Educational Psychology | Part 3: Thinking, Learning and Memory | Chapter 7: Behavioral Approaches to Learning
1. Learning - Any relatively permanent change in the behavior, thoughts, or feelings of an organism that results form
experience.
2. Behavioral Approaches to Learning- Approaches to learning that focus primarily on changes in observable
behavior, rather than on internal mental processes.
3. Why Understanding Behavioral Learning Is Important to Teachers
4. Learning by Classical Conditioning
A. Classical Conditioning - Learning processes in which an originally neutral stimulus becomes associated with a
particular physiological or emotional response (or both) that the stimulus did not originally produce.
B. Neutral Stimulus - Stimulus that does not evoke any particular response until it becomes linked with a
conditioned response via classical conditioning.
C. The Discovery of Classical Conditioning
1. Classical conditioning was discovered by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist who was studying
digestion in dogs.
2. Found that something that happens in conjecture with the meat creates the same response.
D. How Does Classical Conditioning Happen?
1. Unconditioned Stimulus (US) - Stimulus that elicits a physiological or emotional response (or both)
before any conditioning takes place.
2. Unconditioned Response (UR) - An organism's natural response to a stimulus, which occurs without
any conditioning.
3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS) - originally neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a response as a result of
classical conditioning procedures.
4. Conditioned Response (CR) - physiological or emotional response that is elicited from a conditioned
stimulus as a result of classical conditioning.
5. Temporal Contiguity - principle of classical conditioning that states that the mere closeness in time
between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus helps explain conditioning.
6. Phases of Classical Conditioning
a. Extinction - phase of classical conditioning during which conditioned responses occur less and
less frequently in response to a conditioned stimulus, and eventually stop.
b. Spontaneous Recovery - classical conditioning phenomenon in which a conditioned response
returns after an extinction period.
E. Generalization and Discrimination in Classical Conditioning
1. Stimulus Generalization - classical conditioning mechanism by which stimuli similar to the original
conditioned stimulus can elicit the same conditioned response.
2. Stimulus Discrimination - classical conditioning mechanism whereby an individual distinguishes
between the conditioned stimulus and another stimulus that is sufficiently unlike it so as not to elicit
the same (or possibly any) level of conditioning
3. How Aversion Occurs in the Classroom
a. Conditioned Emotional Response (CER) - Emotional response that has developed through the
process of classical conditioning.
b. Aversive Stimuli - something unpleasant that can produce a negative emotional response.
c. One of the most common conditioned responses teachers will notice is test anxiety - a
generalized feeling of dread in response to tests.
4. Controlling Classical Conditioning in the Classroom
a. Relaxation training is a procedure in which students are taught to pair testing stimuli with a
relaxation response that is incompatible with anxiety.
F. Classical Conditioning and Addictions
1. It is possible that some disorders (maladjustments in living) develop as a result of a classical
conditioning.
2. Addictions - persistent, habitual, or compulsive physiological or at least psychological dependencies
on one or more psychoactive drugs.
3. Addictions can be a form a classical conditioning.
Educational Psychology | Part 3: Thinking, Learning and Memory | Chapter 7: Behavioral Approaches to Learning
4. Counterconditioning - A technique in which the positive association between a given unconditioned
stimulus and a given conditioned stimulus is replaced with a negative one by the substitution of a new
unconditioned stimulus that has a different unconditioned response.
Implications for Teaching
A. Minimize reliance on classically conditioned negative emotions. Learn to anticipate situations in
which negative feelings might be learned through classical conditioning, and try to prevent such
situations from arising. If a student turns in a poor performance, rather than dwelling on the
shortcomings, tell the student that you are sure that she will do better work next time.
B. Link Learning with Positive Emotions. One way to prevent classical conditioning of negative
responses is to arrange repeated pairings of positive feelings with certain kinds of learning. This
procedure is especially useful for subjects that are anxiety-provoking. For example, a teacher might
reduce anxiety about reading by letting students read in a comfortable, welcoming reading area.
Students may come to associate the pleasure they feel from being in the reading area with the task of
reading.
3. Teach students to generalize and discriminate appropriately. Teachers need to help students
determine which stimuli should be linked with which responses. Poor performance on one project or
test does not make the student an overall poor performer.
4. Be aware of and help students cope with classically conditioned anxiety. Students which severe test
anxiety or other anxiety problems may need outside help. Nevertheless, teachers can help many
students take steps to reduce milder cases of classically conditioned anxiety.
5. Learning by Operant Conditioning
1. Operant Conditioning (Instrumental Conditioning) - Learning produced by the rewards and punishments of
active behavior (an operant) of a human or other organism interacting with the environment.
2. Operant - Active behavior that the organism uses to operate on the environment. The basic unit studied in
operant conditioning.
3. Table 7.1
Classical Conditioning
Key
Between conditioned stimulus and
Relationship unconditioned stimulus
Student's
Behavior
Operant Conditioning
Between operant behavior and its
consequences (either reward or
punishment)
Involuntary. Behavior is elicited by the Voluntary. Behavior occurs; then its
unconditioned or conditioned
likelihood is increased or decreased by its
stimulus.
consequences.
Sequence of At the start of conditioning: NS US UR; Operant behavior: ReinforcementEvents
After conditioning is acquired: CS CR
increase in behavior or; Operant behavior:
punishment- decrease in behavior
Example
Teacher repeatedly raises hand before
shouting, "Quiet". Unconditioned
response of being quiet when shout is
heard is similar to conditioned
response of becoming quiet when
hand is raised.
D. The Discovery of Operant Conditioning
1. Thorndike
Reinforcement: Teacher praises students
when they happen to be quiet. They are
more likely to be quiet in the future.
Punishment: Teacher ends students' free
time when they get too noisy. They are
less likely to be noisy during future free
time.
Educational Psychology | Part 3: Thinking, Learning and Memory | Chapter 7: Behavioral Approaches to Learning
2. Law of Effect - Thorndike's explanation for operant conditioning, which states that those actions that
are rewarded tend to be strengthened and more likely to occur in the future, whereas those actions
that are punished are weakened and thus less likely to occur in the future.
E. Generalization and Discrimination in Operant Condition
1. Stimulus generalization results when an operant that occurs with one stimulus spreads to another
stimulus.
2. Stimulus discrimination results when an operant that occurs with one stimulus does not spread to
another stimulus, even though that other stimulus may be similar.
F. Recognizing Operant Conditioning in the Classroom
G. How Does Operant Conditioning Happen?
1. Reinforcement
a. Positive Reinforcer - Operant conditioning in which a positive reinforcer is paired with an
operant response, thereby strengthening the response.
b. Negative Reinforcer - operant conditioning involving the removal of a aversive stimulus soon
after an operant response, thereby strengthening the response.
2. Choosing Reinforcers
a. Primary Reinforcers -operant conditioning rewards, such as food or shelter from the elements,
that provide immediate satisfaction or enjoyment.
b. Secondary Reinforcers -operant conditioning rewards that gain reinforcement value through
their association with primary reinforces.
3. Making Reinforcers Effective
a. Premack Principle - Law of operant conditioning that states that more preferred activities
reinforce less preferred ones.
4. Schedules of reinforcement
a. Schedule of Reinforcement - certain pattern by which reinforcements follow operants during
operant conditioning procedures.
b. Continuous Reinforcement - operant conditioning schedule of reinforcement in which a
reinforcement always follows a particular desired behavior.
c. Partial Reinforcement (Intermittent Reinforcement) - Schedules of operant conditioning
reinforcement in which desired behavior is reinforced only some of the time.
d. Ratio Schedule - operant conditioning schedule of reinforcement in which a certain number of
desired operants are reinforced without respect to the passage of time.
e. Interval Schedule - Operant conditioning schedule of reinforcement in which reinforcement is
given for the first response after a certain amount of time has passed.
f. How do the 4 partial reinforcement schedules work?
i.
In a fixed-ratio reinforcement schedule, reinforcements always occur after a certain
number of responses have occurred.
ii.
In a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement, the individual is rewarded, on average, for a
certain number of responses.
iii.
In a fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement, individuals are always reinforced for the first
response that occurs after the passage of a fixed amount of time, regardless of how many
operant responses have taken place after that time interval.
iv.
In a variable-interval schedule of reinforcement, individuals are reinforced for the first
response after the passage of an average interval of time, regardless of how many
operant responses have taken place after that time interval.
g. Table 7.2
Schedule
Description When Example
Reinforcement
Starts
Pattern of
Response
-->
--|
During
Reinforcement
When
Reinforcement
Stops
After
Reinforcement
Stops
Educational Psychology | Part 3: Thinking, Learning and Memory | Chapter 7: Behavioral Approaches to Learning
Continuous Every operant is
reinforced
Gold star for
every paper
turned in
Rapid increase in
operants
Steady response Operants rapidly
as long as
stop
reinforcer is
desired
Fixed Ratio Reinforcement
occurs for first
response after a
certain fixed
number of
operants
Gold star for
every 5 papers
turned in
Fairly rapid
increase in
operants, but not
as fast as under
continuous
reinforcement
Usually high
response rate,
but with a pause
after each
reinforcer
Operants stop
rapidly if
reinforcement does
not occur after
expected number of
operants
Variable
Ratio
Reinforcement
occurs for first
response after
varying number of
operants
Teacher picks a
Slow increase in
different "magic
operants
number" every
day for number of
papers to be
turned in to earn
a gold star
Steady and
high-less pause
after each
reinforcer
Operants stop
slowly
Fixed
Interval
Reinforcement
occurs for first
response after a
certain fixed
period of time
Gold star every
Somewhat faster
week after weekly increase in
paper is turned in operants than in
variable
schedules, slower
than under
continuous
reinforcement
High, but
response rate
often increases
as time for
reinforcement
approaches,
then drops after
each
reinforcement.
Operants stop
rapidly if
reinforcement does
not occur after
expected amount of
time.
Variable
interval
Reinforcement
occurs for first
response after
varying amounts
of time.
Surprise "Gold
Star Days" when
turning in paper
earns gold star
Constant high
Operants decrease
response rate
slowly and
with little pause gradually.
after each
reinforcement
Slow increase in
operants
A. Understanding the Consequences of Behavior
1. Contingency Contract - written or oral agreement between student and teacher specifying
desired behavior and promised reward.
B. Punishment
1. Punishment - use of a stimulus that decreases the probability of a response, either through the
application of an unpleasant stimulus or through the removal of a pleasant one.
2. presentation Punishment - application of an unpleasant stimulus to discourage a response.
3. Removal Punishment - taking away a pleasant stimulus to discourage a response.
4. The person administering the punishment should consider the following options:
a. Suggest alternative ways the student can get what he or she wants
b. Find a way to follow punishment with positive reinforcement
c. Explain the problem
d. Punish immediately
e. Use appropriate intensity
f. Punish consistently
g. Make escape impossible
h. Use penalties
i. Ensure appropriateness
Educational Psychology | Part 3: Thinking, Learning and Memory | Chapter 7: Behavioral Approaches to Learning
5. Time-out - punishment by enforcing a brief period of social isolation.
6. Response Cost - form of punishment in which a small penalty is imposed for each instance of the
undesirable behavior.
7. Satiation - compelling individuals to continue a behavior until they are tired of it.
8. Table 7.3
Name of
Consequence
Description
Effect of Consequence on
Future Operant Behavior
Example
Positive
Reinforcement
A pleasant stimulus is
presented following operant
behavior
Increases likelihood
Student receives a gold star
for handing in assignment on
time.
Negative
Reinforcement
An unpleasant stimulus is
removed following operant
behavior.
Increases likelihood
Student goes to recess only
after assignment is
completed
Presentation
Punishment
An unpleasant stimulus is
presented following operant
behavior
Decreases likelihood
Student is scolded for failing
to turn in assignment
Removal
Punishment
(Penalty)
A pleasant stimulus is
removed following operant
behavior
Decreases likelihood
Student loses gerbil-feeding
privilege for failing to turn in
assignment
A. Table 7.4
Danger
Description
Example
Escape
Attempts
Students try to continue with the behavior being
punished, yet find a way of continuing without
being punished (such as by hiding the behavior)
Ricky may continue to taunt other
students, being careful to do so only
when the teacher has his back turned or
is out of the room.
Backfiring
Punishment, especially when harsh, may cause
unintended, or even the direct opposite of
intended, results
Teacher's punishment of Ricky may
cause Ricky to become so afraid of being
punished that he starts skipping class to
avoid Teacher.
Increased
Punishment can increase aggressive behavior on
Aggressiveness the part of the person being punished. Sometimes
the behavior of the individual will improve in
interactions with the person administering the
punishment, but the individual will then show the
same or similar punishing behavior with others.
Teacher used punishment to elect
compliance, and gained it, but at the
expense of his students' acting gout
aggressive behavior outside the
classroom
Loss of SelfEsteem
Even when behavioral change is achieved, it
sometimes occurs at the expense of a severe loss
of self-esteem, which can be more damaging, in
the long run, than the behavior that was punished.
Teacher's taunts may have convinced
Ricky that he is, indeed, stupid and ill
behaved, an image he will now reflect in
his future behavior.
Injury
Punishment can result in inadvertent (or
occasional, intentional) injury. Punishment
becomes child abuse when a child is physically or
psychologically harmed as a result of the
punishment
Ricky may develop depression as a result
of his low self-esteem and subsequent
poor relations with teachers, classmates,
and parents.
A. Behavioral Modification: Changing Students' Behavior
Educational Psychology | Part 3: Thinking, Learning and Memory | Chapter 7: Behavioral Approaches to Learning
1. Behavioral Modification - changing students' behavior by managing the contingencies, or
consequences, of that behavior.
2. Increasing Desired Behavior
a. Successive Approximations - operant conditioning method of teaching complex behavior by
rewarding behavior that comes closer and closer to the desired behavior.
b. Teachers' classroom shaping of student behavior includes a number of specific steps:
i.
Select the target behavior they wish students eventually to perform
ii.
Determine how often the target behavior occurs before shaping
iii.
Choose the reinforces to be used
iv.
Reinforce successive approximations of the target behavior on a continuous schedule-that
is, every time they occur
v.
Reinforce the target behavior, when it first appears, on a continuous schedule
vi.
Switch to variable reinforcement to maintain the target behavior
Implications for Teaching
A. Try to avoid using punishment to modify behavior. Instead, reinforce desirable behavior that is
compatible with the behavior you'd like to see.
B. Try ignoring the behavior. For example, you might ignore answers that students call out until the
same answer is offered by a student who has raised his or her hand. As a result, students may be less
likely to call out answers in the future. Sometimes, however, classmates will provide the
reinforcement that a disruptive student is seeking. In these cases, teachers must act to decrease the
disruptive behavior.
3. Provide warning cues before applying punishment. For example, if a teacher says the next student
who shouts out an answer will give up one gold star on the class reward chart, students may become
very careful to raise their hands.
4. Consider appropriate modifications of the environment. For example, if children are wiggling and
bumping each other as they sit on the floor during story time, try having them sit on chairs. Perhaps
you will need to do nothing more.
A. Learned Helplessness
B. Learned Optimism
6. Social Learning
A. Social Learning - Learning that takes place when people learn from observing the behavior of others and the
environmental outcomes of others' behaviors.
B. The Discovery of Social Learning
1. Model - to behave as the role model has behaved.
2. Bandura
C. How Does Social Learning Happen?
1. Attention
2. Retention
3. Motivation
a. Direct Reinforcement - rewarding individuals for behaving the way you wish them to.
b. Vicarious Reinforcement - reinforcement that occurs through the observation of someone else's
behavior being reinforced.
c. Self-Reinforcement - administration of reinforces to oneself
4. Potential For Modeling
a. Self-Regulation - control of one's behavior.
b. Table 7.5
Characteristic
Why It Works
Example
Educational Psychology | Part 3: Thinking, Learning and Memory | Chapter 7: Behavioral Approaches to Learning
Salience: the model
stands out in
relation to
competing models
The behavior of a salient adult (parent or
teacher), or of a salient age-mate (best
friend), is more likely to be imitated than
is the behavior of a random adult or child
A high school math teacher
demonstrates the correct way of solving
a problem, knowing that, as teacher, he
or she is a salient model for some
students.
Liking and Respect:
the model is liked
and respected by
the individual
A child is more likely to model the
behavior of a respected teacher or friend
than of a stranger or someone who is
disliked
To provide another model who is liked
and respected, the math teacher asks a
popular student to be the first student
to solve a problem at the chalkboard
Similarity: the
individual views the
model and herself or
himself as being
alike in key ways
A parent or best friend is more likely to
serve as a role model because of
perceived similarity to the individual who
is doing the learning
The math teacher asks several students
to come up and solve problems, so each
student begins to envision himself or
herself at the next one at the
chalkboard.
Reinforcement: the
consequences of a
model's behavior
are observed
An individual is more likely to imitate a
The math teacher liberally praises each
model's behavior if the model is rewarded student, not only stepping up in front of
for her or his acts
the class, but also for each step leading
to a correct problem solution.
Implications for Teaching
A. Acquire new behavior
B. Manifest already learned behavior
3. Strengthen or weaken inhibitions to action
4. Direct attention toward what is important
5. Arouse appropriate emotions.
7. Cognitive-Behavioral Modification
1. Cognitive-behavioral Modification - learning techniques that use a combination of cognitive and behavioral
learning principles to shape and encourage desired behavior.
2. Self-Instruction - teaching of oneself.
3. Steps of self-instruction
1. Demonstrated by model
2. Modeling with overt adult guidance
3. Modeling with overt self-guidance
4. Modeling with faded self-guidance
5. Modeling with covert self-guidance