Behaviorism Myths, Misconceptions with Ronald C Martella

This Friday SLO Talk with Drs. Ronald and Nancy Martella challenges common misconceptions about behaviorism and reintroduces it as a precise, ethical, and evidence-based framework for understanding learning and motivation. The discussion emphasizes a simple but powerful truth: behavior is shaped by the environment, not by invisible mental states. When teachers design conditions that promote success, learning becomes predictable, measurable, and replicable.

Behaviorism views learners as active participants whose actions are selected by consequences. The three-term contingency—Stimulus → Response → Stimulus (S-R-S)—explains how antecedent cues prompt behavior and how reinforcing outcomes make that behavior more likely to reoccur. Reinforcement increases behavior; punishment decreases it. “Pos ...