Meaning of behavioral paradigm (what is it, concept and definition)

What is a behavioral paradigm:

The behaviorist paradigm is a formal scheme of organization in which it is proposed how the behavior of an organism can be explained through various environmental causes, without having to take into account the internal mental processes.

It should be remembered that, according to this theory, behavior, both in people and in animals, is observable, measurable and quantifiable.

The behaviorist paradigm emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, especially with the theory proposed and developed by Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1989), the driving force behind behaviorism during the 1940s and 1960s. This trend is also known as experimental analysis of behavior.

Skinner relied on the stimulus-response patterns of observable conditioned behaviors, regardless of mental processes.

Therefore, Skinner differs from his predecessors who studied classical conditioning and focused on operative behaviors, those that respond voluntarily in various settings.

In this way, Skinner used the experimental method, among them, the Skinner box, and determined that there are two classes of behavior that are:

Reaction behavior, which is that involuntary and reflex behavior, and responds to various stimuli both in people and animals. For example, shuddering when a strange and loud noise is heard unexpectedly.

Operating behavior, which refers to everything we do and which starts from a series of stimuli that generate responses. For example, walking.

In this sense, the behaviorist paradigm is based on the fact that knowledge is a copy or cumulative reflection of reality, which the subject, as a passive entity, copies. Hence, there are stimuli that generate the same response in human beings.

Therefore, the behaviorist paradigm allows having great precision, after the continuous practice and repetition of experiments that consist of identifying a final behavior in response to a stimulus.

See also Behaviorism.

Behavioral paradigm in education

The behavioral paradigm in education seeks to provide knowledge to students through various structures that reinforce information. In other words, the learning process is accompanied by various stimuli and reinforcements to obtain a positive learning response from the student.

Therefore, this paradigm starts from the idea that the teacher elaborates a planning of objectives and behavioral programs that will be developed through the teaching and learning process, which should not be modified.

Likewise, according to the behavioral paradigm, the student is a passive receptor whose learning can be modified by external stimuli that are outside of school and that can generate diverse responses.

On the other hand, the behaviorist paradigm has allowed the teacher to take order in class and keep the students' attention active, primarily because behaviorists seek good student behavior.

However, the behaviorist paradigm is in the process of restructuring, many specialists complement it with other aspects.

Currently, there is neobehaviorism, which seeks to interpret this theory from new approaches, for which it considers that the positive must be reinforced over the negative and reinforcement must be used as a motivation to obtain the desired response. This is because the learning processes need to be reinforced in order to modify the desired behaviors.

Characteristics of the behavioral paradigm

The main characteristics that define the behavioral paradigm are presented below.

• Most important is the response that comes from the stimulus. Knowledge is obtained by having passive behavior devoid of knowledge or intention. It is based on the experimental method and on the stimulus-response model. It is based on the fact that the behavior is observable, measurable and quantifiable. It is based on the empiricist, pragmatic and evolutionary philosophical current. Learning generates behavioral changes.