KOLEHIYO NG LUNGSOD NG LIPA

Lipa City, Philippines

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND ALLIED

THE CHILD ADOLESCENT LEARNERS AND LEARNING

UNIT II: Cognitive Development

Lesson 1: Behaviorism

Behaviorism

Behaviorism (1897-1902) emerged as a reaction to earlier approaches that focused on

understanding how people think by exploring their unconscious minds, often through

interpreting dreams and thoughts (like Freud and Jung). Instead, behaviorism focuses

on observable and measurable behavior. Behaviorists believed that thinking couldn't be

measured at the time, so they did not test for it. They thought behavior is controlled by

the environment and that learning happens when behavior changes. Behaviorism

assumes the learner is passive and responds to external stimuli, like a blank slate.

1.1 Classical Conditioning. This involves association or pairing of stimuli and

involuntary behavior.

-Classical conditioning also known as "Associative Learning".

• Ivan Pavlov (1897). Ivan Pavlov's research helped shape the behaviorist school of

thought, which focuses on studying visible behaviors rather than inner mental processes

like those studied by Freud. Pavlov was studying the digestive system in dogs when he

noticed that they salivated when they smelled food. He realized this was a form of

learning, which is the process of gaining new knowledge or behaviors through

experience. This learning can happen through association observation, or thinking,

helping us adapt to our surroundings and survive.

PEC 101 || The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles 1
John B. Watson (1920) conducted an experiment where he conditioned a child, Little

Albert, to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud, frightening noise. This fear response

extended to other furry animals and objects as well. The experiment is considered

unethical today. Psychologists now question whether adults might also have conditioned

emotional responses, as many people have phobias. There's also speculation about

whether new conditioning can replace old ones. Watson's work on associative learning

is still applied today, especially in advertising. He concentrated on understanding and

controlling human behavior.

1.2 Operant Conditioning. This type of conditioning involves voluntary behavior.

B.F. Skinner (1948) suggested that children "act" in their environment to gain rewards

and avoid punishment. He introduced a type of learning called operant conditioning,

which focuses on linking our actions to their outcomes. Essentially, when we do

something, something happens as a result. In this type of learning, behavior is either

strengthened by rewards or weakened by punishment. Skinner created the "Skinner

box," a small space with a lever or button that animals (like rats) could press to receive

a reward (usually food). He believed that behaviors are driven by the desire for rewards

and that learning can be broken into smaller steps, with rewards given for each step to

encourage further learning. In this way, success leads to more success.

Positive reinforcement is the act of rewarding a positive behavior in order to

encourage it to happen again in the future.

Negative reinforcement is a concept from behavioral psychology where a behavior is

strengthened or encouraged by removing or avoiding an unpleasant stimulus or

consequence.

Positive punishment is a concept in behavioral psychology where an undesirable

behavior is reduced by introducing an unpleasant stimulus or consequence after the

behavior occurs.

PEC 101 || The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles 2
Negative punishment is a concept in behavioral psychology where a behavior is

weakened or discouraged by removing a desirable stimulus or consequence after the

behavior occurs

The term "reinforcement" stands for something that increases desired behavior, and

the term "punishment" stands for something that decreases unwanted behavior. The

term "positive" in both instances means adding or giving something, while the term

"negative" in both instances means removing or taking away something.

A primary reinforcer is an innately reinforcing stimulus; it occurs naturally, like

salivation in the sight of food. This does not have to be learned. It is something that

would satisfy a biological needs.

conditioned reinforcer, which gains its effectiveness as a reinforcer through its

association with a primary reinforcer. We learn to want money because we need food,

clothing, and shelter.

Shaping is a procedure in operant conditioning in which reinforcers guide behaviors

closer and closer to successive approximations of the desired behavior.

Extinction is when the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are

repeatedly not paired until the conditioned stimulus no longer elicits the conditioned

response.

Partial or intermittent reinforcement is when reinforcement is given only part of the

time. This results in a slower acquisition of a response or behavior.

Lee Canter (1976). Lee Canter speaks of classroom behavior management. He

explains how to implement a behavior management cycle in the classroom. The

following shows how to use strategies of the behavior management cycle.

1. Give clear direction.

2. Behavioral Narration

3. Corrective Action (If behavior is inappropriate)

4. Student Model (if behavior is appropriate)

PEC 101 || The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles 3
Level 1 is "Teacher-managed Level" (highly teacher-directed), which is used at the

beginning of the school year, or when trying to turn around a disruptive classroom. Its

primary focus is teaching students responsible behavior.

Level 2 is "Transitioning to Student Self-Management." This is done when around

90% of the class have mastered the teacher's behavioral expectations for appropriate

behavior. By this time, teachers can focus on both teaching behavior and academic

achievement.

Level 3 is "Student Self-Management Level," in other words, self-regulation, which is

the ultimate goal of any behavior management program. At this level. students rarely

need behavioral direction, and the teachers can now focus only on teaching academic

content. At this level, the teacher will monitor and narrate student behavior. He/she may

use a "timed incentive" to keep students motivated. like when the students finish their

work on time, he/she may give extra time for "preferred time activity" at the end of the

day.

Behavior modification operant conditioning is used to change human behavior. This

is commonly applied in psychotherapy and in special education classrooms.

Direct instruction, a method of academic teaching, is based on operant conditioning.

In direct instruction, teachers follow a certain sequence of events starting with (a)

stating the goals of the lesson, (b) reviewing the previous topic or prerequisite, (c)

presenting new material in small chunks, accompanied by

1.3 Cognitive Behaviorism. Edward C. Tolman (1929, 1930, 1948) is best known for

cognitive behaviorism. He suggested that the effect of reinforcement is not on learning

but on the motivation to engage in a certain behavior, which was learned by other

means. He was starting to introduce memory and representation, which he called

"intervening variables." These variables cannot be measured directly, but can be

measured indirectly by deducing behavior.

Latent learning is learning that shows up later. This means you can know things

without acting upon them. This also means that learning can happen without

reinforcement and learning does not necessarily mean a change of behavior. Tolman

believed that organisms can create "cognitive maps" or "representations" of their

understanding of mental ability and cognition.

1.4 Implications of Behaviorism for Teaching. There are implications for teaching

other than behavior modification and classroom management. Teachers can model

correct behaviors and provide extrinsic motivation to increase or maintain classroom

engagement or participation of students

• Pavlov experimented by pairing the smell of food (which naturally made the dogs

salivate) with a bell sound (which didn't cause any reaction at first). After repeating this

pairing several times, the dog would salivate just by hearing the bell, even when there

was no food. The dog had learned to expect food when it heard the bell. This phase of

learning is called the *acquisition phase." After conditioning, the bell alone triggered the

salivation response, even without the food being present and neutral stimulus (bell)

becomes a conditioned stimulus, because it now elicits the conditioned response of

salvation.

PEC 101 || The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles 5
PEC 101 || The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles 6