Behaviorism

While the systematic application of the principles of conditioning are generally attributed to Ivan Pavlov, the Russian physiologist and experimental psychologist, behaviorism is a psychological theory of [Page 71]American origin based primarily upon the work of Edward Thorndike, John Watson, and B. F. Skinner. Behaviorism was a reaction to the European concept of “introspective psychology” and an attempt to conduct a scientific study of human behavior. Behaviorism emphasizes observable and measurable operant behavior (behavior under conscious control by which an individual “operates” on and within the environment), its relation to stimuli (events or conditions immediately preceding a behavior), and consequences (events or conditions immediately following a behavior).

According to the theory of behaviorism, stimuli (antecedents) signal a behavior or range of behaviors (behavioral repertoire) that an organism (rat, pigeon, human) could produce (emit) to bring about a specific consequence. Following the specific behavior with a positive (desirable) consequence increases the chance that the specific behavior will be repeated if the stimulus is presented in the future. Following the specific behavior with a negative (undesired) or neutral consequence will decrease the chance that the specific behavior will be repeated if the stimulus is presented in the future.

Delivering consequences in a systematic manner, according to a specific schedule, yields a specific rate of learning or learning curve. Skinner determined that delivering positive consequences on a variable schedule resulted in steady rates of learning or performance, while delivering positive consequences on a fixed schedule resulted in learning curves characterized by pauses in learning or performance. The behaviorists hypothesized that if the correct consequences could be determined and delivered on an optimum schedule in the presence of the appropriate antecedents, desirable behaviors (even those absent in an individual's behavioral repertoire) could be developed (shaped) and maintained over time. They also hypothesized that problem behaviors could be eliminated by delivering aversive or neutral consequences in the same manner. This perspective became known as behavior modification, or the use of the principles of behaviorism to change or modify behavior.

Initially, behavior modification was employed to address learning and behavior deficits in persons with mental retardation, emotional disabilities, and developmental disabilities (such as autism) in highly controlled settings. Ogden Lindsley, as the director of the Harvard Behavioral Research Laboratory, pioneered the first applications of behavioral psychology with human subjects in the 1950s. As the experimental analysis of behavior and the study of the efficacy of behavior modification continued, the techniques were extended to preschool children, residential clients in mental health and mental retardation facilities, incarcerated criminals, and college students.

Behaviorism also gave rise to social learning theory and is associated with scientific management and total quality management. The basic tenets of behaviorism formed the basis for Alfred Bandura's concepts of individuals learning through rewards and punishments embedded in social situations via the processes of modeling and imitation. For Bandura, observation of another's behavior and the resultant consequences (whether positive or negative) was the foundation of the appearance and persistence of similar behaviors in a person.

Scientific management was rooted in the premise that workers would not naturally produce the required behaviors at the appropriate rate for maximum productivity. For maximum efficiency, management had to provide incentives and reward high production and punish low production. This position is consistent with Thorndike's law of effect. In addition, Taylor engaged in an intense analysis of work procedures to determine “the best way” to do any job. This “work analysis” was later refined by behaviorists as “task analysis” and applied to the development of any complex behavior to break it down into small, more easily teachable steps. In essence, scientific management fostered the more coercive aspects of behaviorism and behavior modification through the use of enforced standards of worker behavior and enforced standards of worker cooperation.

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