Chapter 3 Understanding Human Development 71
Behaviorist Theories
One of the earliest theories in development is behaviorism. Behaviorism
is a theory based on the belief that individuals’ behavior is determined
by forces in the environment that are beyond their control. According to
behaviorists, how people behave (their thoughts, feelings, and actions)
depends on what they have learned through experience, rather than genet-
ics or free will. In the debate of heredity versus environment, behaviorists
believe that environment wins.
According to behaviorists, infants come into the world as “blank
screens.” The behaviors people exhibit are a direct result of their expe-
riences in life. If eight-year-old Tyler is a bully on the playground, it is
assumed he learned that behavior.
Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
One of the earliest behavioral experiments was conducted by a Russian
researcher named Pavlov. He noticed that a dog naturally salivated at the
sight of food. Pavlov began to ring a bell each time he fed the dog. Eventually,
if the bell was rung, the dog salivated, even if no food was given to the
dog. This response is an example of classical conditioning—the theory that
behaviors can be associated with responses.
Can classical conditioning occur without specifi c training? Behaviorists
say it can. For example, a parent who is afraid of bugs may unknowingly
pass that fear along to their child. Perhaps the parent takes a loud deep
breath or communicates alarm at the sight of a bug. If that happens repeat-
edly, the child is likely to acquire the same fear. You have probably experi-
enced classical conditioning in your own life. Do you have a favorite song
that makes you feel happy when you hear it because it reminds you of a
positive experience? All of our experiences, whether positive, negative, or
neutral, can affect our emotions, attitudes, and behaviors.
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
When you have a pleasant experience, such as receiving a compliment,
you internalize the experience as positive. B. F. Skinner was a researcher well
known for identifying this basic principle. This principle is called operant con-
ditioning. Operant conditioning is when people tend to repeat behaviors that
have a positive result or are reinforced. If your teacher praises you for your
history project, you may decide that you like history. If you repeatedly get high
grades on tests and projects, you may decide that you are good at history.
Skinner found that to make new behaviors permanent, the reinforce-
ments (positive experience) are to be removed gradually, and in unpredict-
able patterns. Sometimes the behavior is reinforced, but not at others. Even