Behaviourism

5 Chapter(s) 18 mins left in module

( 9 min ) Video(s)

VIEW TRANSCRIPT

Back in the 90’s, when Salman Khan wasn’t playing the shy, accha baccha, he featured in double role in a movie called Judwaa. In Judwaa, Prem and Raja grew up in different surroundings, and are each others’ stark opposites: Prem is punctual, decent, respectful to women and in general, a nice man. In short, the kind of guy we can take home… to meet our parents. On the other hand, Raja grew up battling poverty to provide for himself and his step-brother Rangeela. So he became tough and strong. He was manipulative rude and kind of a Bad boy. You know, the kind of guy I want to take home, but not to meet my parents! This is the classic example of Behaviourism. Behaviourism focuses on skill development and behaviour change. It emphasizes the importance of environment on the behaviour of a person. According to behaviourism, observable behavioural change is a key element in learning. Behaviourism assumes that all our actions are determined by the environment, - and the environments in which we have been in the past cause us to learn and respond to stimuli in a certain manner. Prem grew up in the US and lacked for nothing while growing up - while Raja had no option but to steal and be physically strong in order to provide for himself. Hence, Prem always tried to reason with criminals. On the other hand, it never took Raja very long to start throwing punches and kicks. We are born with a certain set of reflexes or stimulus-response units which do not need to be learnt, and all our complex behaviours are a result of the environment.

CLOSE TRANSCRIPT

Behaviourism follows a simple rule - certain stimuli leads to certain responses. It implies that the learner is a passive element, and changes in the stimulus can lead to changes in environments.

There are two different types of conditioning, each yielding a different behavioral pattern:

1. Classical Conditioning

Have you heard the story of Pavlov's dog? It is a classic example of Classical Conditioning. (See what we did there? Haha.) The following video explains the concept of Classical Conditioning with the example of Pavlov's Dog.

_{“Disclaimer: Curated Content! This video is available for free here.”}

2. Operant Conditioning

While classical conditioning deals with what comes before the response, Operant Conditioning deals with what comes after it. Operant Conditioning is a type of learning where behaviour is controlled by consequences.

Operant Conditioning deals with changing behavior through reinforcement or punishment. It can be explained better with the help of the following video:

_{“Disclaimer: Curated Content! This video is available for free here.”}

Do you remember this scene from The Big Bang Theory?

_{“Disclaimer: Curated Content! This video is available for free here.”}

Sheldon Cooper's general lack of empathy or humility is jarringly clear in this video, where he tries to train Penny to behave "appropriately". This is an example of Positive Reinforcement as a method to encourage preferable behaviour.

Key Takeaways:

1. All our actions are determined by the environment, and the environments in which we have been in the past cause us to learn and respond to stimuli in a certain manner.
2. Behaviour which is reinforced tends to be repeated, while that which is punished tends to be reduced.
3. Behaviour is not a constant or rigid phenomenon - it can be changed by adding or removing certain stimulus.

Commonly Asked Interview Question:

Our marketing department handles a lot of merchandise on a daily basis. We get this merchandise made for trade partners, clients and contest winners. The tendency of the employees is to try and flick some of the merchandise without anyone noticing. How can we eradicate this kind of behaviour?

Up Next:

In the next chapter, we will study how to analyse training needs among employees.

Click to view course outline

DISCUSS