Behavioral Principles Applied to Education
Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike, John Watson, and B.F. Skinner have all played a substantial role in defining the theory of behaviorism, which is said to be the “scientific study of human behavior” (Watson, 2016).
Ivan Pavlov studied and produced the concept of classical conditioning, which is the act of pairing a stimulus with a situation to produce a conditioned reflex or emotional response.
An example of classical conditioning would be during the last Harry Potter book; Harry, Ron, and Hermione are trying to find and destroy Voldemort’s horcruxes (objects holding a person’s soul) in order to defeat him once and for all. This particular scene took place in Gringotts, the wizard bank run by goblins, which contained a dragon to protect some of the oldest and richest families’ vaults. The dragon was conditioned to cower whenever the goblins used an instrument that made a unique clanking noise. The dragon was hurt and in pain when the goblins used the instruments, and this was planned so that whenever they made the noise and the dragon backed away, they could safely access the vaults (Harry Potter and the deathly hallows, 2007).
Edward Thorndike produced the Law of Effect, which is the idea that whenever an favorable response follows an act that takes place in a situation will most likely be repeated in a similar situation. Correspondingly, if an unfavorable response follows an act in a situation, the person will be a lot less likely to repeat that action in similar situations to avoid the unfavorable response.
An example of the Law of Effect would be throughout the series when Hermione takes on the task of either doing or editing Ron and Harry’s homework. The two boys always procrastinate and slack off when it comes to their homework and studying, and Hermione is always there to save the day. She looks over their homework and writes in her own corrections in terms of grammar, spelling, and accurate facts and concepts they are writing about. It is also not uncommon for her to do one of their homework assignments; Hermione assists in these ways not only because she wants them to succeed, but because she also receives praise during and after she works on their assignments.
John Watson is known for his keen studies in behaviorism and the ideas of generalization and discrimination, generalization being the act of responding in similar ways to different situations or stimuli, and discrimination being the act of giving different responses to related, but not identical, situations or stimuli.
An example of generalization would be throughout the Harry Potter books, whenever there is a conflict arising. Harry, Ron, and Hermione always seem to be gravitating towards trouble and have to save the school from something, one way or another. Each problem is different: finding and saving the Sorcerer’s Stone, defeating Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets and saving Ginny Weasley, etc. The situations are dangerous, but each different, and the trio always rises to the occasion to make things right again (Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone, 1997; Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets, 1999).
An example of discrimination would be Ron’s reaction to Harry’s fame; in the beginning of their friendship, Ron was pleased and eager to be the best friend of The Chosen One. However, as the years progressed, he was tired of living in Harry’s shadow and wanted to share the spotlight for once. Whenever Harry was given special treatment because of his fame, Ron’s first reaction was to take advantage of the attention and support Harry and all of his decisions. However, by the time their fourth year came around and Harry was once again placed in the spotlight to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, Ron had had enough. Ron assumed that Harry had put his name into the Goblet of Fire (even though he didn’t), and for a few weeks after, Ron was quite distant and aggressive towards him. He eventually forgave Harry, and over the next few years they had small spats, but Ron had one more episode. During the trio’s year of hiding during the seventh book, Ron, Harry, and Hermione all took turns wearing Slytherin’s locket (a horcrux). The locket sends out waves of hate and uncertainty, because of its dark purpose, to whoever is in possession of it. None of them wanted to wear the locket, but it was the only way to keep it safe. Ron had a love interest for Hermione, and there were moments where he suspected that Harry and Hermione were becoming an item. They weren’t having these feelings towards one another, but when Ron wore the locket, suspicious and insinuating thoughts clouded his judgement and he felt once again that pain of always being in Harry’s shadow. He ended up leaving the other two for a few weeks and came back to continue their mission. Each of these reactions were different when in the midst of Harry’s fame, treatment, and glory (Harry Potter and the goblet of fire, 2000;Harry Potter and the deathly hallows, 2007).
B.F. Skinner studied operant conditioning and reinforcing agents in psychology. Operant conditioning is an act of influencing behavior by means of positive and negative reinforcement and punishment.
An example of operant conditioning would be during Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; Harry was often a smart-mouth to Professor Umbridge, and this resulted in many detentions. Now, Harry wasn’t new to the detention world, but Umbridge’s detentions were very different than other detentions he had experienced. She had a special quill that used the blood of the writer rather than ink, and Harry had to write “I must not tell lies” over and over again until the message created a permanent wound, and eventually a scar, on the back of his hand. After a several detentions, Harry learned his lesson and began to control his words while speaking to her. The changing of Harry’s behavior after the torturous detentions is the operant conditioning in this scene, and the giving of the detentions and the scar on the back of his hand is the positive punishment (Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix, 2003).
Ivan Pavlov studied and produced the concept of classical conditioning, which is the act of pairing a stimulus with a situation to produce a conditioned reflex or emotional response.
An example of classical conditioning would be during the last Harry Potter book; Harry, Ron, and Hermione are trying to find and destroy Voldemort’s horcruxes (objects holding a person’s soul) in order to defeat him once and for all. This particular scene took place in Gringotts, the wizard bank run by goblins, which contained a dragon to protect some of the oldest and richest families’ vaults. The dragon was conditioned to cower whenever the goblins used an instrument that made a unique clanking noise. The dragon was hurt and in pain when the goblins used the instruments, and this was planned so that whenever they made the noise and the dragon backed away, they could safely access the vaults (Harry Potter and the deathly hallows, 2007).
Edward Thorndike produced the Law of Effect, which is the idea that whenever an favorable response follows an act that takes place in a situation will most likely be repeated in a similar situation. Correspondingly, if an unfavorable response follows an act in a situation, the person will be a lot less likely to repeat that action in similar situations to avoid the unfavorable response.
An example of the Law of Effect would be throughout the series when Hermione takes on the task of either doing or editing Ron and Harry’s homework. The two boys always procrastinate and slack off when it comes to their homework and studying, and Hermione is always there to save the day. She looks over their homework and writes in her own corrections in terms of grammar, spelling, and accurate facts and concepts they are writing about. It is also not uncommon for her to do one of their homework assignments; Hermione assists in these ways not only because she wants them to succeed, but because she also receives praise during and after she works on their assignments.
John Watson is known for his keen studies in behaviorism and the ideas of generalization and discrimination, generalization being the act of responding in similar ways to different situations or stimuli, and discrimination being the act of giving different responses to related, but not identical, situations or stimuli.
An example of generalization would be throughout the Harry Potter books, whenever there is a conflict arising. Harry, Ron, and Hermione always seem to be gravitating towards trouble and have to save the school from something, one way or another. Each problem is different: finding and saving the Sorcerer’s Stone, defeating Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets and saving Ginny Weasley, etc. The situations are dangerous, but each different, and the trio always rises to the occasion to make things right again (Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone, 1997; Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets, 1999).
An example of discrimination would be Ron’s reaction to Harry’s fame; in the beginning of their friendship, Ron was pleased and eager to be the best friend of The Chosen One. However, as the years progressed, he was tired of living in Harry’s shadow and wanted to share the spotlight for once. Whenever Harry was given special treatment because of his fame, Ron’s first reaction was to take advantage of the attention and support Harry and all of his decisions. However, by the time their fourth year came around and Harry was once again placed in the spotlight to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, Ron had had enough. Ron assumed that Harry had put his name into the Goblet of Fire (even though he didn’t), and for a few weeks after, Ron was quite distant and aggressive towards him. He eventually forgave Harry, and over the next few years they had small spats, but Ron had one more episode. During the trio’s year of hiding during the seventh book, Ron, Harry, and Hermione all took turns wearing Slytherin’s locket (a horcrux). The locket sends out waves of hate and uncertainty, because of its dark purpose, to whoever is in possession of it. None of them wanted to wear the locket, but it was the only way to keep it safe. Ron had a love interest for Hermione, and there were moments where he suspected that Harry and Hermione were becoming an item. They weren’t having these feelings towards one another, but when Ron wore the locket, suspicious and insinuating thoughts clouded his judgement and he felt once again that pain of always being in Harry’s shadow. He ended up leaving the other two for a few weeks and came back to continue their mission. Each of these reactions were different when in the midst of Harry’s fame, treatment, and glory (Harry Potter and the goblet of fire, 2000;Harry Potter and the deathly hallows, 2007).
B.F. Skinner studied operant conditioning and reinforcing agents in psychology. Operant conditioning is an act of influencing behavior by means of positive and negative reinforcement and punishment.
An example of operant conditioning would be during Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; Harry was often a smart-mouth to Professor Umbridge, and this resulted in many detentions. Now, Harry wasn’t new to the detention world, but Umbridge’s detentions were very different than other detentions he had experienced. She had a special quill that used the blood of the writer rather than ink, and Harry had to write “I must not tell lies” over and over again until the message created a permanent wound, and eventually a scar, on the back of his hand. After a several detentions, Harry learned his lesson and began to control his words while speaking to her. The changing of Harry’s behavior after the torturous detentions is the operant conditioning in this scene, and the giving of the detentions and the scar on the back of his hand is the positive punishment (Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix, 2003).