Behaviourism

Behaviourists emphasise the role of the environment in directing behaviour. They work by observing the ways in which their subjects respond to stimuli. They believe that learning takes place through conditioning and describe two types: classical and operant. Papalia and Olds (1992) define them as follows:

• Classical conditioning: A form of learning in which a previously neutral stimulus (a neutral stimulus is one that does not elicit a particular response) acquires the power to elicit a response after the stimulus is repeatedly associated with another stimulus that ordinarily does elicit the response (page 556).

• Operant (instrumental) conditioning: A form of learning in which a response continues to be made because it has been reinforced or stops being made because it has been punished; also called instrumental conditioning, because the learner is instrumental in changing the environment to bring about either reinforcement or punishment (page 560).

Of these two models of learning, operant conditioning is most widely applied to education, though its focus on using reinforcement or punishment to increase, eliminate, shape, or improve behaviour raises ethical issues. Bruning, Schraw, and Ronning (1999) claim that:

Much of what we do today in education reflects behaviorism’s continuing influence. For instance, behavioral features are readily recognizable in such familiar educational approaches as instructional objectives, task analysis, and the use of positive reinforcers. All evolved out of a behavioral philosophy of learning specifying that responses must be sequenced appropriately, made overtly, and rewarded. Many of these derivations from behavioral psychology have helped make education more effective, more accountable, and more humane. In special education settings, especially, behavioral principles have provided an effective set of technologies for teaching that simply did not exist before.

pages 4–5

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