Behaviorist Learning Theory
1. Learning theory is a coherent framework of integrated constructs and principles that describe,
explain, or predict how people learn
2. Behaviorist Learning Theory
• focusing mainly on what is directly observable, behaviorists view learning as the product of
the stimulus conditions (S) and the responses (R) that follow
• closely observe responses to a situation and then manipulate
3. Respondent conditioning (also termed association learning, classical conditioning, or Pavlovian
conditioning) emphasizes the importance of stimulus conditions and the associations formed in the
learning process
• A neutral stimulus (NS)—a stimulus that has no special value or meaning to the learner—is
paired with a naturally occurring unconditioned or unlearned stimulus (UCS) and
unconditioned response (UCR)
• Example. Someone without much experience with hospitals (NS) may visit a relative who is
ill. While in the relative’s room, the visitor may smell offensive odors (UCS) and feel queasy
and lightheaded (UCR). After this initial visit and later repeated visits, hospitals (now the CS)
may become associated with feeling anxious and nauseated (CR), especially if the visitor
smells similar odors to those encountered during the first experience
4. Systematic desensitization is a technique based on respondent conditioning that is used by
psychologists to reduce fear and anxiety in their clients
• illustration, prescription drug advertisers
5. Stimulus generalization is the tendency of initial learning experiences to be easily applied to other
similar stimuli
• example, when listening to friends and relatives describe a hospital experience, it becomes
apparent that a highly positive or negative personal encounter may color patients’ evaluations of
their hospital stays as well as their subsequent feelings about having to be hospitalized again.
6. With more and varied experiences, individuals learn to differentiate among similar stimuli, at which
point discrimination learning is said to have occurred.
• illustration, patients who have been hospitalized a number of times often have learned a lot about
hospitalization. As a result of their experiences, they make sophisticated distinctions and can
discriminate among stimuli (e.g., what the various noises mean and what the various health
professionals do), which novice patients cannot
7. Spontaneous recovery is a useful respondent conditioning concept that needs to be given careful
consideration in relapse prevention programs
• Spontaneous recovery helps us understand why it is so difficult to eliminate completely
unhealthy habits and addictive behaviors such as smoking, alcoholism, and drug abuse. As this
principle demonstrates, it is much easier to learn a behavior than to unlearn it
8. Operant conditioning focuses on the behavior of the organism and the reinforcement that occurs
after the response
9. To increase the probability of a response:
A. Positive reinforcement: application of a pleasant stimulus Reward conditioning: a pleasant
stimulus is applied following an organism’s response
B. Negative reinforcement: removal of an aversive or unpleasant stimulus
Escape conditioning: as an aversive stimulus is applied, the organism makes a response that
causes the unpleasant stimulus to cease
Avoidance conditioning: an aversive stimulus is anticipated by the organism, which makes
a response to avoid the unpleasant even
