Presentation Of Behaviorism And Social Learning Essay

Learning about how and why people and animals similarly behave in a specific way has always been a topic of interest that spans even in the Olden Times, hence, Behaviorism came about. It is a system which takes learnedness as the result of the actions of the environment on the learner. ( Denis & Phillips, 2003, p.7 ). Associated with this theory is the view of tabula rasa, where the mind has nothing and that all information our mind has is a result of the experiences we go through and through. Under Behaviorism are the following types of learning Classical Conditioning, which depicts the connection between stimulus and response. (Davis, 2002, p.166) Imagine a unexampled born baby who cried because it was slapped by the doctor on the buttocks.The slap on the buttocks was the stimulus, and crying was the response to that stimulus. Operant Conditioning deals more with the verificatory and negative outcomes of a response, simply put, positive and negative reinforcements. For example a child studies hard because every time that child gets high grades, a gift is given to that child. The giving of the gift reinforces the childs behavior to earn high grades for the long-term. Another type of learning that falls under(a) Behaviorism is the Social Learning Theory, which involves the observation of admirable things, which are thus, copy or mirrored. (Kafai, 2004, p.129).This learning theory stomach be summed up through these words Learning by Observation. A child following the footsteps of an senior sibling who has been recognized due to excellent grades can be a good example of the Social Learning Theory in application. The Self-Efficacy Theory, a theory that falls under the Social Learning Theory excessively plays an important role in psychology.It states that the persons perception of what he or she can do or is capable of, makes that person pick out actions that will pave the way for him/her reaching set goals. Personality reading/Self-Confidence Books/Cou rses embody self-efficacy, as it is common knowledge that if you believe in yourself, more often than not, you succeed in a task. Behaviorism, I believe, can be used for self-understanding and self-improvement.ReferencesDavies, Martin. (2002). The Blackwell Companion to Social Work. Britain Blackwell Publishing.Denis, Charles., & Phillips, Jonas F. Soltis. (2003). Perspectives on Learning. New York Teachers College Press.Kafai, Yasmin B. (2004). embracement Diversity in the Learning Sciences. Yorkshire Routledge.