Behavioral Vs Cognitive Approach.docx

Behavioral Vs Cognitive Theory of Learning BY ZARMINA KANWAL

Bahria University KARACHI CAMPUS

Behavioral Vs Cognitive Approach There are two major perspectives that attempt to explain the components of learning. The two perspective are behavioral and cognitive approaches. Behavioral approaches view learning as a behavior. The behavior is observable and can be measured. Cognitive approaches explain learning as the acquisition of knowledge and the processing of information. There are several big questions in the field of learning theory that both of these perspectives attempt to answer. The most important question is: How does learning occur? Behavioral Approach Behavioral theories stress the importance of the environment in encouraging learning. Behaviorists speak a great deal about stimulus response. The stimulus comes from the environment and the individual responds. Behaviorists see learning as an experience in reinforcement. Individual difference is not a major concern as everyone should act in a similar manner when facing similar stimuli. The original behaviorists claimed that internal states like cognition, emotions and moods were too subjective to give any credence to and that genetics should have no place in psychology; they believed that observable behaviors were the only factors in psychology worth considering. The law of effect principle developed by Edward Thorndike suggested that responses closely followed by satisfaction will become firmly attached to the situation and, therefore, more likely to reoccur when the situation is repeated. Conversely, if the situation is followed by discomfort, the connections to the situation will become weaker, and the behavior of response is less likely to occur when the situation is repeated. Imagine that you arrive early to work one day by accident. Your boss notices and praises your diligence. The praise makes you feel good, so it reinforces the behavior. You start showing up for work a little bit early each day to keep receiving your boss’s commendations. Because a pleasing consequence followed the behavior, the action became more likely to be repeated in the future. Thorndike would place a cat inside the puzzle box and then place a piece of meat outside the box and then observe the animal’s efforts to escape and obtain the food. He recorded how long each animal took to figure out how to free itself from the box. Eventually, the cats would press the lever, and the door would open so that the animal could receive the reward. Even though first pressing the lever occurred simply by accident, the cats became likely to repeat it because they had received an award immediately after performing the action. Thorndike noted that with each trial, the cats became much faster at opening the door. Because pressing the lever had led to a favorable outcome,

the cats were much more likely to perform the behavior again in the future. Thorndike termed this the “Law of Effect,” which suggested that when satisfaction follows an association, it is more likely to be repeated. If an unfavorable outcome follows an action, then it becomes less likely to be repeated. Conditioning is one of the main themes of behaviorists, and they name two major types of conditioning, classical and operant.

Classical conditioning was discovered by Ivan Pavlov during his famous experiment with dogs. Every time Pavlov fed a dog, he rang a bell. Pavlov then rang the bell without feeding the dog, and the dog salivated at the sound of the bell. Pavlov had conditioned the dog to respond to the bell by salivating. Pavlov’s experiment served as the one of the cornerstones of behaviorism. The food acted as an unconditioned stimulus to the dog, because food is something that a dog is naturally drawn to. Likewise, the salivation of the dog was an unconditioned response to that stimulus because food naturally causes a dog to salivate. But the sound of a bell doesn’t naturally cause a dog to salivate, so the bell acted as a conditioned stimulus and the salivation at the sound of the bell was a conditioned response.

Operant conditioning (sometimes called instrumental conditioning) operates through reward (for good behavior) and punishment (for bad behavior).

Cognitive Approach Cognitivist agree with the influence of the environment in learning but downplay its role. For them, learning is about how students’ encode, store, and or transfer learning within their mind. The learner’s thoughts play an important role in their learning. Reflection and asking questions all play a part in the learning of students. Imagine what it would be like if you did not have a mental model of your world. It would mean that you would not be able to make so much use of information from your past experience or to plan future actions. Schemas are the basic building blocks of such cognitive models, and enable us to form a mental representation of the world. When a person’s existing schemas are capable of explaining what it can perceive around it, it is said to be in a state of equilibrium, i.e., a state of cognitive (i.e., mental) balance. Cognitive approach views intellectual growth as a process of adaptation (adjustment) to the world. This happens through:

Assimilation: Which is using an existing schema to deal with a new object or situation. Accommodation: This happens when the existing schema (knowledge) does not work, and needs to be changed to deal with a new object or situation.

Equilibration: This is the force which moves development along. Piaget believed that cognitive development did not progress at a steady rate, but rather in leaps and bounds. Equilibrium occurs when a child's schemas can deal with most new information through assimilation. However, an unpleasant state of disequilibrium occurs when new information cannot be fitted into existing schemas (assimilation). Equilibration is the force which drives the learning process as we do not like to be frustrated and will seek to restore balance by mastering the new challenge (accommodation). Once the new information is acquired the process of assimilation with the new schema will continue until the next time we need to make an adjustment to it.