1. Behaviorism
*
By Margaret McCauley
*Hyperlinked to Justin K Reeve's blog Insights Into Educational Technology

2. Table of Contents
Behaviorism Summary

Behaviorism Summary Continued

B.F. Skinner

Skinner's Contributions

Uses of Behaviorism in the Classroom

Classroom Applications Continued

Behaviorism in My Classroom

My Classroom Continued

3. Behaviorism Summarized

Idea introduced in 1913 by John B Watson
– Been called Father of Behaviorism

Said behavior is result of environment

Discredited study of mind as unscientific

Rejected idea behavior results from
pleasure/discomfort

Trivia:Watson first to use lab rats
John B. Watson

4. Behaviorism Summary Continued

Equates man to animal; both learn through
rewards

Central figures include Pavlov, Thorndike and
Skinner

Experimented with behavioral conditioning

Used rewards to stimulate behavior in animals

Pavlov taught dogs to salivate at sound of tuning
fork

Thorndike taught mice to navigate mazes

5. B.F. Skinner

Born 1904 in Pennsylvania

Attended Hamilton College, later Harvard

Experimented with rats in psychology department

Also worked with pigeons during WWII

Was mechanically inclined
− Built several mechanical inventions (safer crib,
cumulative recorder)

Taught; had a wife and 2 children

6. Skinner's Contributions

Discovered operant behavior
– Idea that stimulus for behavior could occur after
behavior
– i.e. rat presses bar, causes food to appear so rat
presses bar again

Attempted to explain cognitive phenomena
– Motivation in terms of deprivation and
reinforcement

Token economies; a token is worth food
B. F. Skinner

7. Uses of Behaviorism in the
Classroom

Has implications in classroom management
− i.e. could condition students to follow rules
through rewards/punishments

Programs which reward correct responses are
great tools
− Computer games with positive reinforcers

Rewards for correct answers elicit more correct
answers

8. Classroom Applications Continued

“A behavior unrewarded will be extinguished,”
(Standridge, M).

Student stops misbehaving if unrewarded

Token economies; reward students with tokens
redeemable for prizes

Teaching students to link behaviors with
consequences/rewards

9. Behaviorism in My Classroom

Every behavior will have clear consequences

Use games/technology that provide feedback

Verbal rewards for correct responses
– Phrases like “Well done, good job” etc.

Token economies as reward systems
– Knowledge useful for money management later
• Each task broken into small steps

10. My Classroom Continued
• Programs where actions cause specific reactions
– Excel: input leads to specific output
• Videos that show action/reaction
– Chemical reactions, etc.
• Misbehaving students will be unrewarded
– Ignoring tantrums unless extremely disruptive
• Make sure students know what behavior led to
what consequence

11. Citations
• Reeves, Justin K. "Behaviorism Not As Dead As Previously
Thought." Insights Into Educational Technology. Weber School
District, 28 June 2010. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.
<http://blog.wsd.net/jreeve/behaviorism-not-as-dead-as-
previously-thought/>.
• Graham, George. "Behaviorism." Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Web. 8 Apr 2012.
<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/behaviorism/>.
• Vargas, Julie S. "A Brief Biography of B. F. Skinner." B. F.
Skinner Foundation. Web. 8 Apr 2012.
<http://www.bfskinner.org/BFSkinner/AboutSkinner.html>.
• "Token Economy." Kids Making Change. Web. 8 Apr 2012.
<http://www.kidsmakingchange.com/TokenEconomy/cms/Token
_Economy.html>.