Watson's and Skinner's theory of Behaviorism emerged from the Russian physiologist's Ivan Pavlov observation of his dogs’ response to a bell. He called the learned response that was discovered accidentally "Classical conditioning". According to behaviorism, a person’s behavior (response) is the result of extrinsic motivation and external stimuli. This theory focuses on that observable behaviors resulting from specific stimuli are a proof that learning has happened. The behavior theorists view the mind as a “black box” in the sense that response to stimulus can be observed quantitatively, ignoring the possibility of thought processes occurring in the mind.
According to the behaviorist learning theory, the educator is responsible for imposing positive responses to desired behaviors, imposing negative responses to undesirable behaviors, and providing appropriate stimuli to learners. This is implemented by providing a stimulus that elicits a response to create a measurable and observable behavior. The theory is most usable in scenarios where there is only one correct response to a given stimuli; thus, behaviorism is a learning theory most appropriate for teaching facts and standard procedures.
Because this theory is based on providing the learner with continuous positive and negative reinforcement, in a learning experience implementing behaviorism, feedback to learners is a must.
Some applications of behaviorism in Instructional design might involve consistent repetition of information, establishing a learning routine, using positive reinforcement by integrating an award system and extra credits, making sure that the experience is continuously motivating, providing measurable and observable objectives, as well as, incorporating a penalties through a consequence system.
An organization wants to make sure that their organizational Safety and Hygiene Policy is being continuously and strictly applied. The Management has developed a safety and hygiene manual and made sure that every staff member reads it and receives a training on how to apply it. The management then notices that employees tend to ignore the policy and act carelessly with regard to the restrictions it withholds. The Management decides to do spot checks at random intervals (Stimulus), praising staff members that are sticking to the right behaviors (Positive reinforcement) and, on seeing a violation, they make use of it as a learning opportunity for the management to receive feedback from the employees, as well as applying the consequence that has been stated in the policy (Negative reinforcement). By the end of every month, the team with the least violations is rewarded with a bonus (Positive reinforcement). After practicing this in a consistent manner for 6 months, the rate of violations has dramatically decreased (Response). However, the management decided to keep following the procedure to maintain the reached level of compliance.
1- Being aware of behaviorism as a learning theory provides ideas for how we can gradually shape behaviors to lead to better outcomes.
2- Behaviorism is very useful in addressing challenging behavior (children, teenagers and adults), which also includes organizational behavior in case of adults in a workplace.
1- According to Nemko (2017): Behaviorism ignores foundational causes of behavior, for example, the residue of childhood trauma, a drug abuse problem, etc.
2- According to Keramida (2015): Behaviorism does not take into account other aspects of learning such as the mental processes involved or the environment in which learning takes place.
McLeod, S. A. (2018, Oct 08). Pavlov's dogs. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html
Nemko, Marty (Ph.D.). (2017, July 3). Behaviorism at Work. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/how-do-life/201707/behaviorism-work
Keramida, Marisa (M.Ed.). (2015 May 28). Behaviorism In Instructional Design For eLearning: When And How To Use. https://elearningindustry.com/behaviorism-in-instructional-design-for-elearning-when-and-how-to-use
The-Crankshaft Publishing. what-when-how. http://what-when-how.com/distance-learning/behaviorism-and-developments-in-instructional-design-and-technology-distance-learning/