Running Head: THEORIES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. Theories of Human Development and Classroom Relevancy: Classical and Operant

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1 Theories of Human 1 Running Head: THEORIES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Theories of Human Development and Classroom Relevancy: Classical and Operant Conditioning, and Social Cognitive Learning Theory Dorothy Strater University of Phoenix Online Psychology 538

2 Theories of Human 2 Theories of Human Development and Classroom Relevancy: Classical and Operant Conditioning, and Social Cognitive Learning Theory Introduction There are several theories of human development. This paper will describe two of these theories: Classical and Operant Conditioning, and Bandura s Social Cognitive Learning Theory. Each of these theories takes on a behaviorist point-of-view. Bandura s theory goes a step further to incorporate cognitive theories as well. These theories are extremely useful as different behavior modification and teaching techniques. The following sections will outline the basic concepts of each model. This is followed by a discussion of the practical uses. Finally, the conclusions section will summarize and discuss the pro s and con s of each theory. Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning Pavlov introduced the theory of classical conditioning. The theory is basically this: You start with a behavior that is a consequence of the presentation of something (e.g. food and salivation). Then you add a new thing (e.g. a bell) for several trials while the first thing (food) is presented. Eventually, this new thing (the bell) may become so strongly associated that it has the power to produce the old behavior (salivation). Pavlov determined that there are four parts to such a lesson: unconditioned stimuli, unconditioned responses, conditioned stimuli, and conditioned responses. The unconditioned stimulus is the first thing, the food, the original cause for the behavior. The unconditioned response is the behavior that is caused by the first thing, salivation when the food is presented. The conditioned stimulus is the new thing that is introduced, the bell; the thing that they are trying to make provoke the behavior. The conditioned

3 Theories of Human 3 response is the development of the same response to the new stimulus, salivation that is caused by hearing the bell (when the food is not presented). On the other hand, operant conditioning is a change in behavior that is caused by the reinforcement of that behavior (praising a child for doing something well). The reinforcements could be any stimulus that results in the increased frequency of a response when it is withdrawn, whether it is a positive or negative reinforcement. Bandura s Social Cognitive and Learning Theory Bandura suggests that learning is conducted through observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (1977) states: Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action. (p. 22) According to his theory, some important characteristics that stimulate learning are: Attention and observer characteristics (how much the observer can understand, how interested the observer is, and past reinforcement) Retention, including mental association and organization Rehearsal or practice, both mentally and physically Motivation/Consequences, both observed (when others perform task) and experienced Physical capabilities

4 Theories of Human 4 Bandura also includes in his theory the concept that people influence and create their own environment. A difficult baby who cries a lot is going to make his or her caregiver frustrated, because they have to work harder to calm the baby, so the caregiver might be more reluctant to comfort the baby. Since Bandura includes attention, memory, and motivation in his theory, it can be categorized as both cognitive and behavioral. An example would be my three year old son reverting back to baby behavior since his brother was born. He sees me pick up Xavier (his baby brother) and give him a lot of attention every time he cries. So when Griffin is not getting enough attention from me, he has starts to act like a baby crying, wetting his pants, etc. Bandura calls that learning through vicarious reinforcement. He sees someone else get rewarded for a certain behavior, so he adopts that behavior as well. Clinical Applications There are several clinical applications of both theories. One example of using conditioning is to train dogs with treats and a clicker. To train a dog to sit, for example, nestle a treat in one hand. You take the treat hand, hold it above the dog s nose, and move it back and downward motion. He (or she) will naturally follow the treat backwards and down, and end up sitting. As soon as his/her hind end touches the ground, you give him the treat. He associates sitting with the treat and will eventually sit when he sees the treat. That part of the lesson is operant conditioning (using the reward causes the dog to sit). The next part of this lesson is classical conditioning, because it will associate a clicker with the reward (the treat), and thus cause the dog to sit. The way you would use a clicker is start with a treat nestled in one hand like before, and a clicker in the other hand (hidden behind your back or in your pocket so you do not distract the dog). Get the dog to sit

5 Theories of Human 5 several times with the treat, and click the clicker when you give him the treat. Then, remove the treat from the lesson and just click the clicker and the dog will sit. An example of an application of Bandura s theory is using a model of a person overcoming a phobia to help someone else overcome the same phobia. Bandura actually did experiments where people with snake phobias watched other people who pretended to be afraid of snakes (the participants knew that these people were just pretending to be afraid) gradually get closer and closer to the snakes. The participants who watched the process tried it themselves and many were successful in over coming their fears by following the process demonstrated by the actors (Bandura, 1977). Conclusion Table 1 displays a brief summary of each theory of human development that is covered in this paper. The drawbacks of each of these theories are that they leave out the unconscious, subconscious, biological and physical roles in development. Table 1. Learning Theory Summaries Learning Style Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Social Cognitive Summary Uses a series of stimuli and responses. Old behavior is brought forth by a new stimulus through association. Learning from the consequences of behavior (reinforcement). Behavior is learned through modeling other s behaviors and observing the consequences of one s own and other people s behaviors (vicarious reinforcement). We think about what we saw, we evaluate it, and vary our responses accordingly. We affect our environment as well as learn from it.

6 Theories of Human 6 References Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press.