Behavioural Approach

The Behavioural Approach

Summary

The paper provides a broad overview of Behaviour approach and its application with reference to classical and operant conditioning, along with some other approaches in psychology. Accordingly, it considers behaviour approach in relation to some psychologically oriented approaches such as cognitive, humanistic, innate-ism and constructivism. In recent years, socially oriented approaches to language teaching/learning have mainly considered language learning as the outcome of linguistic interactions with native or more proficient speakers of the target language in behaviour approach setting. Research in psychological approach has always been a challenge and has faced many aspects in psychological and social disciplines. Early approaches research were mostly based on classical conditioning, focusing on habit formation through repetition and drills, but later on it gradually became socially oriented and are more inclined towards operant conditioning.



The Behavioural Approach

Introduction

In psychology, Behavioural approach can be considered as the most outstanding psychologically oriented approach with reference to classic as well as operant conditioning. Behavioural approaches can be traced back to the studies on classical conditioning by Russian psychologist Pavlov followed by Skinner (Epstein, 1991, 362). The behaviourists primarily claim that learning to include language, learning are a habit formation and the environment, operant or Classical is an essential and determinant factor in learning. Moreover, learning is realized by getting stimulated, responding to stimulation and receiving feedback to responses.

According to the behaviourist approach, understanding of the cognitive approach studies get centred on the postulation that children learn their first language by imitation and reinforcement thus forming a habit of language use. According to Skinner (1957), learners are getting exposed to language response from other presenters in their setting and then form meaningful associations between the language, objects, and events around them and the repetition of those associations over and over by experiences in the form of reinforcements and corrective feedback; they turn into linguistic habits (Epstein, 1991, 362).

Discussion

The Behavioural approach is the science of human Behaviour. All the human Behaviour is terrible to be learned, as new Behaviours are there to be learned every time. It is primarily behavioural aspects of human Behaviour to be observable and measurable and this is called Behaviourism. If Behaviours become unacceptable, there is always a room to bring new ideas. As it only sees the development of the behaviour as a continuous process, it is used in a variety of configurations, including both clinical and educational.

Based on the behaviour approach, language learners are not supposed to learn the language through having exposure to language input in Classical language setting which is prepared for language learning demanding them to be convoluted in replication and drills in away comparable to class. Accordingly, behaviourism may best suit operant language learning. Some of the physiologically and socially oriented approaches get discussed finding out which one would best fit with behavioural approach.

Classical/ conventional/ respondent conditioning is manifested as a neutral stimulus property acquires the stimulus unconditioned stimulus caused by the coupling of a neutral stimulus the ...