LEARNING THEORY

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LEARNING THEORY
BEHAVIORISM
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B. F. SKINNER
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BEHAVIORISM
REINFORCEMENT THEORY
Behavioral psychologists study observable
behavior and what causes behavior to change. ALL
mental concepts are viewed as being irrelevant.
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Black Box

• Skinner did not deny that thoughts and feelings
  might exist.
• He simply felt that they were a level of analysis
  unnecessary to gaining a complete understanding
  of psychology.
• Indeed studying them led one away from what truly
  needed to be studied (i.e., behavior.)

In science this level of unnecessary analysis is
known as the black box.
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TERMINOLOGY
Reinforcement- An environmental stimulus that
increases a behavior Punishment- An
environmental Stimulus that decreases
behavior Extinction- Decreasing or eliminating
a behavior by failing to reinforce it.
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NATURALLY EMITTED BEHAVIORS(Contribution of
Biology)
The environment shapes naturally emitted
behaviors. The environment shapes innate
behaviors. We do not acquire original behaviors
from the environment.
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BEHAVIORAL EDUCATION
For behaviorists the purpose of education is to
effect desired changes in the learners
behavior. Mental constructs have NO place in a
behaviorist classroom.
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EVIL WORDS
(Never to be used when describing teaching
objectives)

• AFFECT (Emotion)
• Appreciate
• Feel
• Enjoy
• Curiosity
• Interest
• Free will
• Believe
• Etc.

• COGNITION
• Think
• Know
• Understand
• Analyze
• Interpret
• Evaluate
• Decide
• Comprehend
• Learn
• Etc.

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Behaviorists maintain that none of these evil
words must ever be used in the classroom!!! Educa
tional objectives must be stated in behavioral
terms only.
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EDUCATION MEANS..
CHANGING BEHAVIOR
Behavior Modification
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REINFORCEMENT always increases
behaviors PUNISHMENT and EXTINCTION always
decrease behaviors
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Reinforcement and Punishment

• Reinforcement

• Punishment

Add something to the environment in order to
increase behavior
Add something to the environment in order to
decrease behavior

_
Subtract something from the environment in order
to decrease behavior
Subtract something from the environment in order
to increase behavior
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SIZE OF REINFORCEMENT
Increasing the size of the reinforcement
increases likelihood that the person will engage
in the behavior.
Im more likely to wash your car for 50 than for
50 cents. (BUT, you must be careful of satiation.)
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CONTINUOUS REINFORCEMENT
Reinforcement is provided every time the person
performs the desired behavior.
This schedule of reinforcement may be useful for
initiating a behavior, but it has at least 2
major problems. 1. It is not practical. 2.Very
fast extinction occurs when reinforcement stops.
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SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
Ratio
Interval
Reinforcement is provided at a fixed time
interval if organism does predetermined minimum.
Reinforcement is provided after a fixed number of
behaviors.
Fixed
Reinforcement is provided on the average of a
fixed number of behaviors
Reinforcement is provided on the average of a
fixed time interval.
Vari- able
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THE BEHAVIORAL CLASSROOM
1. Identify the BEHAVIORAL objective 2. Find the
reinforcements that will increase the desired
behavior.
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SHAPING
Successive Approximation Task
Analysis additive reductionist
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• What is the relationship between learning and
  development?
• WE DEVELOP BY LEARNING. LEARNING EXPLAINS
  DEVELOPMENT.
• 2. What motivates people?
• REINFORCEMENTS PUNISHMENTS MOTIVATION IS
  EXTERNAL.
• How important is behavior?
• ALL IMPORTANT! FOR BEHAVIORISTS PSYCHOLOGY MEANS
  MEASURING AND CHANGING BEHAVIORS.

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• How important is thinking?
• IT HAS NO IMPORTANCE.
• 5. Are people active or passive?
• PASSIVE
• 6. How important are emotions?
• THEY HAVE NO IMPORTANCE.
• 7. How do people change?
• REINFORCEMENTS, PUNISHMENTS, AND EXTINCTION
  CHANGE BEHAVIOR.

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According To Skinner, What Should Educators Be
Trying to Achieve?

• What educational goals are most
  consistent with this theory?
• Behavioral Objectives
• What educational methodologies are most
  consistent with this theory?
• Reinforcement and Extinction (punishment)
• According to this theory, what is the purpose of
  schools and education?
• To Change (Shape) Behaviors

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How would Skinner Explain Achievement and/or the
Lack of Achievement Explained?

• How does the theory define achievement?!!!
• Achievement is defined as a desired change in
  behavior.
• What are the factors that contribute to
  achievement?
• In order for the student to achieve the teacher
  must set behavioral goals that the student can
  perform and provide proper reinforcements.

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• What are the factors that contribute to lack of
  achievement (possibly causing a child to be
  labeled)?
• The teacher has not set behavioral goals that the
  student can perform and/or has not provided
  proper reinforcements.
• LACK OF ACHIEVEMENT IS DUE TO IMPROPER TEACHING.
  If the child does not learn it is the fault of
  the educational system !!

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PROBLEMS
Because of LOGICAL contradictions in the theory
1. There is no one to set the goals. 2. The
term reinforcement doesnt mean anything (gives
us no information).
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CONTRIBUTIONS

• Individualized Education
• Must have individual starting points and
  reinforcements for each child.
• Concentrate on What You Want, not on What You
  Dont Want.
• Dont waste time punishing undesired behaviors
  reinforce desired behaviors.
• Change What You Are Doing If it Doesnt Work.
  (Teacher is a scientist.)

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FIXED RATIO
CHARACTERISTICS 1. A steady rate of work (a
plus) 2. Fast rate of extinction (a minus)
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VARIABLE RATIO
CHARACTERISTICS 1. A steady rate of work (a
plus) 2. Slow rate of extinction (a plus) 3.
Rapid recovery of behavior from near extinction
(plus)
It is always true that the next performance of
the behavior could bring the reinforcement.
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FIXED INTERVAL
CHARACTERISTICS 1. A slow, unsteady rate of
work (a minus) 2. A fast rate of extinction (a
minus)
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VARIABLE INTERVAL
CHARACTERISTICS 1. A steady rate of work (a
plus) 2. A slow rate of extinction (a plus)
It is very difficult for the learner to tell the
difference between this schedule and the
variable ratio schedule.
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SELF-EXCLUDING FALLACY(no one to set the goals)
People are viewed as being passive. They have no
free will. They make no decisions. If so...

• There is no one to decide upon the behavioral
  objects.
• There is no one to analyze the data.
• There is no one who has the free will to shape
  others.

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The educator using the theory must exclude
her/himself from the tenets of the theory.
The person using this theory must have the free
will to

• decide upon behavioral objectives
• analyze data
• be the active shaper of the passive
• students who are being shaped.

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In order for this theory of human psychology to
work, the rules must not apply to at least one
human. (When I am using the theory everyone is
passive and shapeable except me. I am the active
shaper.) This is a logical fallacy!!
It doesnt make sense.
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In order to get a behavior to increase provide a
reinforcement whenever the behavior
occurs. Reinforcement--An environmental stimulus
that increases a behavior
In order to get a behavior to increase provide an
environmental stimulus that increases a behavior
whenever the behavior occurs.
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REINFORCEMENT
The term reinforcement is circular and gives us
no information as to how to get a behavior to
change.
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PREMACK PRINCIPLE
(An unsuccessful attempt to overcome the
circularity problem)
A behavior that naturally occurs frequently has a
high probability of reinforcing a behavior that
naturally occurs less frequently.
Translation Use something a pupil likes to do
as a reward for doing something s/he doesnt like
to do. Like every other proposed reinforcement,
sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt.