Chapter 10: Behavioral View of Learning
Learning Objectives
- Define behaviorism and explain its emphasis on observable behavior and stimulus-response relationships.
- Differentiate between classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning as behaviorist approaches.
- Apply behaviorist strategies such as reinforcement, punishment, shaping, modeling, and cueing to classroom management and instruction.
- Critically evaluate the limitations of behaviorism and consider additional factors (e.g., emotions, culture, learning differences) that influence student behavior.
Classroom Scenario:
Mr. Mack was a brand new fifth grade teacher, full of hope, creative ideas and good intentions. However, he was stumped as to how to get his student Johnny to stay in his seat. Sometimes, Johnny would throw chairs out of frustration, and other times Mr. M could not even get a word out of him. Mr. M tried to get Johnny to look him in the eye as he was giving instructions, thinking that this would help Johnny to focus on the task at hand; this proved to be very challenging. Sometimes Mr M could just tell that Johnny was about to bolt outside and so he would warn Johnny to stay in his seat,
letting him know that if he left his chair he would have to miss recess. Unfortunately, Johnny often had to miss recess and stay inside by himself. Mr. M felt exhausted and defensive when he had to consult with the school counselor. The counselor offered to come and observe the classroom and discuss possible strategies for helping Johnny and Mr. M.
As you read this chapter on behaviorism, consider how behaviorist strategies could help both Mr. M and Johnny to have a more productive relationship, and a better teaching and learning experience.
Introduction
Basic principles of learning are always operating and always influencing human behavior. This module discusses the two most fundamental forms of learning — classical and operant conditioning. Through them, we respectively learn to associate 1) stimuli in the environment, or 2) our own behaviors, with significant events, such as rewards and punishments. The two types of learning have been intensively studied because they have powerful effects on behavior, and because they provide methods that allow scientists to analyze learning processes rigorously. This module describes some of the most important things you need to know about classical and operant conditioning, and it illustrates some of the we can use it to help us understand and modify student behavior to enhance the learning environment. The module also introduces the concept of observational learning, which is a form of learning that is largely distinct from classical and operant conditioning but is intricately related to Behaviorism. Lastly this module discusses educational implications of Behaviorism and its limitations as a learning theory.
What is Behaviorism?
Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors—what people do—not internal thoughts or emotions. According to behaviorist theories, behavior is shaped by environmental stimuli and the responses they trigger. Learning occurs through the formation of stimulus-response associations, and change in behavior is the key sign that learning has occurred [1].
Behaviorists like Watson and Skinner argue that only measurable, external behaviors are valid for study—not feelings, beliefs, or inner mental processes. Instead, they propose that behavior is learned through interaction with the environment.
| Key Idea: If a student starts turning in homework more often after being praised, that change in behavior suggests learning has occurred. |
External Links to Learning
- Behaviorism: Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner (YouTube)
Types of Conditioning
Classical Conditioning (Pavlov and Watson)
Classical conditioning happens when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally produces a response. Over time, the neutral stimulus triggers the same response on its own. Consider the two examples below:
- Example: Pavlov’s dog experiment: a bell (neutral) is paired with food (unconditioned stimulus), causing the dog to salivate (unconditioned response). Eventually, the bell alone causes salivation (conditioned response).
- Classroom Example: A student hears a specific tone signaling lunch. Over time, that tone triggers hunger or excitement, even before food is present.
In classical conditioning, a person or animal learns to associate a neutral stimulus (the conditioned stimulus, or CS) with a stimulus (the unconditioned stimulus, or US) that naturally produces a behaviour (the unconditioned response, or UR). As a result of this association, the previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit the same response (the conditioned response, or CR).
Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
While classical conditioning focuses on associations, operant conditioning focuses on consequences of behavior. Skinner showed that behaviors followed by rewards are more likely to be repeated. Likewise, behaviors that are punished are likely to be extinguished. In education, advocates of behaviorism have effectively adopted this system of rewards and punishments in their classrooms by rewarding desired behaviors and punishing inappropriate ones. Rewards (reinforcements) vary, but must be important to the learner in some way.
- Positive reinforcement: Adding a reward to increase behavior. Some examples follow:
- Smiling at students after they speak up in class in response.
- Commending students for raising their hands to speak.
- Selecting them for a special project, and
- Praising students in front of their parents.
- Negative reinforcement: Removing something unpleasant to increase behavior. Some examples follow:
- If you submit all your assignments, I’ll drop the lowest grade
- 80% attendance and a grade of A -B make the final test optional
- Positive punishment: Adding something to decrease behavior. Some examples follow:
- Detention for misbehavior
- 0 for not turning in an assignment
- Sent to the principal’s office for misbehavior
- Negative punishment: Taking something away to decrease behavior.
- No recess
- Remove toys because students are not playing with them appropriately
See Table 1 for examples of how teachers can use operant conditioning to modify student behavior.
Table 1. Operant Conditioning in Action
| Strategy | What It Does | Classroom Example |
| Positive Reinforcement | Increases behavior by adding something | Stickers for completed homework |
| Negative Reinforcement | Increases behavior by removing something | No quiz if all assignments are turned in |
| Positive Punishment | Decreases behavior by adding something | Extra assignment for breaking rules |
| Negative Punishment | Decreases behavior by removing something | No computer time for talking in class |
Shaping is a strategy teachers can use to reinforce small steps toward a desired behavior.
- A student who never raises their hand begins by whispering the answer, speaks up in small groups, and eventually shares during class.
- Mr. B would like his class to sit quietly after entering the classroom, but they continue talking after the bell rings. Mr. B gives the class one point for improvement, in that all students are seated. Subsequently, the students must be seated and quiet to earn points, which may be accumulated and redeemed for rewards.
Critical Thinking
- How would you use reinforcement to encourage participation in a quiet class?
- What is a real classroom example of negative reinforcement? Why is it often misunderstood?
- Considering what you’ve learned about classical and operant conditioning, how might Mr. Mack in the intro scenario use these reinforcements to motivate Johnny?
Observational Learning (Bandura)
“Of the many cues that influence behavior, at any point in time, none is more common than the actions of others” [2].
Not all forms of learning are accounted for entirely by classical and operant conditioning. Albert Bandura introduced social learning theory, arguing that people can learn by watching others. This is called modeling or observational learning.
Imagine a child walking up to a group of children playing a game on the playground. The game looks fun, but it is new and unfamiliar. Rather 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.
External Links to Learning
Researchers have conducted countless experiments designed to explore observational learning, the most famous of which is Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment: Children who observed adults acting aggressively toward a toy were more likely to mimic that behavior.
More Classroom Examples of Observational Learning
- Students may pick up on behaviors modeled by peers, teachers, or even media. A student who watches classmates raise their hand may begin to do the same.
- The 10th grade biology teacher models how to properly use a microscope. Students replicate her instructions without written instructions just by remembering what they observed.
- A child who kicks another child after seeing this on the playground.
- A student who is always late for class because his friends are late is displaying the results of observational learning.
Critical Thinking
- How could modeling be used to help students learn appropriate behavior?
Behavior Management Tools
Behaviorism has contributed many practical classroom strategies
- Cueing: Giving reminders
- Example: Mrs. R is working with Danny, who often answers aloud instead of raising his hand. At the end of asking a question, Mrs. R says to the class, “I’ll call on someone who is raising their hand,” to help Danny remember to perform an action (hand raising) at a specific time (when a question is asked).
- Contracts: Agreements between teacher and student to change a behavior
- Reinforcement schedules: Using consistent or occasional rewards (See OER Reinforcement Schedules -near bottom of the page)
- Behavior modification plans: Targeted support for students needing behavioral change
Limitations of Behaviorism
While behaviorism provides powerful tools, it has limitations:
- It may overlook internal processes like emotion, motivation, and cognition.
- It may not account for cultural, developmental, or individual differences.
- Some students need more than rewards or punishments—they need relationships, scaffolding, or emotional support.
Additional factors that affect learning may include (not a full list):
- Learning differences
- Socioeconomic status
- Gender identity
- Cultural background
- Disabilities
- Psychological or social emotional
Critical Thinking
- Explain some effective ways to change behaviors.
- How could modeling be used to help students learn appropriate behavior?
- What are the limitations of relying only on behaviorism in diverse classrooms?
- Would behaviorist strategies alone be enough to support Johnny? What else might Mr. Mack need to consider?
- What else should you consider when attempting to modify behavior? What other factors do you think impact an individual’s behavior?
Key Takeaways
- Behaviorism focuses on observable behavior and environmental stimuli.
- Classical and operant conditioning shape behavior in different ways.
- Reinforcement, punishment, modeling, and shaping are powerful tools in classroom management.
- Observational learning highlights the power of social models.
- Effective teaching combines behaviorist strategies with an understanding of the whole child.
Review & Practice
- What is behaviorism primarily concerned with, and what does it consider the legitimate object of study?
- How does classical conditioning work, and what are the roles of the US, UR, CS, and CR?
- What is operant conditioning, and how is it different from classical conditioning?
- Define and give examples of positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment in a classroom setting.
- What is shaping, and how can it be used to promote desired behaviors over time?
- How does cueing help reinforce expected classroom behaviors?
- What are two major criticisms of behaviorism in relation to individual learning differences?
- What is observational learning, and how does it differ from other behaviorist strategies?
- How might behaviorism be used effectively in classroom management while still addressing students’ emotional or cultural needs?
- What are two major criticisms of behaviorism in relation to individual learning differences?
This chapter was remixed from May-Varas, S., Margolis, J., & Mead, T. (2023). Educational learning theory. Open Oregon. Licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike). Retrieved from https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/educationallearningtheories3rd/
This chapter was remixed from Stangor, C., & Walinga, J. (2014). Introduction to psychology- 1st canadian edition. BCcampus. Licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike). Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/
