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Behaviorist Perspective

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Outline

Thesis: Within the boundaries of one's physical capabilities, strict behaviorists think anyone

can be taught to accomplish any chore, irrespective of genomic background, character

qualities, or inner judgments. It merely necessitates the proper preparation.

I. Edward Thorndike

1. Oelze, P. 2018

A. Achievements to Consider

1. Oelze, P. 2018

To honor his service to the American Psychological Association, Thorndike was named its

president in 1912.

B. Animal Learning Research

1. Oelze, P. 2018

Thorndike's work on behaviorism and education is one of his utmost essential contributions.

C. Research on Humans' Ability to Learn

1. Oelze, P. 2018

Using Thorndike's results, he shared them with others. During this time, his knowledge of

how well people can learn and do different tasks was honed.

D. Influence on the Psychology and Education Fields

1. Oelze, P. 2018

In schooling, Thorndike's work had an impact. He initially used psychometrics, learning

theory, and other results from applied research in his work as a teacher and educational

psychologist.
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II. Albert Bandura

1. Hoy, T. 2022

A. How to Describe Albert Bandura's Psychological Methodology?

1. Hoy, T. 2022

The social learning theory is the name given to Albert Bandura's psychology style.

B. To help children learn through imitation, models demonstrate various actions

and behaviors.

1. Hoy, T. 2022

Children are constantly surrounded by people who they can look up to, including their

parents, teachers, friends, and even fictional figures in the media.

C. Negative or Positive Reinforcements are Possible, as well as Internal or

External

1. Hoy, T. 2022

Feedback can be positive or negative, conferring to the social cognitive model. For example,

praising a child for good behavior is an example of external reinforcement.

D. Strengthening Through Empathy

1. Hoy, T. 2022

If a youngster observes other people's conduct and mimics it, they also consider the reward or

punishment that the behavior receives.

E. Consciousness-Based Intervention

1. Hoy, T. 2022

There was a link, according to Bandura, between social learning theory and cognitive

psychology.
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III. Differences between the Social Learning Theory and Theory of Human Development

1. Kurt, S. 2020

Psychologists who believe in behaviorism believe that people may be taught or conditioned

to behave in specific ways in response to certain stimuli. In the view of Bandura's social

learning theory, observation alone may not be adequate for utmost education. People's

characteristics, including their personalities and behaviors, and even entire cultures, can be

codified and controlled if they have the right reasons.

Psychologists who believe that human conduct is learned rather than innate are called

behaviorists. According to the behaviorist approach to human development, all acts, features,

and personality traits result from the person's environment and the cultural influences that

form it. A learning theory states that all deeds are educated through habituation, which occurs

through interactions with the environment. Behaviorism is also known as behavioral

psychology. According to behaviorists, the environment influences our actions (Cherry,

2022). A school of thinking holds that human behavior can be analyzed methodically and

objectively no matter one's inner thoughts. Also, according to behavioral theory, cognition,

emotions, and mood are too subjective to be taken into account. Within the boundaries of

one's physical capabilities, strict behaviorists think anyone can be taught to accomplish any

chore, irrespective of genomic background, character qualities, or inner thoughts. It merely

necessitates the proper preparation.

Edward Thorndike

On August 31, 1874, in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, a boy named Edward

Thorndike was born. Thorndike was pro-religion, but he was not a devout follower of any

faith. Before becoming a Methodist clergyman, his father was a lawyer. When Thorndike was

a kid, his family was constantly on the road (Oelze, 2018). Thorndike was wedded to

Elizabeth Moulton for the rest of his life. The couple had four children as a result of their

union.

Achievements to Consider

To honor his service to the American Psychological Association, Thorndike was

named its president in 1912. After being nominated in 1917, he became a fellow of the ASA.

One of the pioneer psychologists to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences was

established in the same year. President of the American Association for the Advancement of
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Science (AAAS) in 1934 was a high honor for him (Oelze, 2018). As the second head of the

Psychometric Society in 1937, Thorndike was a key figure in shaping the field. The

organization had only been in existence for a few months. Thorndike favored spending time

with a select few close friends. It was an open invitation for many of his colleagues and

academics to join him. These people came together to form the so-called "Montrose Colony"

He was a communal leader.

Animal Learning Research

Thorndike's effort on behaviorism and education is one of his most important

contributions. Using animals in clinical experiments to examine learning theories was a

pioneering effort by him. In his dissertation, he was the first to research using animals for

learning purposes. He sought to see if creatures might pick up how to do things by visiting or

imitating humans in this research. Thorndike used mystery boxes to execute his thesis study.

The entrance of these enigma boxes could be unlocked by dragging on a thread (Oelze,

2018). A button or handle was used to link the line. If they pushed the lever or control, the

mechanism would open the door, huge enough to fit an animal inside. To escape, the animals

frequently had to use a particular response. If the animal solved the puzzle in a reasonable

amount of time, Thorndike would keep track of it.

Thorndike frequently experimented with cats. In most cases, when he'd set them in the

carton, they would flit from place to place pointlessly. Thorndike would sometimes make the

cats watch other animals who had already figured out how to get away. He realized that it

was not very beneficial to look at things differently. Directly pointing out the cat's escape

path didn't assist either. For the most part, the cats learned how to escape on their own rather

than through the guidance of people. After that, they'd be able to practice acting in the same

way (Oelze, 2018). Other animals experienced the same thing. He concluded that the animals
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learned via trial and error. Each time the cats were placed in the box, they could learn faster

through trial and error. They could know rapidly when their escape times were plotted on a

graph. The majority of the time, everything would settle down. Thorndike developed a

philosophy of learning grounded on this study and the results. He suggested that animals

learn more slowly than previously supposed, rather than in a rapid burst of insight. As a result

of Thorndike's work, the Law of Effect argues that actions with positive outcomes will be

repeated in the future.

Study on Humans' Ability to Learn

Using Thorndike's results, he shared them with others. During this time, his

knowledge of how well people can learn and do different tasks was honed. The United States

Army used this expertise throughout World War I. This was Thorndike's first attempt at

developing the ASVAB. This is a multiple-choice exam designed to regulate whether or not a

person is fit to serve in the military and what capacity (Oelze, 2018). With time, Thorndike

realized several of the soldiers were having difficulty reading. He also created the Beta, a test

that assessed people via diagrams and drawings.

The discipline of psychology, particularly educational psychology, was enriched by

this work. Thorndike was a firm believer in the value of education as a tool for achieving

specific, practical aims. According to Thorndike's work and conclusions, the ability to learn

remained consistent until the age of 35, which was later found to be generally true (Oelze,

2018). It is possible to learn just as effectively after 35, although at a slower pace. In addition,

Thorndike proposed a three-tiered model for intellectual growth. The ability to comprehend

distinct abstract notions was the initial area of focus for the study. An individual's capacity to

manipulate physical items falls under mechanical intelligence, the second category. A

person's capacity to interact well with others is called social intelligence.

Influence on the Psychology and Education Fields

In schooling, Thorndike's study had an impact. He initially used psychometrics, the

learning model, and other results from practical research in his work as a teacher and

educational psychologist. According to him, motivation is a crucial aspect of learning.

Furthermore, he believed that learning occurs when people link certain inputs to specific

reactions (Oelze, 2018). Thorndike also initiated this tendency of employing mass-marketed

textbooks and assessments. John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner was also influenced by

Thorndike's study on animal education, behavior, and human capacities. Thorndike had a

coworker in John B. Watson. As part of his research, Watson looked into how people's

conduct might be influenced by their experiences and become habitual. As a result of

Thorndike's Law of Effect, the ground learned further about incentives and punishments from

B. F. Skinner. Skinner used similar techniques when studying the behavior of rats in his

"Skinner boxes." In a few instances, Thorndike's views differed from those of other

researchers on the subject. To begin, Thorndike was a proponent of eugenics. When it comes

to improving people's abilities, he argued that selective breeding should be applied.

Thorndike was likewise that women were fundamentally different from men in many ways.

He held that women had a natural tendency to surrender to men.

Albert Bandura

For his work with the social learning model, self-efficacy, and a well-known

experiment with a Bobo doll, social cognitive psychologist Albert Bandura deserves

recognition for his contributions to psychology. Bandura's theories resemble some of Freud's

Oedipus complex work in some ways. Because they both involve imitating someone else's

behavior, the Oedipus multifaceted and the social education hypothesis are closely related.

For Freud, children only recognize and mirror the conduct of a parent of their gender; for
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Bandura, this is true of every other person they come into contact with. Bandura settled with

the classical habituation and operant habituation theories of behaviorists. Observational

learning, in which youngsters learn by witnessing others' actions, is also a form of mediation

(Hoy, 2022). Bandura was honored by the American Psychological Association (APA) for his

exceptional scientific accomplishments and outstanding lifetime contributions to psychology

as a Professor Emeritus at Stanford University and the Head of the APA. In 2015, President

Obama awarded him the National Medal of Science (Hoy, 2022). It has been estimated that

Bandura is the fourth most persuasive psychologist of the 20th century, after Sigmund Freud,

B.F. Skinner and Jean Piaget in this group.

How to Describe Albert Bandura's Psychological Methodology?

The social learning theory is the name given to Albert Bandura's approach to

psychology. Bandura conducted a classic experiment known as the Bobo doll to test his idea

that children learn by imitation in social contexts (Hoy, 2022).

To help children learn through imitation, models demonstrate various actions and

behaviors

Children are constantly surrounded by people who they can look up to, including their

parents, teachers, friends, and even fictional figures in the media. The individuals and

personalities in their lives serve as role models to follow. The models can represent pro-social

or anti-social behavior, which describes both men and women (Hoy, 2022). According to

social learning theory, a youngster is more likely to follow in the footsteps of someone they

perceive to be like them. The idea is that others in the vicinity of youngsters will either

reinforce or penalize their behavior in response to it. By encouraging positive behavior,

parents can encourage children to continue doing so.

Negative or Positive Reinforcements are Possible, as well as Internal or External

Feedback can be positive or negative, according to the social cognitive theory. For

example, praising a child for good behavior is an example of external reinforcement. As a

result of their desire for approval from adults and their willingness to repeat positive conduct,

children's enjoyment experience serves as internal reinforcement (Hoy, 2022). In social

learning theory, positive and negative reinforcements play a crucial role. Even if the behavior

is positive or negative, it is likely to change after receiving support. External reinforcement

must be tailored to the recipient's needs to be effective. For example, if the youngster does

not enjoy the meal or is not starving at the reward period, it will not work.

Strengthening Through Empathy

If a youngster observes other people's conduct and mimics it, they also consider the

reward or punishment that the behavior receives. This is known as "vicarious reinforcement."

Children are more likely to repeat an action if they see a sibling or a friend get praise or

reinforcement for the same behavior. If a child sees someone else getting punished for doing

something, they are less likely to do it themselves. Because youngsters aren't just going to

copy any random individual, the social learning theory considers this (Hoy, 2022). Every

child has a role model that they look up to. Young people are more likely to relate to role

models similar to themselves in terms of their core ideas, values, and attitudes since these

role models come from within their communities. Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles,

siblings, or close acquaintances can serve as models. People in the media and fictional figures

are also examples of models.

Consciousness-Based Intervention

There was a link, according to Bandura, between social learning theory and

intellectual psychology. Bearing in mind that people are active philosophers who evaluate the

repercussions of their actions, he realized that for youngsters to be capable of perceiving

activities and make choices about whether or not to mimic them, cognitive processes must be

at play. Using these variables, children can decide if they should mimic a behavior, intervene

with it, or respond differently.

Differences between the Social Learning Theory and Theory of Human Development 

Behaviorism is a psychological model of human growth that claims that individuals

can be trained or conditioned to answer in precise ways to specific provocations. According

to Bandura's social learning theory, observation alone may not be adequate for maximum

learning (Kurt, 2020). Still, a person's inspiration and psychological state also play a role in

that, given the correct motivations, personalities, and behaviors of people, and even the whole

cultures, can be enshrined and managed.

Behaviors that lead to a positive outcome, according to Thorndike, provide the

conditions for a person's desire to repeat the activity. A person is more inclined to stop

engaging in behavior if the result is unpleasant rather than continue. In contrast, Bandura

demonstrated that observational learning could occur without the learner displaying any new

behaviors. That is to say, even if someone watches, imitates, or models something, they may

not learn anything from it (Kurt, 2020).

As a result, the operating state is based on the individual's preferences, desires, and

expectations. People who are starving and haven't eaten in three days may opt to eat anything,

even something that doesn't taste good. If you eat three meals a day, you may only consume

specific foods because you aren't as hungry. On the other hand, Bandura argues that learning

everything from first-hand experience is difficult and dangerous. He argues that because

social interactions make up a large part of a person's life, studying others helps them learn

new things.
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References

Cherry, K. (2022, February 14). History and Key Concepts of Behavioral Psychology.

Verywell Mind; Dotdash. https://www.verywellmind.com/behavioral-psychology-

4157183

Hoy, T. (2022, February 2). Who Was Albert Bandura? Psychology and the Social Cognitive

Theory Contribution | Betterhelp. Www.betterhelp.com.

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/psychologists/who-was-albert-bandura-

psychology-and-the-social-cognitive-theory-contribution/

Kurt, S. (2020, January 6). Social Learning Theory: Albert Bandura. Educational

Technology. https://educationaltechnology.net/social-learning-theory-albert-bandura/

Oelze, P. (2018, February 18). Edward Thorndike And His Influence On Psychology |

Betterhelp. Betterhelp.com; BetterHelp.

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/psychologists/edward-thorndike-and-his-

influence-on-psychology/