Behaviorism

Keywords

behaviorism, classical conditioning, stimulus–response

Abstract

Behaviorism is an area of psychological study that focuses on observing and analyzing how controlled environmental changes affect behavior. The goal of behavioristic teaching methods is to manipulate the environment of a subject — a human or an animal — in an effort to change the subject’s observable behavior. From a behaviorist perspective, learning is defined entirely by this change in the subject’s observable behavior. The role of the subject in the learning process is to be acted upon by the environment; the subject forms associations between stimuli and changes behavior based on those associations. The role of the teacher is to manipulate the environment in an effort to encourage the desired behavioral changes. The principles of behaviorism were not formed overnight but evolved over time from the work of multiple psychologists. As psychologists’ understanding of learning has evolved over time, some principles of behaviorism have been discarded or replaced, while others continue to be accepted and practiced.

Original Publication Citation

"Brau, R., Fox, N., & Robinson, E. (2018). Behaviorism. In R. Kimmons (Ed.), The Students' Guide to Learning Design and Research. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/education_research/behaviorismt"

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018

Publisher

EdTech Books

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Marketing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

Link to Full Text

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