Behavioral theory

Behavioral theory

Introduction

Behaviourism is the process of learning a person’s observable changes in their behavior. This theory can be applied in classes and classrooms when teaching students (McKenna (1995). Behaviourism is used in classrooms to determine the relationship between the actual actions by a student and the immediate consequences of those actions (precursors).

One theory that will help in understanding a student’s cognitive behavior is the operant conditioning theory (Spielberger & DeNike (1966). This theory mainly focuses on how precursors of behavior affect the behavior of an individual over time. Operant conditioning theory has four primary concepts, namely, extinction, generalization, discrimination, cues, and reinforcement schedules.

Operant conditioning theory further states that new practices warrant more consequences, while some results increase the chances of a particular action to occur. A good example of operant conditioning is research conducted by Alberto and Troutman in 2005, which made the following observation “A seventh-grade boy makes a silly face (the operant) at the girl sitting next to him. Classmates sitting around them giggle in response (the reinforcement).” (Smith, Press, Koenig & Kinnealey (2005).

“A child who is usually very restless sits for five minutes doing an assignment (the operant). The teaching assistant compliments him for working hard (the reinforcement).” This example by Alberto and Troutman shows that operant conditioning is widespread in classrooms. The main advantage of this theory is that it’s not confined to a particular age group, subject, or grade of students (Soltoggio et al. (2008). Moreover, operant conditioning is more interactive and open, giving room for trials of new theories to teachers and students. The final advantage of this theory is that it has an intrinsic motivation part; this statement was, according to Ally, in 2004 when he was talking about the foundations of education (Ally (20014).

Operant conditioning theory has one disadvantage or limitation; the method encounters a lot of issues when teaching complex situations. The technique is prevalent in many learning centers and classrooms because it is easy to apply and learn; however, it is not easy to use in complex and challenging learning situations.

In conclusion, operant learning and conditioning theory is a potent learning mechanism (Altman & Linton (1971). This learning theory plays a significant role in helping individuals learn about different cultures, languages, and the world as a whole. However, this method is not suitable for complex learning conditions.

References

Ally, M. (2004). Foundations of educational theory for online learning. Theory and practice of online learning, 2, 15-44.

Altman, K. I., & Linton, T. E. (1971). Operant conditioning in the classroom setting: A review of the research. The Journal of Educational Research, 64(6), 277-286.

Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The theory and practice of online learning. Athabasca University Press.

Guney, A., & Al, S. (2012). Productive learning environments in relation to different learning theories. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 2334-2338.

Hawkins, R. (1990). THE LIFE AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF BURRHUS FREDERICK SKINNER. Education and Treatment of Children, 13(3), 258-263. Retrieved April 7, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/42899169

McKenna, G. (1995). Learning theories made easy: behaviorism. Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain): 1987), 9(29), 29-31.

Salzinger, K. (1967). The problem of response class in verbal behavior. Research in oral expression and some neurophysiological implications, 35-54.

Shields, C., & Gredler, M. (2003). A problem-solving approach to teaching operant conditioning. The teaching of Psychology, 30(2), 114-116.

Smith, S. A., Press, B., Koenig, K. P., & Kinnealey, M. (2005). Effects of sensory integration intervention on self-stimulating and self-injurious behaviors. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59(4), 418-425.

Soltoggio, A., Bullinaria, J. A., Mattiussi, C., Dürr, P., & Floreano, D. (2008). Evolutionary advantages of neuromodulated plasticity in dynamic, reward-based scenarios. In Proceedings of the 11th international conference on artificial life (Alife XI) (No. CONF, pp. 569-576). MIT Press.

Spector, J. M. (2015). Foundations of educational technology: Integrative approaches and interdisciplinary perspectives. Routledge.

Spielberger, C. D., & DeNike, L. D. (1966). Descriptive behaviorism versus cognitive theory in verbal operant conditioning. Psychological Review, 73(4), 306.