| Behaviorism |
A
theory of learning. The idea of Behaviorism is that all
learning is determined by a response to a stimulus. Within
operant conditions negative or positive
reinforcement and
positive or negative punishment serve as the stimulus. For
example, if a person receives positive reinforcement (praise, a smile,
a candy) for doing something, they will automatically do it
again in similar situations.
Within classical conditioning learning is a result of pairing a
conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus which is
typically a naturally occurring emotion. For example, if a
person flinches when their hand is slapped (unconditional
stimulus) and that action is paired with a bell (conditional
stimulus) they will soon flinch at the sound of the bell.
Behaviorists think of learning as an automatic process and do
not think there are any cognitive processes in the brain. It
is the opposite of
cognitivism. |
