Comments on: Behaviorism

By: REX ROBERTS

REX ROBERTS — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:29:37 +0000

Seems like a very limited theory, but will do more research. As a future instructor, do we really want to “condition” young minds? Or teach them how to think and seek answers for themselves? The word bothers me, not the entire concept. Would love to see video of pigeons dancing and bowling!

By: Rod Land

Rod Land — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:12:41 +0000

Behaviourism and B.F. Skinner have been my bete noir in teaching and education for 60 years now. The idea and the practice of treating human kids like dogs or pigeons with reinforcement (gold stars) is fundamentally demeaning and revolting. Much of our semi-autistic behaviour (ASDs & Asperger’s syndrome) in the workplace can be put down to Skinner and behaviourism. I think most people have woken up to how limited and damaging it is, but its legacy is legion and it needs to be continually debunked and opposed if we are ever to grow beyond its wretched consequences! Just my view and opinion, of course – just like every reply and everything ever uttered is just the view/opinion of the viewer/opiner! Roll on constructivism and sanity.

By: falma dugasa

falma dugasa — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:34:56 +0000

Behaviorists discount mental power of human beings and they also ignore individual differences in learning. as to me behaviorists’ theories give adequate explanation for simple learning and techniques and principles derived from such theories are of paramount importance in psycotherapy,education, medicine,…..in dealing with maladaptive behaviors. the theories provide us with rich insight of adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. they are applicable in all aspects human life.

By: Steve Eversole

Steve Eversole — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:13:14 +0000

As a behavior analyst with an Ed.D. and certification (BCBA-D), I would like to point out a few errors in the above description. First, we don’t discount mental activities, at least not as implied above. It is true that we focus on observable behavior, but we acknowledge that cognitive activities occur. It is just that these activities are understood to be governed by the same principles that govern observable behavior. When I solve a problem by thinking it through, I’m engaging in a verbal dialogue with myself. This dialogue is shaped by reinforcement and punishment just like any other behavior.

This brings us to the point about behaviorism not being able to explain language patterns arising without reinforcement. A developing infant will make babbling sounds, likely the result of automatic reinforcement. Parents shape these sounds over time into phonetic sounds, then words, sentences, etc.

The comment about animals adapting to new information is due to generalization, a phenomenon that has empirical support stretching back over 30 years.

While it is true that behavior analysis pretty much “owns” autism and anti-social behavior, it has also developed very sophisticated technologies of instruction. “Direct Instruction” (DI) is one example. There was a very large federally funded study in (I believe) the 70s—Project Follow Through–that compared DI to several other models of instruction. DI outperformed all of the other models. However, the education establishment has yet to adopt DI for a variety of political and other reasons. The point is that contributions of behavior analysis to instruction are legion

Finally, in some respects, behaviorism is simple. It is based on a few basic principles, yet it could explain the acquisition of language, how to teach complex concepts, and yes, how to stop a child’s tantrums. I invite people to read the writings of B.F. Skinner (particularly “About Behaviorism”), Karen Pryor (Don’t Shoot the Dog), and Julie Vargas (Behavior Analysis for Effective Teaching).

Steve Eversole, Ed.D., BCBA-D

By: Matt Brown

Matt Brown — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:19:33 +0000

Definitely interesting and helpful. I deff believe in positive and negative reinforcement techniques and by observing the behaviors of the students it is easy to determine which technique to use.

By: Natalie Balfour

Natalie Balfour — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:29:53 +0000

I think you give a simplistic yet clear perspective of the behaviorist approach.It is easy to read and informs you of the underlying principles of both operant and classical conditioning. I enjoyed reading it.

By: admin

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:21:57 +0000

DF – good question. That line is confusing. The reason is that you might not want the pattern to change based on the new information. In other words, this approach (some critics claim) might lose effectiveness over time. Hope that helps.

By: DF

DF — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:09:19 +0000

How is this a criticism?

Research has shown that animals adapt their reinforced patterns to new information. For instance, a rat can shift its behavior to respond to changes in the layout of a maze it had previously mastered through reinforcements.

By: admin

admin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:56:53 +0000

Lynn – I assume you are looking for an author, and a date? The content was created by On Purpose, and then edited by a team. So I would list the author as ‘On Purpose Associates.’ The date should be ‘no date’ as it continually evolves. I hope that helps.

By: Lynn Bryant

Lynn Bryant — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 22:17:59 +0000

How would I cite your website APA style?

Thanks,
Lynn Bryant