FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION

Psychological Foundation
PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS

• Psychology is derived from the greek word psyche

which means soul. It is discipline devoted to the
study of behavior, mind and thought. Specifically, it
deals with the study of mental processes the
determines a person’s behavior and thinking. When
applied to teaching and learning, it provides the basis
for understanding how students learn and
understand a body of knowledge.
• The curriculum developer has to know how students’
learn and to take into consideration individual
differences when designing a curriculum. It is only
when students learn and gain from the curriculum
will the curriculum be considered to be successful.
 COGNITIVISM
BEHAVIORISM
-Wertheimer
-Pavlov
-Kohler
-Skinner
-Miller
-Thorndike
-Craik
-Bandura
-Tulving
-Gagne
-Ausubel
CURRICULUM
CONSTRUCTIVISM
HUMANISM
-Bruner
-Maslow
-Piaget
-Rogers
-Vygotsky
-Combs
-Von Glaserfe

Psychological Perspectives influencing Curriculum and their Proponent

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

• also called PAVLOV BEHAVIORISM- involves pairing a

neutral stimulus with an involuntary or natural
reaction, creating an association that results in a
conditioned reaction
• Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
• The famous Russian physiologist, introduced the
theory of classical conditioning through a series
experiments with dogs. Based on the Law of
Association proposed by Greek philosophers such as
Aristotle, he showed that an organism can associate a
particular stimulus (S) with a particular response (R).
• Learning is the result of an association formed
between a stimulus (such as food) and a response (the
animal salivating).
• Later, one could substitute 'food' with the sound of a
bell (a neutral stimulus) and yet the animal salivates.
Such associations or "habits" become strengthened or
weakened by the nature and frequency of the S-R
pairings. For example, when the organism realizes that
the sound of the bell does not result in food, the
animal stops salivating and the behavior is said to be
extinct.
1. The Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
An unconditioned stimulus is a stimulus or
trigger that leads to an automatic response. If a
cold breeze makes you shiver, for instance, the
cold breeze is an unconditioned stimulus; it
produces an involuntary response (the
shivering).
2. The Unconditioned Response (UR)
An unconditioned response is an automatic
response or a response that occurs without
thought when an unconditioned stimulus is
present. If you smell your favorite food and your
mouth starts watering, the watering is an
unconditioned response.
3. The Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A neutral stimulus is a stimulus that

doesn't initially trigger a response on its own. If
you hear the sound of a fan but don't feel the
breeze, for example, it wouldn't necessarily
trigger a response. That would make it a neutral
stimulus.
4. The Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A conditioned stimulus is a stimulus that

was once neutral (didn't trigger a response) but
now leads to a response. If you previously didn't
pay attention to dogs, but then got bit by one,
and now you feel fear every time you see a dog,
the dog has become a conditioned stimulus.
5. The Conditioned Responses (CR)

A conditioned response is a learned

response or a response that is created where no
response existed before. Going back to the
example of being bit by a dog, the fear you
experience after the bite is a conditioned
response.
Acquisition

• Acquisition is the initial stage of learning, when a response is first

established and gradually strengthened.5 During the acquisition
phase of classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is repeatedly
paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
• As you may recall, an unconditioned stimulus is something that
naturally and automatically triggers a response without any
learning. After an association is made, the subject will begin to
emit a behavior in response to the previously neutral stimulus,
which is now known as a conditioned stimulus. It is at this point
that we can say that the response has been acquired.
• Once the response has been established, you can gradually
reinforce the response to make sure the behavior is well learned.
Extinction

• Extinction is when the occurrences of a conditioned response

decrease or disappear. In classical conditioning, this happens
when a conditioned stimulus is no longer paired with an
unconditioned stimulus.6
• For example, if the smell of food (the unconditioned
stimulus) had been paired with the sound of a whistle (the
conditioned stimulus), the sound of the whistle would
eventually come to evoke the conditioned response of
hunger.
• However, if the smell of food were no longer paired with the
whistle, eventually the conditioned response (hunger) would
disappear.
Spontaneous Recovery

• Sometimes a learned response can suddenly reemerge,

even after a period of extinction.
• For example, imagine that after training a dog to salivate
to the sound of a bell, you stop reinforcing the behavior
and the response becomes extinct. After a rest period
during which the conditioned stimulus is not presented,
you ring the bell and the animal spontaneously recovers
the previously learned response.
• If the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus
are no longer associated, extinction will return very
rapidly after a spontaneous recovery.
Generalization

• Stimulus generalization is the tendency for a conditioned

stimulus to evoke similar responses after the response
has been conditioned.8 For example, if a dog has been
conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell, the animal
may also exhibit the same response to a sound that's
similar to the bell.
• In John B. Watson's famous Little Albert Experiment, for
example, a small child was conditioned to fear a white
rat. The child demonstrated stimulus generalization by
also exhibiting fear in response to other fuzzy white
objects, including stuffed toys and Watson's own hair.
Discrimination

• Discrimination is the ability to differentiate between

a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have
not been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.
• For example, if a bell tone were the conditioned
stimulus, discrimination would involve being able to
tell the difference between the bell tone and other
similar sounds. Because the subject is able to
distinguish between these stimuli, they will only
respond when the conditioned stimulus is presented.
THORNDIKE’S THEORY OF
LEARNING
• Also known as Stimulus Response Theory of Learning
• Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)
• Thorndike also worked with animals and defined learning as
habit formation. In one of his experiments, a hungry cat was
placed in a box and could escape and eat the food by
pressing a lever inside the box. After much trial and error
behavior, the cat learned to associate pressing the lever
(Stimulus) with opening the door (Response). This S-R
connection when established resulted in a satisfying state of
affairs (escape from the box). Each time the animal was put in
the box, it took lesser time to press the lever and escape
because the animal has learned. Based on these
experiments,
THORNDIKE THREE LAWS OF LEARNING

• Law of Effect

If a response (eg. doing a mathematics problem)

is followed by a pleasurable or rewarding experience
(eg. student gets the right answer and is praised by the
teacher), the response will be strengthened and
become habitual.
THORNDIKE THREE LAWS OF LEARNING

• Law of Exercise

Connections between stimulus (eg. getting

the right answer) and response (eg. doing a
mathematics problem) is strengthened with
practice and weakened when practice is
discontinued.
THORNDIKE THREE LAWS OF LEARNING

• Law of Readiness

Certain behaviors are more likely to be

learned than others because the nervous system
of the organism is ready to make the connection
leading to a satisfying state of affairs. It is
preparation for action.
OPERANT CONDITIONING

• also called Instrumental Conditioning

• refers to the process that people’s behavior produces
certain consequences.
• behavior is the function of its consequences
• Frederick Skinner (1900-1980)
• The theory of Skinner is based upon the idea that
learning is a function of change in overt behavior.
• He introduced the term 'operant' which means to act
upon.
• He put a hungry rat in a box and each time the rat
pressed the lever, a food pellet would be given. This
resulted in the rat pressing the lever each time it
wanted food.
• The change in behavior or learning by the rat is the
result of the animal's response to events (stimuli)
that occur in the environment.
• For example, a child will do her homework because
she knows that she will be allowed to watch her
favourite TV programme. When a particular response
or behavior is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is
conditioned to respond.
• Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner's S-R
theory.
• A reinforcer could be anything. It could be a parent
saying 'good work' or the child obtaining an “A” in
history which gives the child a feeling of
accomplishment and satisfaction. These are examples
of positive reinforcement.
• However, there are also negative reinforcers which are
any stimuli that give rise to a response when it is
withdrawn. For example, the rat will press the lever to
stop the electric shock given.
• A mother will pick up her child who is crying
because she cannot bear to hear him cry.
Similarly, when you enter a car, you put on the
safety belt to avoid the irritating sound of the
buzzer. In other words, the behavior of 'picking
the baby' and 'putting on the safety belt' is
performed to avoid unpleasantness.
• On the other hand, punishment is administered
when you want to reduce the occurrence of a
particular behavior. For example, a boy who does not
help his mother is not allowed to go out to play
football. In other words, the mother is depriving the
boy the pleasure of playing football. Based on a
schedule of rewards and punishment, the behavior
of an organism can be modified.
Reinforcement/Reward

• Positive reinforcers are Favorable events or

outcomes that are presented after the behaviour.
This Positive reinforcement strengthens a behaviour
by providing a consequence an individual finds
rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you Rs.
100 (reward) each time you complete your
homework (behaviour) you are more likely to repeat
this behaviour in the future, thus strengthening the
behaviour of completing your homework.
Reinforcement/Reward

• Negative reinforcers as a tool for operant conditioning

involve the removal of unfavourable events or
outcomes after the display of a behaviour. In these
situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of
something considered unpleasant. For example, let us
say, you have to give your teacher Rs. 100 every day
(unfavourable outcome). But on the days you complete
your homework you don’t have to pay the teacher
(removal of unwanted outcome). You will complete your
homework to save Rs. 100, thus strengthening the
behaviour of completing your homework.
Punishment

• Positive Punishment refers to an unfavourable

consequence or response following behaviour which
leads to a decrease in that behaviour. For example,
every time you come late (behaviour), you are
slapped (consequence). This consequence of being
slapped will demotivate you from coming late,
thereby weakening the behaviour.
Punishment

• Negative Punishment: also known as punishment by

removal, occurs when a favourable event or outcome
is removed after a behaviour occurs. For example,
every time a child wakes up late (behaviour) in the
morning, his video game is taken away from him
(consequence) for that day. This taking away of the
video game following an undesired behaviour results
in a decrease in that behaviour.
NOTE:

• Operant Conditioning is a type of learning in which a

behaviour is strengthened (meaning, it will occur
more frequently) when it’s followed by
reinforcement, and weakened (will happen less
frequently) when followed by punishment. It is based
on a simple premise – that behaviour is influenced by
the consequences that follow. When you are
reinforced for doing something, you’re more likely to
do it again. When you are punished for doing
something, you are less likely to do it again.