23 Examples of Behavior Learning

John Spacey, December 06, 2022

Behavior learning is the process of acquiring and cultivating new behaviors. This is often presented as being a process of reinforcement and punishment. However, this is based on dated early 20th century theories that ignore human agency -- the ability for people to set targets for their own behavior and to change without being pushed or pulled. The following are illustrative examples of behavior learning.

Behavioral goal setting	Behavioral practice
Coaching	Counterfactual thinking - imagining how your past behavior might have been different.
Establishing routines and habits	Experience
Fake it till you make it - taking on challenges that are slightly beyond your current abilities	Feedback / Social feedback
Heliotropic effect - a tendency for people to move towards the most positive image they have of themselves.	Imitation
Improv	Knowledge of performance - examining your behavior to improve
Knowledge of results - examining the results of your behavior to improve	Mentors
Negative punishment* - something positive that is subtracted with a behavior.	Negative reinforcement - something negative that is decreased with a behavior.
Play	Positive punishment* - something negative that is increased with a behavior.
Positive reinforcement - something positive that is increased with a behavior.	Role models
Simulations & serious games	Social bonding
Socialization

* The terms positive punishment and negative punishment stem from an early 20th century theory known as behaviorism. These are unfortunate and misleading terms because these situations aren't always "punishments" but are often the natural consequences of behavior. Positive punishment simply means that something negative is increased with a behavior. For example, conflict that escalates if you yell at someone.

Overview: Behavior Learning
Type	Behavior
Definition	The process of acquiring and cultivating new behaviors.
Also Known As	Behavioral Learning
Related Concepts	Behavior » Natural Consequences »