Behaviorism

History of Behaviorism

Formally founded by John B. Watson in 1913.-19th Century: Similar views as psycho analytic and Gestalt movements in psychology.-20th Century: Result of cognitive revolution.

-21st Century:"behavior analysis," is a thriving field.

Behaviorism Theorists

-Ivan Pavlov
-John B. Watson
-B.F. Skinner

Definition

-Behaviorism equates learning with behaviors
that can be observed and measured.
- Reinforcement is key to successful transfer
through behavioristic learning.

Several aspects of behavioral psychology have direct applications in OHS interventions.
Behavioural psychology is sometimes referred to as ‘the psychology of learning’ or
‘learning and motivation’

In other words, behaviour can be controlled by its consequences. A stimulus leads to a
response, which is reinforced: Stimulus ----> Response ----> Reinforcement. The stimulus for
Thorndike’s cats was the box. The response was the action of pressing the lever and the
reinforcement was the food. B. F. Skinner (1938) applied the term ‘operand conditioning’
to this form of behavior modification after extending the concept with rats. In the now
iconic ‘Skinner box,’ rats learned to press a lever when a stimulus (e.g. a light or tone)
was present. The lever press resulted in the delivery of food (the reinforce). Applying
this to behavior-based safety, the stimulus-response-reinforce connection parallels the
antecedent–behaviour-consequences (ABC) model that is used to analyse and change
behaviours




Response |Positive (Appetite/Nice) |  Negative (Aversive/Nasty)
Produces the reinforcer| Positive reinforcement(Response increases) |  Punishment(Response                                                                            decreases)

Eliminates/prevents or
removes the reinforcer   |Omission training(Response decreases)|  Negative reinforcement                                                                (Response increases)

Application

- Students will work for things that bring them positive
feelings.
-Use of a token system can reinforce positive academic
performance.
- Students can utilize the art of repetition so that information
remains concrete during the learning process.
-Small progressively sequenced tasks ensure that students
remain focused during the learning process.