Behavioral and Cognitive Learning Theories

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Behavioral and Cognitive Approaches Name Institutional Affiliation Historically, several theories have been developed to explain the manner in which human beings learn things. Among these theories are the cognitive and behavioral theories of learning. Both theories are based on various principles and have numerous elements in common. They are also wide-apart in some areas. This paper will provide the foundational principles of each theory, and will explain the similarities and differences between the two theories. The behavioral theory of learning stresses the importance of human beings making connections between behavior and experience. For this reason, the foundational principles underlying this theory include the two perspectives, operant conditioning, and classical conditioning. In operant conditioning, consequences of behavior affect the probability of the occurrence of that particular behavior. In classical conditioning, an organism learns to associate or connect stimuli so that the neutral stimulus becomes associated with the meaningful stimulus. Additionally, there are two ways that teachers or parents use to decrease or increase behavior, and these are punishing bad behavior and reinforcing the good behavior. Operant conditioning is used to either decrease undesirable behaviors or increase desirable behaviors. For the desirable behaviors, a number of tactics can be used to achieve them. They include choosing effective reinforces, making reinforces timely and contingent, selecting the most appropriate reinforcement schedule and using negative reinforcement appropriately. For the undesirable behavior, the tactics to be used to achieve it include using differential reinforcement, extinction (remove reinforcement), presenting desirable stimuli and removing desirable stimuli (Leonard, 2002). The foundational principles underlying the cognitive theory

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