Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences
B.F. Skinner
Watch the following video on behaviorism before continuing along with the lesson.
Behaviorism
Behaviorism is a psychological approach that focuses on how learning occurs through observable changes in behavior. It places emphasis on the notion that all behaviors are learnt through conditioned interactions with the environment. Instead of examining internal thoughts and emotions, behaviorism focuses on how individuals respond to external stimuli and form behavioral patterns through experience.
Behaviorism is grounded in the foundational work of Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner, who introduced the principles of classical and operant conditioning, highlighting reinforcement and punishment as a mechanism through which behavior is shaped.
Classical Conditioning
To explore this, Pavlov presented the dogs with the sound of a bell, which would act as a neutral stimulus, which elicited no salivation. Immediately after the bell rang, Pavlov presented food to the dog, which naturally triggered salivation. By repeatedly pairing the neutral stimulus with food, the dogs eventually learned that the sound of the bell predicted the arrival of food. After enough pairings, the sound of the bell alone, without any food, caused the dogs to salivate. Through this work, Pavlov demonstrated that a neutral stimulus could become a conditioned stimulus capable to eliciting a conditioned response, establishing one of the foundational principles of behaviorist learning theory.
Classical conditioning is a form of learning in which an individual comes to associate a previously neutral stimulus with a meaningful one, eventually training the individual to elicit a learned response in regards to the neutral stimulus. The concept emerged from Ivan Pavlov’s early 20th century research on the digestive reflexes in dogs. While studying how the stomach functions, Pavlov observed that dogs salivated not only at the sight and smell of food, but also at clues that signaled food was coming. This unexpected finding led Pavlov to investigate how such associations formed.
Learning is what allows us to adapt to our environment in order to survive.
