Behaviorism 

Overview of Behaviorism

Behaviorism is the idea that humans, like most other animals, can be taught a desired or favorable behavior with the right stimulus to elicit a wanted response. Behaviorism operates on the idea that human behavior directly results from stimuli in our environment. An important fact of this theory is, studying behaviors that are observable and measurable. For example, Lily is a student in high school that is five minutes late every day to class. This is a behavior that is something we can observe and measure. Behaviorism argues that with the correct conditioning, this behavior can be changed. 

History of Behaviorism 

The history of behaviorism can be linked back to psychologists Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), John Watson (1878-1958), and B.F. Skinner(1904-1990). Pavlov studied the rate of salivation in dogs when presented with food. He noticed that he could take a neutral stimulus, such as a bell, and condition the dogs to associate the sound of the ringing bell with food and therefore salivate. This is known as classical conditioning. 

This ground-breaking work inspired John Watson to further this study. Watson argued that he could change the behavior of any human and that other factors, such as; background and genetic makeup, did not matter when using this type of conditioning. 

B.F. Skinner deepened this work even further by classifying the different types of consequences. His research was based on strengthening or weakening behaviors by using what he termed as negative and positive reinforcement and punishment. This is known today as Operant Conditioning. 

Types of Behaviorism  

While there are several types of behaviorism, in this portfolio, we will discuss classical and operant conditioning. 

Classical Conditioning 

In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is introduced and associated with a natural response which in turn will create the natural response, even if the stimulus that creates the response is not present. Such as with Pavlov's dogs. Salivating is a natural response for dogs when they smell food. Salivation is not a function the dogs have any control over as it is a biological feature to help aid the dog in the digestion of its food. In Pavlov's experiment, the neutral stimulus was a bell that rang right before the dogs were given their dinner. This was done over and over again until the dogs' started to associate the bell with dinner. Once the association was made, the dogs would then salivate at the sound of the bell even when dinner was not given.  

Operant Conditioning

In Operant Conditioning, there is a classification of consequences to strengthen or weaken a behavior. Skinner proposed that rewards and punishments can be used to do this. In the case of strengthening behaviors, rewards can be used. There are two types of rewards, positive and negative reinforcements. Positive reinforcement is a desirable reward that is added, such as a treat or toy. In contrast, negative reinforcement is something unwanted taken away as a reward, such as the removal of a chore. Be careful not to confuse negative reinforcement with punishment. They are not the same and are commonly confused. 

In the case of decreasing an unwanted behavior, punishment is used. This also has been broken down into positive and negative punishments. Positive punishment is something given that is unwanted, such as Saturday school, if we are using the example of Lily from the example above.  Or a negative punishment, which is the removal of something, such as taking car keys away from Lily for being late every day. 

Criticisms 

Behaviorism is still very popular today and can be seen in classrooms across the world; however, it is not without its failings. One of the biggest shortcomings is that it does not take into account humans and their multi-dimensional factors such as moods, personality, motivations, genetic backgrounds, and intellectual abilities/disabilities.  Behaviorism states that external stimuli are responsible for our actions. Another aspect of behaviorism is that the extinction of a behavior is more likely if the external stimulus is no longer present. If the teacher stops giving out points for wanted behavior, the unwanted behavior is more likely to come back.  We have learned so much more about brain development and learning that behaviorism, while sometimes useful, is limited. 

Advantages

When it comes right down to it... it works! Even with the lack of dynamic thinking of behaviorism, humans crave feedback, and instant feedback is even better. Get the right answer, and you get a little checkmark and a pleasant sounding bell. Who doesn't love that? When the feedback is not something we want, such as a red x and not so friendly noise, we are more likely to try to avoid that stimulus. 

Implications in Instructional  Design 

Today, when our world is becoming a more virtual space, behaviorism is a good start for feedback on instruction. As people, we love to see that giant green checkmark or confetti thrown around on our digital screen to boost our confidence that we have obtained the knowledge needed for whatever we are doing.  As instructional designers, we can take the technology and make incredible learning spaces that are not only engaging but fun and make us feel accomplished. A few activities that can be used are drag and drop, matching, and conditional logic, where one answer leads to the next step. Instant feedback in those types of activities is reinforcing for the learner. 

Gamification of instruction is also useful for building knowledge in a fun and engaging way (there is a reason why the video game industry is as huge as it is).  Gamification can be a powerful tool for eLearners and maybe even helps in building a little bit of healthy competition (ie. a leaderboard).