BEHAVIORI

SM
John B. Watson
Father of
Behaviorism
 Behavioris
M
• This theory implies that the learner responds
to environmental stimuli without his mental
state being a factor in the leaner’s
behaviour
• Individuals learn to behave through
conditioning
TABULA RASA
 Tabula
rasa
• The theory that at birth the human mind is a
“blank state” without rules for processing
data, and that data is added and rules for
processing are formed solely by one’s
sensory experiences
Two types of conditioning:
• Classical
• Operant or
Behavioral
Classical conditioning
• Occurs when a natural reflex responds to a
stimulus
• One of the more common examples of
classical conditioning in the educational
environment is in situations where students
exhibit irrational fears and anxieties like fear
of failure, fear of public speaking and
general school phobia.
Classical
conditioning
Before
conditioning

Son
Classical
conditioning
DURING
conditioning

Song Kis Increased

heart rate
s
Classical
conditioning
After conditioning

Son Increased
heart rate
 Operant or Behavioural
• occurs when a natural reflex responds to a
stimulus
• Leaner is able to make a connection with the
consequences associated with his behaviour
through positive and negative reinforcement
and punishment
• Positive reinforcement – offering a rewarding
factor to increase a response
- words of encouragement or physical
rewards
 Operant or Behavioural
• Negative reinforcement – relinquishing a
negative factor to increase a response
 Ex: A teen cleans his room after being
nagged by his mom.
• Punishment – decreases the chances of a
negative behaviour happening again
 Ex: A child is spanked by his parent after
behaving inappropriately.
Classroom
Implications:
WHAT THE TEACHER DOES UNDER THIS THEORY
• A teacher uses behaviourism to manage his classroom.
• The teacher could use operant conditioning to reward
or punish his students
 When a student does well on a test, the teacher
could use candy as an incentive to continue to do
well on a test (positive reinforcement)
 Whenever a student misbehaves, the teacher may
prevent the student from going outside during
recess ( punishment)
Classroom
Implications:
WHAT THE STUDENTS DO UNDER THIS THEORY
• A student learns what behaviours are or are not
appropriate

 A student received a bad behaviour mark for

talking during class. The bad behaviour mark
(or punishment) will teach the student that
talking while the teacher is talking is not an
appropriate behaviour.
Classroom
Implications:
WHAT THE STUDENTS DO UNDER THIS THEORY
• A student could also be classically conditioned
to behave a certain way in a classroom

 If students realize that they always have pop

quizzes when their teacher is carrying an
orange-colored folder, they will learn to
prepare for a pop quiz at the sight of an
orange-colored folder, even if there is not a
pop quiz.