Behaviorism and Constructivism in Psychology

Learning is the process by which the body incorporates new knowledge or skills into its repertoire through experience. It is the way by which we acquire, generalize, contextualize or vary our behavior and our way of seeing reality.

There have been multiple theories and currents of thought that have dealt with the learning process, emerging different paradigms that have been in opposition throughout history. Two of the most recognized have been and continue to be behaviorism and constructivism.

Behaviorism: learning as an association

Behaviorism is one of the best-known paradigms of psychology and one that has expanded the most throughout the history, having had a notable influence on various dimensions of psychology such as clinical and educational.

Born at a time in history when currents based on unverifiable theoretical assumptions predominated, behaviorism was born as an attempt to base knowledge of human behavior on empirical criteria that can be tested experimentally.

This current explains behavior from the learning of behavioral patterns derived from the association between different possible stimuli, in which elements that by themselves generate harm or well-being are linked with others by being in contact in space and time, the latter acquiring the characteristics of the former and causing the organism to same reactions. Later,

the individual can generalize these associations to similar stimuli and situations.

Thus, behaviorism tries to work from totally objective variables, with which its methodology is based on the collection of information from experiments in which both the stimuli and the response are directly evident What physiological information or even observation.

Throughout the history of Psychology there are numerous authors who worked in this current or who gave rise to it, some of the main ones being Pavlov, Skinner or Watson.

The behaviorist model

Behaviorism maintains a strictly mechanistic point of view and proposes that conduct is governed by clear and invariable laws. It is considered that the environment is solely responsible for human or animal behavior, leaving the individual as a totally passive person who receives information from the environment and who learns to act by associating this information or stimuli with responses adaptive.

The mind, although it is recognized as part of the learning process, is seen as an inaccessible element that cannot be known. The main elements to take into account are the stimuli, the responses, the association between the two and the possible reinforcements or punishments derived from the behavior finally carried out.

In classical behaviorism it is considered that in the acquisition of knowledge and behaviors the subject will be a passive and reactive entity, capturing the stimulation and linking it to the appetitive or aversive to end up responding accordingly. Learning is acquired through the repetition of the associations between stimuli, with which the educational focus will be based on training and repetitive memorization.

Regarding the world of education, the teacher or educator has a role of great importance, being the one who provides the information through the use of reinforcement or avoidance of punishment. Learning is considered to be established when the responses given by the individual are the considered correct to the stimulation given by the environment, having become accustomed to giving it to the stimuli appropriate.

Constructivism: learning how to create meaning

Despite the fact that much of behaviorism is based on empirical data, the mere association is not enough to explain how learning and other things occur. phenomena such as the importance of beliefs, motivations and emotions in the acquisition of knowledge, being the mental processes of individuals obviated. This would change with the arrival of cognitivism, which would focus on analyzing information processing, and eventually constructivism as a different way of understanding learning.

Constructivism observes learning as a process of acquisition and consolidation of information based on the mental processes of the learner. The subject is an active element in this process, annexing information or modifying their mental schemes based on the experiences they live, trying to give the world around them a meaning. As can be seen in its name, for this theoretical current, learning is achieved before the construction and reconstruction of structures whose The foundations are the previous knowledge, and whose element of union with the new knowledge is the ability to give them a meaning within the system.

Thus, if it is learned, it is not simply because external information is acquired, but because from examining the characteristics of the new will extract a meaning proper to that information. Subsequently, what has been learned, what has been understood and what has been given meaning, can be generalized if it is

In addition, when learning there are no unique laws, but aspects such as abilities, level of attention and the desire to learn of the person or entity that learns, as well as that the material to be learned must be adaptive and useful for the subject in question.

The role of context in constructivism

For this current the environment and the stimuli are indeed important, but it is considered that the main thing is the interaction between the external and internal variables of the person. In learning situations what is known as an interactive triangle is taken into account, which refers to the interaction between the characteristics of the learner, the material to be learned and the person or thing that transmits the information. These three elements will affect each other and will allow or not the acquisition of the material in a meaningful way by the learner.

The role of the instructor is not directive, but must provide a guide for the learner to be able to draw their own conclusions from reality. This guide exercised contributes to the learning that generates a shared and adaptive meaning for the environment. The pertinent aids must be provided and adjusted to each case so that whoever acquires knowledge can begin to do so and as they begin to master the material they have to be withdrawn (in a process called scaffolding). In this way the individual can reach the maximum possible potential of him, going beyond what he can learn by himself thanks to the endowment of external help.

At present, constructivism is the predominant theoretical current as far as pedagogical practice is concerned, based on authors such as Piaget and especially Vygotsky.

Main differences

As has been seen previously, there are multiple aspects in which both theories differ. Some of the most remarkable are the following.

1. Active or passive role

One of the main differences is that while behaviorism sees the individual as a passive entity when it comes to acquiring knowledge, Constructivism considers that in fact the main thing when it comes to learning is the activity of the subject.

2. The importance of interaction

Related to the above, while for behaviorism the most relevant for learning is the environment or environment as a set of stimuli to which the subject has access for constructivism all the components of the process and not only what is learned are necessary, being the interaction between person and environment what produces the learning.

3. Different methodologies

For behaviorism the objective of learning is to produce an observable modification of behavior, while constructivism considers that the achievement to undertake is to create new meanings, whether they are directly observable or not.

4. The role of the educator

They also diverge in that while for constructivism the role of the educator or transmitter of information is that of guide and support for behaviorism the role must be hierarchical and directive.

5. Differences when teaching

The method of learning will also be different: for behaviorism the ideal is the continuous repetition of the association between stimuli, producing a more rote learning, while constructivism is based on creating meanings from the union between the old and the new making learning meaningful for those who do it.

Common points between both perspectives

Although behaviorism and constructivism have many elements that differentiate them from each other, they share some aspects in common.

In both currents of thought, behavior is seen as a product of learning carried out throughout life, focusing its methodology on practices that contribute to the acquisition and improvement of the adaptive capacities of individuals.

Likewise, due to the importance of learning for both behaviorism and cognitivism, both paradigms have been applied at a practical level in the world of education and training of skills and knowledge.

Finally, in both cases we work from data and constructs based on empirical data supported by experience.