Behavior & Social Learning

Behaviorism & Social Learning Theory

Nariah Fields
The University of Memphis

Behavior & Social Learning

Behaviorism & Social Learning Theory

During the 20th century behavior became a very popular learning theory. Behavior
disagreed with past ideas from psychological perspectives which suggested, in order to
understand human functioning researchers had to evaluate the conscious and unconscious areas
of the mind. Observing human behaviors and the thought process was more important to
behaviorists (Winsor, Murrell, Magun-Jackson, 2015). Observable human actions are known as
external, which is what is seen and on the outside. Whereas the human thought process is internal
and unobservable, only the person themselves truly know what they think and their thoughts
cannot be measured. In the mid-late 20th century, the social learning theory developed from
behaviorism. The theory social learning, describes how we learn from our society and, or
environment (Winsor, Murrell, Magun-Jackson, 2015).
Behavior is all in how we talk, perceive daily life, and interact with one another.
According to Watson, behavior was a subject matter in its own right, to be studied by the
observational methods common to all sciences. This general view has remained influential,
although the details of various versions have differed over the years (Winsor et al., 2015).
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian psychologist who was in the behavior field and conducted the
classical conditioning research in 1904. Classical conditioning is exactly what it sounds like, its
a process that conditions certain responses from a stimuli, such as salivating. Pavlov
demonstrated classical conditioning on a dog who usually salivates at the sight of food. Also, the
sound of a bell causes the dog to salivate as well. Pavlov was important in a lot of ways he had
many contributions to the classical conditioning concept. This experiment involved three stages.
The first one, preconditioning phase includes the unconditioned stimulus which is a natural and
automatic response that triggers and unconditioned response, the automatic reaction to the

Behavior & Social Learning

unconditioned stimulus, also under the preconditioning phase. Secondly, during the conditioning
phase, a neutral stimulus is joined with the unconditioned stimulus in which creates a
relationship between them for the object being trained. Lastly, by the postconditioning phase, the
unconditioned stimulus, neutral stimulus and unconditioned response are now conditioned. So
the neutral stimulus transformed to the conditioned stimulus which resulted in a conditioned
response (Winsor, et al., 2015).
B.F. Skinner, a famous behavior analysis, approached behavior in a very different way.
He focused specifically on the study of verbal behavior. Behaviorism is defined as an approach
that tries to explain behavior without appealing to mental or cognitive processes in a straight
forward way. The definition needs to be clarified, especially if it pertains to Skinners behavior
analysis and his perspective of behaviorism as a philosophy of science (Winsor, et al., 2015).
In our book B. F. Skinner originated the research on operant conditioning. He came up
with the skinner box, a method that served as a controlled environment for animal
experiments. He was famous for training rats inside the box and responding to food pellets by
hitting the lever to allow the pellets to fall. Skinner believed humans and animals had similar
behaviors, therefore changing a humans behavior the same way as an animal would not be
difficult (Winsor, et al., 2015). He called this theory operant conditioning which could shape and
alter behavior. Skinner also believed that external influences greatly effect behavior and human
interactions with their surrounding environment (Winsor, et al., 2015). External influences do
strongly impact behavior. Those influences are all based on the outside of a person and situation.
Since people already judge off of the first impression or appearance throughout everyday life,
proves his argument to be very affective. Conditions that reinforce actions that cause appropriate
reactions and punishes those that cause unfavorable actions, are called operant conditions.

Behavior & Social Learning

Behaviors tend to become constant when positive outcomes follow and try to stop being as
constant for behaviors that have a positive consequence and avoid repeating negative behaviors
(Winsor, et al., 2015). Throughout this chapter, Skinner discusses how reinforcements can alter
the outcome of a behavior. The reinforcements is anything that can strengthen the probability of
a behavior reoccurring. For a reinforcement to work, it must be wanted or important to the
individual (Winsor, et al., 2015).
Classical and operant conditioning or very similar in its methods to train a certain stimuli
to condone in unconscious behaviors. Pavlov trained the dog to salivate for food when it hears
the sound of a bell. Skinner trained rats that in order to receive food pellets they had to hit the
lever a certain amount of times. The difference in classical and operant conditioning are the after
effects. Unlike Pavlov, Skinner took his experiment a step further and focused on what happened
after behaviors were performed and how could this shape the behavior from reoccurring. As
mentioned before reinforcements increases the likelihood of a behavior continuing. There are
two types of reinforcement: positive and negative. Positive reinforcement provides an individual
with something favorable after a particular behavior. For example: A woman constantly nags at
her husband for always leaving his shoes in the middle of the closest after she specifically asks
him not to. One day he lines his shoes up how they are supposed to be and the wife rewards him
with his favorite pie for dinner. By him receiving the pie for his behavior, highly increases the
chance of them never having that problem again. Negative reinforcement is simply removing
something unfavorable and undesired, after a certain behavior is increased. For example: The
basketball coach told his team each time they show great sportsmanship during the week
throughout practice, he would make Friday their free day in the gym instead of doing intense

Behavior & Social Learning

workouts, and they had the option of going home. The team would be able to sit and chill or play
a non-intense game of basketball, or anything else in the gym that would interest them.
Behavior is not the only thing that influences our learning abilities. We do not only learn
through behavior but from social learning as well. Social learning is a more external process and
how we experience and engage in factors from the environment. It also involves social groups
and focuses on the perspective from the society. The perspective suggests that a tremendous
amount of human learning evolves from individuals observing actions that arise throughout the
environment, which is called observational learning. The social learning perspective predicts that
individuals gain knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are suitable for different contexts through
observation (Winsor, et al., 2015).
Julian Rotter was a social learning theorist in the 1960s. She greatly influences Alfred
Adler and Sigmund Freud. Rotters theory states, that in order to understand the behavior of a
human, one must evaluate an individuals personality in conjunction with the environment in
which the person is living (Winsor, et al., 2015). Social cues even impact cognition when
others are not physically present (Shteynberg & Galinsky, 2011). Our environment plays a big
role in our lives even when we are not aware of what we take in on the everyday basis. We are
affected by school, work, peers, bosses, professors, and events. Rotters theory consists of four
parts. The probability that a response will occur at a specific time and if it is reinforced, is the
first stage called behavior potential. Following is expectancy. Expectancy is the perception that
when individuals practice a particular behavior, it will lead to a specific outcome. People will
either expect to fail or succeed. Then, the reinforcement value places value on various outcomes.
Individuals will place higher reinforcement value on activities that lead to a desired outcome and
a lower reinforcement value on activities that lead to an undesirable outcome. How individuals

Behavior & Social Learning

analyze and make conclusions on specific events that happen in the environment is called the
psychological situation. These interpretations are disconnected and differentiate from one person
to the next (Winsor, et al., 2015). Once a person experiences these changes through society it
greatly impacts their lives and shows them things from a different perspective.
Rotter focused more on how social groups and the environment causes a person to evolve
certain behaviors. Her theory is much more relatable and efficient, because it is more active,
even it is consciously or unconsciously. The components Rotter discusses that are in the social
and observational learning theory are current and greatly influential, good or bad. How behavior
learning theory was compelled by Pavlov and Skinner was not completely wrong, but focused on
the person themselves instead of other surrounding factors. For Rotter, the person, environment,
and situation can affect one simple behavior. Her four stages explains how realistic her
perspective is and most importantly how humans interact with others, society, and internal
factors.
Human development can be learned and taught in various ways. One thing for certain is
that humans learn and grow. Behavior focuses on observable human actions and social learning
is combining thinking and condition to create certain behaviors and attitudes. Behaviorism and
social learning both have key components that impact the living experience, whether it is internal
or external. Pavlov, Skinner, and Rotter had one thing in common, and that is social and behavior
are factors of learning experiences and human development.

Behavior & Social Learning

References
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S. Jackson (Eds.), The handbook of education theories (pp. 91-103). Charlotte, NC,
US: IAP Information Age Publishing.
Cassidy, B., Dube, C., & Gutchess, A. (2015). Social influences on adaptive criterion learning.
Memory & Cognition, 43(5), 695-708 14p. doi:10.3758/s13421-014-0497-8
Moore, J. (2011). BEHAVIORISM. Psychology Record, 61(3), 449-465.
Windsor, D. L., Murell, V.S., & Magun-Jackson, S. (2015). Lifespan Development: An
educational psychological perspective. Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions.