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- The main approach of investigating learning is through observation of overt behavior.
- Human beings and other animals are described to learn in similar ways. All organisms obey universal laws of behavior.
- Learning is a response to a specific stimulus and is reinforced by repetition of that stimulus. There is a functional and interconnected relationship between the stimuli that preceded a response (antecedents – these serve as cues), the stimuli that follow a response (consequences), and the response (operant – public activities and private thoughts) itself.
- Internal cognitive processes are not considered important in the behaviorist scientific study. Outward, observable behavior tells what the mind is attending to at any one time.
- Behavior changes through learning. Learners learn by doing, engaging in trail and error.
- Organisms are not born with any pre-formed behavior. Different organism with different experience under different environmental conditions will have different sets of behaviors. (The term conditioning is used instead of learning by behaviorism to reflect this.)
Behaviorism Home
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