What is Behaviorism?

Behaviorism learning theory suggests that behaviors can adapt to change with positive or negative reinforcement-based, external stimuli. In the early 20th century, Russian psychologist, Dr. Ivan Pavlov, discovered and researched classical conditioning in his experiments with dogs and the use of sounds to condition the dogs to associate specific sounds with the arrival of food, thereby inducing an involuntary physiological response to food, which is salivation. The intent of the experiments was to see if the physiological response to food could be triggered in the absence of food. He proved that once the association of food to the specific sounds was reinforced, he could induce their salivation by activating that sound (Walinga et al., 2014).

 

B. F. Skinner expanded on Edward Thorndike’s research in 1898 on operant conditioning, which operates on the assumption that learning occurs based on behavioral consequences.  Thorndike’s puzzle box experiments demonstrated that cats locked in the box learned to escape more quickly each time they were locked in the puzzle box (Walinga et al., 2014).

 

Skinner expanded on the premise in the 1940’s to demonstrate that positive reinforcement (adding or increasing a pleasant stimulus) and negative reinforcement (reducing or removing an unpleasant stimulus) strengthened desirable behaviors. Conversely, positive punishment (adding an unpleasant stimulus) or negative punishment (removing a pleasant stimulus) weakened undesirable behaviors, thus resulting in behavioral change (Walinga et al., 2014).

 

Their research provided valuable insight into the learning behaviors of human subjects and further studies into current day. Blaise (2011, p. 112) states that the core feature of behaviorism is that “learning is conditioned by external events or factors.” Pritchard (2013, p. 7) states that behaviorism “is a theory of learning focusing on observable behaviors and discounting any mental activity. Learning is defined simply as the acquisition of new behavior.”

 

Behaviorist teaching methods tend to rely on so-called “skill and drill” exercises to provide the consistent repetition necessary for effective reinforcement of response patterns. Other methods include question (stimulus) and answer (response) frameworks in which questions are of gradually increasing difficulty; guided practice; and regular reviews of material. (Behaviorism). Behaviorists methods tend to rely on positively delivered feedback in terms of praise and prizes to positively reinforce desired behaviors.

 

Positive reinforcement is also common practice in the workplace, where the promise of monetary rewards, increased responsibilities, and higher status act as effective motivators for desired behavior. A recent study on positive reinforcement in organizations provided further evidence that it is an effective method for employees; both intrinsic rewards (e.g., praise, encouragement, empowerment) and extrinsic rewards (e.g., salary, bonus, fringe benefits) were effective motivators and correlated positively with the efficiency and effectiveness of employees (Wei & Yazdanifard, 2014).

 

In the field of learning and development, gamification is a relatively new term in education, especially in the context of a Learning Management System (LMS). The definition of gamification is “the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (such as a task) so as to encourage participation” (Merriam-Webster). One of the strengths of behaviorism can be seen in the rise of gamification in learning environments, as the rewards are not based on course content or comprehension as much as it is related to Learner engagement within the LMS environment.

 

In an LMS, badges can be earned (positive reinforcement) for completing various tasks, such as course completion, rating courses, leaving comments, asking questions, and contributing social content. In an LMS, you can build a system of task completion requirements and then promote the completion of said tasks with a reward system that is commensurate with the task difficulty. People who are adequately motivated to participate may enjoy the pursuit of task completion and may even be motivated to exceed their intrinsically motivated desire for rewards if a competitive element is introduced with a larger and more public recognition and reward outcome via LMS leaderboards.

 

The success of gamification rests on the premise that people commonly seek to achieve a superior position with others especially in the social domain, where many seek to increase their number of Instagram followers, Facebook “likes,” Twitter “retweets,” and YouTube views, all of which has been tied to dopamine “hits” and monetary rewards for being an “influencer” (Galatolo, 2017, McSweeney et al.).

 

Social comparison theory posits that people have a drive to move upward in their workplace and close any gaps between themselves and others, explains a study published by Perspectives on Psychological Science (Garcia et al., 2013). LinkedIn reports the gamification market has an estimated worth hovering between $3 billion and $12 billion (Coppens, 2019). As a top behavioristic motivator, integrating gaming elements into your eLearning best practices boosts retention, engagement, and enjoyment among learners.

 

Learner engagement is positively correlated with the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, which then posits that the Learner will deploy the newly learned behaviors to improve their productivity and interpersonal behaviors in the workplace. The limitation is that rewarding Learner engagement in an LMS environment does not ensure that Learners will transfer their newly-learned skills or behaviors into their workplace environment. However, it is feasible to assume that the more the Learner engages with the LMS to earn badges, the exposure to repeated content in various workplace behavior topics (e.g. leadership) can reinforce desired workplace behaviors.

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Behaviorism in instructional design becomes evident when work processes or procedures are required learning for newly promoted or newly hired individuals in a workplace. Simulation learning or branching scenarios can provide the reinforcement Learners need to acquire behavior modifications to become successful at their jobs. Their success is typically measured in their performance review, from which some of their performance is assessed on observable behaviors. For adult learners who need repetitive learning, annual training is a solution to behavior-based training, externally reinforced by performance reviews and performance conversations with their supervisor. The implication here is that both the employee and the supervisor should be treated as Learners so that the performance review process is repeatable and reinforceable per performance cycle.

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References

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Behaviorism. GSI Teaching Resource Center. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/behaviorism/

 

Blaise, M. (2011). Teachers theory making. In G. Latham, M. Blaise, S. Dole, J. Faulkner & K. Malone (Eds.), Learning to teach: New times, new practices (Vol. 2, pp. 105-157). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

 

Coppens, A. (2019, January 3). Gamification trends for 2019. LinkedIn. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/gamification-trends-2019-an-coppens/

 

Galatolo, C. (2017, May 31). Dopamine's role in the need to get "likes" and Social Addiction. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://familyandmedia.eu/en/media-education/dopamines-role-in-the-need-to-get-likes-and-social-addiction/

 

Garcia, S. M., Tor, A., & Schiff, T. M. (2013). The psychology of competition. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(6), 634–650. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691613504114

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McSweeney, K., Krishna, S., & Bonderud, D. (n.d.). The intersection of technology, innovation & creativity. Now. Powered by Northrop Grumman. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://now.northropgrumman.com/this-is-your-brain-on-instagram-effects-of-social-media-on-the-brain/

 

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Gamification definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamification

 

Pritchard, A. (2013). Ways of Learning: Learning Theories and Learning Styles in the Classroom. London: Routledge.

 

Syed Ahmad, T.S.A. & Hussin, A. & Yusri, G.. (2019). A review of learning theories for gamification elements in instructional games (pdf). Retrieved May 2, 2022, from  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336701970_A_review_of_learning_theories_for_gamification_elements_in_instructional_games

 

Walinga, J., Stangor, C., & Stangor, C. (2014, October 17). 8.1 Learning by association: Classical conditioning. Introduction to Psychology 1st Canadian Edition. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/7-1-learning-by-association-classical-conditioning/

 

Walinga, J., Stangor, C., & Stangor, C. (2014, October 17). 8.2 changing behaviour through reinforcement and punishment: Operant Conditioning. Introduction to Psychology 1st Canadian Edition. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/7-2-changing-behavior-through-reinforcement-and-punishment-operant-conditioning/

 

Yazdanifard, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rashad. (2014). The impact of Positive Reinforcement on Employees’ Performance in Organizations. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management. 4. 9-12. 10.4236/ajibm.2014.41002.

 

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