Thompson 1

ShelbyThompson

EPSY302

MarkHawkes

11/5/16

TheoristPaper:Behaviorism

Everypersonintheworldisunique.Therearemanyaspectsthatseteachofus

apartfromoneanother;thewaywedress,thecareerpathswetake,andhowwebehave

arejustafewofthemanyqualitiesthatmakeuswhoweare.WhenIthinkaboutthe

differentqualitiesthatmakeupaperson,itmakesmethinkaboutwhatsetseachteacher

apartfromthenext.Thereareaplethoraofstrategiesthateducationalprofessionalsuse

toshapetheirstudents,butthereisusuallyonetheoreticalperspectivethatateacheruses

asafoundation.Fromtheretheybranchoffandcreatethetypeofenvironmentthey

believeworksbestforthemandtheirstudents.ThetheoreticalperspectivethatIfeel

representsmethemostisbehaviorism.

InOrmrodsEssentialsofEducationalPsychology,behaviorismisdescribedasa

focusthatcanbeobservedandmeasured.Itisrelatedtothewaypeoplebehaveandthe

eventsthatfollowthoseresponses.Learningisconsideredaprocessofmodifyingand

acquiringtherelatednessbetweenresponsesandstimuli,predominantlythroughdirect

interaction(Ormrod18).Behaviorismisanapproachtoeducationthatismadeupof

regulations.Thisisbecausetheeducatordetermineswhatcontentisbeinglearned,how

thatcontentisbeinglearned,andwhenthecontentisbeinglearned.Bydeterminingthese
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threethings,teachershavemorecontrolandthereforehaveabetterchanceatthedesired

response(Pugsley266).

Togetadesiredresponseitisimportanttodeterminewhatkindofstimulusyou

wantinyourclassroom.Somestimulitendtoelicitcertainkindsofbehaviors.

(Ormrod58)Forexample,ifabagboyatthegrocerystoresmilesandtellsyoutohavea

nicedayitmightmakeyoufeelgoodandpromptaresponsesuchasThankyou,you

too!Intheclassroomweseethesametypeofbehavior.EssentialsofEducational

Psychologygivesanexamplewherecooperativegamespromotecooperativebehavior

(Ormrod58).

Ifcooperativegamespromotecooperativebehavior,doacquiredbehaviorsleadto

desiredconsequences?Theanswerisyes;studentsfrequentlylearnbehaviorsbecause

theyleadtoaspecificendresult.Forexample,Reginaisloudinclassanddiscoversthat

thisisonewaytogettheteachersattention.Sheknowsthatifshecontinuestobeloud,

shewillalsogetattentionfromherteacher.Thisisanexampleofanonproductive

behavior,oratypeofbehaviorthatgetsyousomethingthatyouwantbutdoesnot

promotegoodbehavior(Ormrod59.)

One aspect of behaviorist learning theory that emphasizes learner choice is

operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a form of learning that was described by

behaviorist B. F. Skinner. The principle for operant conditioning is a response that is

followed by a reinforcing stimulus (reinforce) is more likely to occur again. (Ormrod

59) The television show, The Big Bang Theory, aired an episode where one of the

characters, Sheldon, referred to the operant principles of Skinner. Sheldon administered a

piece of chocolate to his roommates girlfriend when she behaved in a way that he liked.
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By giving her the chocolate, Sheldon was promoting the kind of behavior he found to be

acceptable. He knew that giving her the chocolate would make her more apt to depart

from her regular habits and pick up the behavior that suited him best (Ivanic 14.)

Just like Sheldon, teachers use operant conditioning to promote a desired behavior

in the classroom. A behaviorist-influenced teacher will use reinforcement to get their

students to behave a certain way. For example, a teacher who wants to promote desired

behaviors could reward his or her students after they perform properly, or the teacher

could punish the student after they act against the teachers requests. This is known as

positive and negative reinforcement. In a situation where a teacher uses positive

reinforcement, they will reward their student with the intention to increase a desired

behavior. Negative reinforcement is used when a teacher wants to remove the usage of an

ill-favored behavior.

Positive and negative reinforcements help shape coveted behaviors in the

classroom, but they are not the only factors that sway students minds towards a certain

behavior. Prestige and power are two more components that mold model behaviors.

Children tend to mimic powerful people. If your child watches Spiderman, he or she may

begin to say and do what they saw their hero doing. In the classroom, the teacher can be

viewed as the students hero or powerful figure. In the article "Strategies For Developing

Positive Behaviour Management, teachers are discussed as being important social agents

in the classroom. The articles states that teachers influence their pupils behaviours

through their own behaviour. (Hayes, Hindle, Withington 161) If you are a teacher who

is on time, stays true to the classroom rules, and shows good character, your students will

more than likely follow the same example. A teacher who is always late, changes the
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rules for certain people, and has a bad attitude, puts their students at risk for inhibiting

these same behaviors. Therefore, it is crucial for teachers to behave the way they would

like their students to behave

Teachers and other powerful figures are models for their students and the motivate

them to behave a certain way. In Essentials of Education al Psychology, motivation is

defined as an inner state that energizes, directs, and sustains behavior. (Ormrod 184)

Motivation is one of the key components to sustain a behavior. If a student lacks the drive

to behave a certain way, then all the hard work the teacher has put in will have been for

nothing. As a behaviorist, the teachers use motivation to keep a strong sense of drive

towards the desired behavior. Using reinforcement and punishment is effective, but to an

extent. These types of strategies either increase or decrease a drive, but they do not

sustain it. If a student experiences negative reinforcement where their teacher may have

taken away what was causing the undesired behavior, the student will more than likely

find some other kind of behavior that the teacher does not like. If the teacher takes away

the source and gives the student a reason to behave better, the student will be motivated

to do so (Ormrod 185.)

Everyone student differs when they are compared to the next and there are many

theories that teachers as a foundation to educate their students. Using behaviorism puts

the teacher in control. A behaviorist controls what, when, and how the content is learned.

They use a variety of stimuli to produce a desired behavior. The stimuli will typically

result in a productive or nonproductive behavior. To help insure that the behavior is

productive, the teacher will use operant conditioning to produce a desired response. To

get a desired response positive and negative reinforcement can be used. Positive
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reinforcement is used to increase a behavior compared to negative reinforcement, which

is used to decrease an undesired behavior. Prestige and power can also promote a coveted

behavior. Teachers are typically viewed as a powerful influence; this is why is it crucial

for them to reflect what they teach. Being punctual, honest, and responsible as a teacher

shows your students the proper way to behave. Motivation is a key component to

producing and sustaining behaviors. It takes more than reinforcement and punishment to

sustain a behavior. A student must be driven to succeed, if not they typically will give up.

This is the same for continuing with the act of a behavior. If a student no longer driven to

behave well they will resort back to their old ways. Behaviorism produces an

environment that allows the teacher to be in control, but gives the students a sense of

importance at the same time.

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Works Cited

Pugsley,Lesley."HowTo...BeginToGetToGripsWithEducationalTheory."

EducationForPrimaryCare22.4(2011):266268.AcademicSearch

Premier.Web.5Nov.2016.