Behaviorism

Behaviorism


I found the article by Melissa Standridge on behaviorism to be interesting and enlightening. According to Standridge, Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable and measurable aspects of human behavior. I agree, “Behavior can be unlearned and replaced by another.” I feel that behavior is learned. We learn from our surrounding. I feel our behavior derives from what is accepted by society. There is good and bad behavior in all of us. How we choose to act on that behavior is up to society and us. For example, if a society accepts a person that assault another person without punishment, then that person will continue to do the same thing. If society punishes that person, they will likely stop.

According to Standridge, in assuming that human behavior is learned, behaviorists also hole that all behaviors can also be unlearned, and replaced by new behaviors. The desired response must be rewarded in order for learning to take place. I agree that for a behavior to change, the person must be aware of that behavior that needs to be changed. For example, if a child is continuing to misbehave in class, if the teacher does not address it, the behavior may stop or get worse. According to Standridge, in education, advocates of behaviorism have effectively adopted this system of rewards and punishments in their classrooms by rewarding desired behaviors and punishing inappropriate ones. For example, if a teacher wishes to teach the behavior of remaining seated during the class period, the successful student’s reward might be checking the teacher’s mailbox, and running an errand. John B. Watson and B. F Skinner are the two principal originators of behaviorist approaches to learning. Watson believed that human behavior resulted from specific stimuli that elicited certain responses. Pavlov study was on the digestive process and salivation that occurred in dogs. Pavlov discovered conditioned stimulus and conditioned response.

Skinner developed operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is the rewarding of part of a desired behavior or a random act that approaches it. Skinner did his research using animals. According to Standridge, behaviorist’s techniques have long been employed in education to promote behavior that is desirable and discourage that, which is not. Among the methods derived from behaviorist theory for practical classroom application are contracts, consequences, reinforcement, extinction, and behavior modification. Consequences occur immediately after a behavior whether they are positive or negative. Positive reinforcement is presentation of a stimulus that increases the probability of a response. Teachers may provide positive reinforcement by, smiling at students after a correct response, commending students for their work, selecting them for a special project, and praising students’ ability to parents. I feel that every teacher should live by this positive reinforcement. It is important that we constantly reward our students.

We as educators must be able to reinforce positive behavior in all of our students in order for them to succeed. When a behavior develops, if negative, we must know how to handle the situation and turn it around to a positive.