The Two Aspects Of Behaviorism And Social Learning Theory

In the last decade, educators have introduced and used the term life- long learning. This is the notion that learning continues to enrich lives beyond the classroom and has no restrictions as to when learning can stop. There are many internal and external factors that can influence learning such as; emotional, social and environmental factors. It is from these factors and observation of behaviours that psychologists can draw conclusions together, proposing theories to explain how individuals learn and what can ultimately hinder this learning in terms of individual needs. In this essay the two aspects of learning theory that will be examined closely are behaviourism and social learning theory. Behaviourism and social learning theory both state

This is the belief that an individual learns through positive and negative reinforcements. Thorndike carried out his experiment by observing multiple cats in a contained puzzle box. This was so he could identify whether behaviours could be reinforced and repeated. Thorndike found through his experiment that the cats learnt through the process of trial and error. He reached this conclusion by observing that the cats would learn from their mistakes and limit their less ineffective actions. As a result of this, they were able to escape the puzzle box more effectively to achieve their reward, and therefore avoided the negative reinforcement. On the other hand, he found that when the cats did not escape the puzzle box the unpleasant consequences experienced by the cats meant that this behaviour was no longer recurring. This then led Thorndike on to developing the concept of ‘law of effect’. This was the idea that if the result was desirable then an organism was more likely to repeat this behaviour as it would be conditioned to do

His theory of psychoanalysis would counteract behaviourism as it emphasises that the unconscious has the potential to motivate behaviour due to it being based upon the centrality of the mind. In contrast, behaviourism distinctively relies on external behaviours and the reaction to a stimulus and therefore challenges behaviourism as to whether thought or feelings are actually involved in the process of learning. A theoretical model introduced by Gibbs (1998) known as the reflective cycle mirrors the role of feelings and thoughts in learning. This supports Freud’s theory that thoughts and feelings are fundamental in the learning experience. Moreover, it would suggest how thoughts and feelings are essentially something that can enhance learning if positive, but also can have consequences on an individual’s learning experience if they are negative. This echoes the idea of how factors like emotion can affect