the
central control room into a tentative cognitive-like
map of environment. And it is this tentative map,
indicating routs and paths and environmental
relationships which finally determines what
responses , if any, the animal will finally make.”
COGNITIVE MAPS
A rat in a maze will explore the maze to find the shortest
route to the food. If the shortest route is blocked, the rat
will switched to the next shortest route. He doesn’t need
to explore the maze again because he has a mental
picture of it.

Latent Learning
Latent learning is a kind of learning that remains or stay
with the individual until needed. It is learning that is
outwardly manifested at once. According to Tolman it
can exist even if without reinforcement.
The Concept of Intervening Variable
Intervening variables that are not readily seen but serve as
determinants of behavior. Tolman believe that learning is mediated
or is influence by expectation, perceptions, presentations, needs and
and other internal or environmental variables.
Example, in his experiments with rats he found out that hunger is
intervening varibles.

Reinforcement not essential for learning

Tolman concluded that reinforcement is not essential for learning,
although it provides an incentive for performance. In his studies, he
observed that a rat was able to acquire knowledge of the through a
maze.
Example, to develop a cognitive map, even the absence of the
reinforcement.
Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
Social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a
social context. It is considers that people learn from one another,
including such concepts as observational learning, imitation and
modeling. The ten-year old boy Sergio Pelico did watch Saddam’s
execution on TV and then must imitated it.
Among others, Albert Bandura is considered as the leading
proponent of this theory.

General Principles of Social Learning Theory

1. People can learn by observing behaviour of others and the
outcomes of those behaviours.
2. Learning can occur without a change in behavior.
3. Cognition plays a role in learning. Over the last 30 years, social
learning theory has become increasingly cognitive in interpretation
of human learning.
4. Social learning theory can be considered a bridge or a transition
between behaviorist learning theories and cognitive learning
theories.

How the environment reinforces and punishes modeling?

People are often reinforced for modeling the behaviour of others.
Badura suggested that the environment also reinforces modeling.
This is the several possible ways:
1. The observers is reinforce by the model.
2. The observer is reinforced by a third person, observe might be
modeling the actions of someone else.
3. The imitated behaviour of itself leads to reinforcing
consequences. Many behaviours that we learn from others produce
satisfying or reinforcing results.
4. Consequences of the model’s behaviour affect the observer’s
behaviour vicariously. This is known as vicarious reinforcement.
This were the model is reinforced for a response and then the
observer
shows an increase in that same response.

Contemporary social learning perspective of reinforcement and

punishment.
1. Contemporary theory proposes that both reinforcement and
punishment have indirect effects on learning. They are not the sole
or main cause.
2. Reinforcement and punishment influence the extent to which an
individual exhibits a behaviour that has been learned.
3. The expectation of reinforcement influences cognitive processes
that promote learning.

Cognitive factors in social learning

Social learning theory has cognitive factors as well as behaviourist
factors.
1. Learning without performance: Bandura makes a distinction between
learning through observation and the actual imitation of what has been
learned.
2. Cognitive processing during learning: Social learning theorists contend
that attention is a critical factor in learning.
3. Expectations: As a result of being reinforced, people form expectations
about the consequences that future behaviours are likely to bring. They
expect certain behaviours to bring reinforcement and others to bring
punishment. The learner needs to be aware, however, of the response
reinforcements and response punishment. Reinforcement increases a
response only when the learner is aware of that connection.
4. Reciprocal causation: Bandura proposed that behavior can influence
both the environment and the person. In fact each of these three
variables: the person, the behaviour and the environment can have an
influence on each other.
5. Modeling: There are different types of models. There is the live model,
an actual person demonstrating the behavior. There can also be a
symbolic model, which can be a person or action portrayed in some
Other medium, such as television, videotape, computer programs.

Behaviours that can be learned through modeling

Many behaviours can be learned, atleast partly, through modeling. For
instance, students can watch parents read, students can watch
demonstration of mathematics problem or see someone act bravely in a
fearful situation. Aggression can be learned through modles. Research
indicates that children become more aggressive when they observed
aggressive or violent models. Moral thinking and moral behaviour are
influenced by observation and modeling. This includes moral judgements
regarding right and wrong which can, in part, develop through modeling.

Conditions necessary for effective modeling to occur

Bandura mentions four conditions that are necessary before an individual
can be successfully model the behaviour of someone else:

1. Attention- The person must pay attention to the model

2. Retention- The observe must be able to remember the behaviour that
has been observed. One way of increasing this is using the technique of
rehearsal.
3. Motor Reproduction- The third conditions is the ability to replicate the
behaviour that the model has just demonstrated.
4. Motivation- The final necessary ingredient for modeling to occur in
motivation.

Effects of modeling on behavior:

1. Modeling teaches new behavior.
2. Modeling influences the frequency of previously learned behaviours.
3. Modeling may encourage previously forbidden behaviors.
4. Modeling increases the frequency of similar behaviors.

Educational implications of social learning theory

5. Students often learn a great deal simply by observing other people.
6. Describing the consequences of behavior can effectively increase the
appropriate behaviors and decrease inappropriate ones.
3. Modeling provides an alternative to shaping for teaching new behaviors.
Instead of using shaping, which is operant conditioning, modeling can
provide a faster, more efficient means for teaching new behavior. To
promote effective modeling, a teacher must make sure that the four
essential conditions exist; attention, retention, motor reproduction, and
motivation.
4. Teachers and parents must model appropriate behaviors and take care
that they do not model inappropriate behaviors.
5. Teachers should expose students to a variety of other models. This
technique is especially important to break down traditional stereotypes.
 PREPARED BY:
JHOCEL DE GUZMAN
JEANNE JOY DATUIN