BEHAVIOURISM LEARNING THEORY

According to Pavlov, every stimulus will cause response. Response means any
behaviour as a result of a stimulus. Stimulus is any form of energy that caused
response. For example, when teachers hear the bell ringing, will leave the staff
room to go to the classroom to see their students. This behaviour is carried to
their homes that is when they hear the bell ringing they will leave their room to
observe his family members. From this example, the bell is the stimulus while the
teachers action is the response.
From his study, Pavlov opined that learning can occur as a result of stimulus and
response. Learning that occurs as a result of the relationship is known as routine
and learning that occurs as a result of this stimulus is known as classic routine.
From Pavlovs experiment on a dog, three stages of routine appeared that are (a)
pre routine, (b) while routine and (c) post routine. The result of Pavlov
experiment is summarised in Figure 6.1.
Several important concepts in teaching and learning process developed through
Pavlov classic routine principle include (a) generalisation, (b) discrimination and
(c) elimination.
(a) Generalisation
Generalisation means the same stimulus will produce the same response.
For example, Ali is worried each time when the chemistry test is held. He is
also worried each time is biology test is held because both subjects inter-related. So his worry in one
subject (chemistry) has been generalised to
another subject (biology).

(b) Discrimination
Discrimination happens when someone responses to one stimulus but not
to the others. In the study on a dog, it was found that the dog only
responded to the bell. In Alis case, he was not worried about his English or
History tests because both subjects are different from the Science subjects.
(c) Elimination
Elimination happens when a conditioned stimulus is not concurrent with
unconditioned response. In Pavlovs study, when the bell (conditioned
stimulus) was not accompanied by food (unconditioned stimulus), the dog
eventually stopped salivating when it heard the bell. This is an example of
when elimination takes place.

Watsons Classic Conditioning Theory

Besides Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson is another psychologist who uses the word
behaviourism to explain behavioural changes during the learning process. He
conducted a study to prove that human emotion can be classically conditioned.
He studied a white mouse and an 11-month-old boy, Albert.
During his study, he showed Albert the white mouse. In the beginning, the boy did
not show any fear towards the mouse. However, when a loud sound accompanied
the appearance of the white mouse, the boy started to cry. This was repeated
several times that eventually, the boy developed a fear towards the white mouse.
Based on his research, Watson suggested that teachers can condition students
learning experience by controlling the given stimuli and the expected responses.
By combining several stimuli, specific responses can be expected in different
situations. During the learning process, teachers should choose exciting stimuli.

Skinners Operant Conditioning Theory

B.F. Skinner agrees with Pavlov but states that actions must be observed for a long
period of time and simple actions should mould complex actions. Skinner
conducted a lot of studies using animals such as mouse and doves. He created the
Skinner Box in which he studied animal behaviour which according to him can be
controlled and the animals responses can be observed, recorded and measured.
The study led him to the use of the operant conditioning theory in teaching and
learning activities in the classroom. According to Skinner (1953), in the operant
conditioning theory, response can be strengthened (repeated) or eliminated (not
repeated), if reinforcement is given immediately after the response.
Reinforcement is something that is done to encourage repetition of actions.
According to Rachlin (1991), reinforcement is given, first to satisfy individuals
need; secondly to reduce pressure and stimulate the brain. Skinner states that
there are two types of reinforcement; positive reinforcement and negative
reinforcement.
There are five processes in Skinners operant conditioning theory; positive
reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, Premack principle and
elimination.
(a) Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement is to provide a reward after a behaviour is observed,
resulting in the behaviour to be repeated or strengthen. In a classroom,
positive reinforcement is given as a motivation in teaching and learning.
Some examples of positive reinforcement that can be given in the
classrooms are to praise students when they answer questions, smile, pat
students shoulders and give presents. Table 6.1 shows another example of
positive reinforcement.

Teachers positive reinforcement may encourage students to produce high

quality work. Reinforcements given must be clear and systematic. Only
specific behaviours can be given reinforcement. Teachers must also be
honest when they give the reinforcement. According to Brophy (1981),
effective characteristics of positive reinforcement are (a) honest,
(b) immediate, (c) not biased, (d) praise efforts and trial-error, (e) praise
specific behaviour and (f) praise spontaneous answer or responses.
(b) Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is a painful or undesirable immediate stimulus
given after a behaviour is observed. For example, a father may scold his son
for not doing his homework. As the son is tired of his fathers scolding, the
son finishes his homework. The sons behaviour (to finish his homework)
helps him to avoid an undesirable stimulus (his fathers scolding). Table 6.2
shows another example of negative reinforcement.
Reinforcement can be continuous or scheduled. Table 6.3 shows a
reinforcement table which can be used to create desired behaviour. This
reinforcement table covers continuous reinforcement, fixed-ratio
reinforcement and variable ratio reinforcement.

(c) Punishment
Punishment is a process to weaken or reduce the possibility of repeating
undesirable behaviour. Punishment is a negative effect that leads to the
decrease of the number of the behaviour. Table 6.4 shows another example
of punishment.
Punishment can be divided into two; presentation punishment and removal
punishment.
(i) Presentation Punishment
Presentation punishment takes place when a stimulus causes a change
in students behaviour. This type of punishment does not involve
anything physical but could scare the students. For example, field run,
demerit system, extra homework.
(ii) Removal Punishment
Removal punishment relates to elimination of stimuli. For instance,
parents or teachers withdraw a privilege when a student does not
behave accordingly. An example of removal punishment is no
television for a week because a student does not do his Mathematic
homework.
To make punishment more effective, some improvements must be
considered. These include:
(i) Punishment must be immediate, immediately after an undesired
behaviour is displayed.
(ii) The person punished must know why he is being punished.
(iii) Punishment is given with the intention to change ones behaviour and
not as a payment for his behaviour.
(iv) Punishment must be consistent. If A is caned three times for his
undesirable behaviour, B must also be caned three times for the same
undesirable behaviour.
Some believe that punishment can create prolong emotional disturbance
and carries ethical considerations. A very harsh punishment can be labeled
as abuse and continuous punishment can develop negative behaviour such
as isolation, low self-esteem. It can also disturb ones emotional
development in the long run.