Behaviorism

Behaviorists say learning is an enduring change in observable behavior due to experience with the environmental stimuli.

Caveats:
- temporary changes due to illness, injury, or distress are not classified as learning
- maturation is not learning but it is a change
- over the years, the environment conditions people

Contributing theorists include Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike & Skinner

Shaping - occurs by changing the criterion behavior for reinforcement to become more and more like the final performance building on what the learner already knows

Chaining - breaking things up into smaller steps

Fading - stimulus must change

Classical conditioning

UCS - Unconditioned Stimulus
Object or event that causes an instinctive or reflexive unlearned physiological or emotional response; until you know what this is, you can't use classical conditioning

UCR - Unconditioned Response
The instinctive or reflexive physiological or emotional response caused by the unconditioned stimulus (ex: pain, anxiety)

CS - Conditioned Stimulus
An object or event that becomes associated with the unconditioned stimulus, neutral at first. (ex: flashlight, nail, balloon, glass bottles, water)

CR - Conditioned Response

Operant Conditioning

2 conditions
1. Learner has to do something.
2. Reinforcer should occur only when a desired response has occurred.

Limitations of Behaviorism
- not humanistic / no free will
- ignores individual differences
- blank slate - what about epistemology
- does not take into account mental processes
- inability to explain complex behaviors such as acquiring a language and multi-dimensional tasks