Sem 1 Sess 3 Child Dv

Unit 1, week 1, session 3: Behaviourism and socio-cultural models Student Teacher Reading

Behaviourism and Social Learning Theory Behaviourism Many learning theories are based on behaviourism. Behaviourists think that all the things that people do, from acting to thinking and feeling, are behaviours.

People learn as they are conditioned by experience. What a person is feeling or thinking is not as important as what a person is doing. Biological make-up or a person’s background is not as important as the experiences a person has.

Learning is understood as a change in behaviour. Two important theorists who hold this perspective are Watson and Skinner.

John Watson believed that things we can observe directly (stimuli and response, or S-R) should be the focus of study. Watson said that he could take any child and turn them into anything he wanted—from doctor to thief—if he had complete control over their environment. Watson’s most famous experiment shows how he thought stimulus-response associations could be controlled.

Watson conducted an experiment with a nine-month-old baby, Albert. He taught Albert to fear a ‘neutral stimulus’. The stimulus was a white rat. At first, Albert was curious and wanted to play with the rat. But Watson played 1

a loud, frightening sound whenever the rat appeared. As a result of the conditioning with the noise, Albert cried whenever he saw the rat.

B. F. Skinner believed that reward (or reinforcement) and punishment form children’s behaviour. According to his theory, when we want a child to behave in a certain way, we watch for the behaviour and follow it with positive reinforcement. For example, we might smile, praise the child, or offer a new toy. Behaviours that we do not want can be discouraged by punishment. For example, we might take away privileges or frown to show disapproval.

Criticisms of behaviourist theory include: • Making something happen by conditioning children does not explain child development in natural contexts.

• Behaviourism offers too narrow a view of important environmental influences.

• Behaviourism underestimates the extent to which children actively contribute to their own development.

Social learning theory Social learning theory builds on behaviourist theory. It includes inner motivation. It also challenges the idea that learning represents a change in behaviour. Alfred Bandura is associated with social learning theory.

2

Alfred Bandura thought that when the child observes, he or she learns behaviour such as helping, sharing, selfishness, or aggression. They even learn the ways people expect boys and girls to act differently. Children watch and listen to others around them. Social learning theory talks about three things that people need to learn and model behaviour. These are: retention (remembering what one observed), reproduction (ability to reproduce the behaviour), and motivation (good reason) to want to adopt the behaviour. Bandura later introduced more cognitive elements to his theory. He began to focus on motivation as well as environment as factors that influence learning. He introduced the idea of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation. Bandura believed self-efficacy is a powerful influence on how people think, behave, and feel.

Using behaviourist theory in education Behaviour modification is often used with children who have behaviour problems. It uses conditioning to eliminate children’s undesirable behaviours and increase their socially acceptable behaviour.

Self-efficacy is important in learning. The child who thinks they can succeed is more likely to succeed. Teachers can promote self-efficacy through: • setting up environments that are age appropriate and welcoming to children 3

• accepting that every child has something important to offer • believing every child can learn • using methods of teaching that allow children to experience success and gain confidence.

SOURCE: Child Development FACULTY RESOURCES Associate Degree in Education/ B.Ed. (Hons) Elementary 2012. Page No. 15.

4