BEHAVIOUR Flashcards
what does the DFE say about behaviour
- DfE, 2022: outlines how good behaviour in schools is central to a good education, visible behaviour policies which ensure the teaching and learning is not disrupted, whole school approach to behaviour where high standards and expectations are the culture of the school
what is difficult for schools re behaviour
- Difficult for schools to balance the conflict between high standards of behaviour and promoting inclusion- educational psychologists need to look at the causes surrounding the behaviour, and consider Special Educational Needs- as these are a higher risk factor for exclusion
- National Educational Union, 2023: students with Education Healthcare Plans are 5 times more likely to be excluded from schools than those without a plan- can be helped by providing quicker access to SEND assessment and funding CAHMS to provide appropriate help
what is the behaviourist explanation for bullying
- Skinner, 1953: behaviourist approach suggests that actions and their reinforcement from the environment shapes behaviour- make the behaviour more or less likely to occur
what are positive and negative reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement= receiving a reward when a certain behaviour is performed, for instance praise from a teacher for answering a question correctly in class, negative reinforcement= avoiding something unpleasant, for example handing in homework to avoid being told off, punishment= aversive event which aims to decrease a behaviour
is it better to use reward or punishment
- Skinner, 1953: better to use reward than punishment: Skinner’s box- rat put into a box which has a lever in it- positive reinforcement= when they press the lever get a food pellet, negative reinforcement= press the lever to avoid getting a negative shock- Skinner found that positive reinforcement was more effective and consistent in increasing desired behaviours
how can we utilise the fact that behaviour can be learned/changed in a classroom
- Madsen et al, 1968: found that behaviour can be learned, meaning pupils can learn acceptable and productive classroom behaviour, investigated the effects of pupil’s classroom behaviour when teachers varied their use of praise, ignoring and explaining rules- found the most effective method to produce good behaviour was reinstating the rules, ignoring bad behaviour and praising positive behaviour
what is planned ignoring
- Planned ignoring is a method in behaviour analysis- works by correcting children’s negative, attention seeking behaviours by ignoring them, lack of eye contact and no verbal or physical response. Deprives the student of the desired attention- relates to extinction- reduces/eliminates a learned behaviour by removing the reinforcement which previously maintained it- teachers can use this within the classroom by ignoring low level disruptive behaviour and praising the pupils who are behaving well
who investigated the effect of reward systems
O Leary and Becker, 1967: token reinforcement programme- children received teacher’s ratings which were exchangeable for positive reinforcers like sweets- paired with planned ignoring- resulted in a decrease in attention seeking behaviour, and found an increase in desirable behaviours like attentiveness and participation
describe issue with extrinsic motivators
Goodwin and Coates, 1976: extrinsic motivators should only be used to increase a desired behaviour- important to focus on intrinsic motivators
what does punishment risk
Kearney, 2015: punishment risks just suppressing behaviour, rather than failing to generate new, adaptive behaviours
what are ethical concerns with behaviourism
Haynes, 2005: ethical concerns: manipulation and control of behaviour can be an issue, when applied to vulnerable populations like children, creates a power imbalance
what is the cognitive approach for behaviour
-identify faulty thinking
-look at the role of attributions/blame giving
* Analysing behaviour from a cognitive perspective involves looking at a person’s interpretation of events, and linking this to thoughts/feelings/behaviours- identify if any of this is faulty and may be triggering dysfunctional feelings and behaviours
what is fundamental attribution error
- Ross, 2018: Fundamental Attribution Error is the tendency to overemphasise dispositional factors in behaviour, such as personality, and underestimate situational influences, when explaining other people’s behaviour. This may impact teacher’s bias when trying to explain the behaviour of their students, if they overlook situational triggers such as a chaotic home environment or lack or resources.
what was found when looking at attributions for behaviour
- Miller and Black, 2001: looked at who was most able to help children improve their behaviour, pupil’s perceptions were different to teachers: children mostly saw parents as responsible and teachers mainly saw themselves as responsible, for helping to improve behaviour
what is locus of control
Rotter, 1966: Locus of Control, refers to an individual’s belief about the causes of their experiences and outcomes in life- whether they perceive those outcomes as being within their control (internal locus) or outside their control (external locus).
