Learning Theories
Introduction
Behaviorism, as a learning theory, can be traced back to Aristotle, whose essay “Memory” focused on association being made between events such as lightning and thunder. Other philosophers that followed Aristotle’s thoughts are Hobbs (1650), Hume (1740), Brown (1820), Bain (1855) and Ebbinghause (1885) (Black, 1995). Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike and Skinner later developed the theory in more detail. Watson is the theorist credited with coining the term “behaviorism”.
Behaviorism as a learning theory
The school of adult learning theory that adopted these principles has become known as the school of behaviorism, which saw learning as a straightforward process of response to stimuli. The provision of a reward or reinforcement is believed to strengthen the response and therefore result in changes in behavior – the test, according to this school of thought, is as to whether learning had occurred. Spillane (2002) states, “the behaviorist perspective, associated with B. F. Skinner, holds that the mind at work cannot be observed, tested, or understood; thus, behaviorists are concerned with actions (behavior) as the sites of knowing, teaching, and learning” (p. 380). One of the keys to effective teaching is discovering the best consequence to shape the behavior. Consequences can be positive or negative – punishing or rewarding. “Extinction” occurs when there is no consequence at all – for example if you knock at the door and no one answers, pretty soon you simply stop knocking (Zemke, 2002).
The seminal work of Pavlov demonstrated that the application of neutral stimuli could be used to elicit a response from animals. From these initial studies other psychologists such as John Watson and BF Skinner demonstrated that these principles could be applied to humans with the addition of a reinforcement element (Cheetham & Chivers, 2001). They demonstrated that responses related to more complex behavior could be achieved, which they termed “operant responses.” One of the assumptions of many behaviorists is that free will is illusory, and that all behavior is determined by a combination of forces. These forces comprise genetic factors as well as the environment either through association or reinforcement.
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