BEHAVIOURAL, EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

UNIT 11
PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON BEHAVIOUR

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Teachers will:
Identify different psychological perspectives on behaviour and recognise how
different perspectives influence the identification of BESD and subsequent
interventions
Know how different psychological perspectives are reflected in school behaviour
policies
Consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of adopting particular
psychological perspectives in different situations.

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The first resource for this unit can be found here:
www.education.gov.uk/lamb/besd/psychological-perspective/intro

BRIEFING
Approaches to understanding and managing behaviour have been informed by a
number of different psychological perspectives, some of which are based on well-
established theories.
Knowledge of these perspectives can contribute to a better-informed response to
pupils behaviour. Specifically, they can contribute to:
initial identification and assessment of behaviour, and
the choice of intervention.

It is not necessary to view any one perspective as exclusive as some will be more
relevant to individual cases than others, thus enabling a choice of approach
according to the context in which the behaviour occurs.

This briefing provides an introductory overview of the range of approaches for

understanding and managing behaviour. These are:
Psychodynamic
Behaviourist
Cognitive
Humanist
Ecosystemic.

The psychodynamic perspective

This perspective is based on the early work of Sigmund Freud1 and takes as its main
precept, the belief that behaviour is governed by subconscious feelings which arise
from early life experiences. It views children's problem behaviour as an outward and
visible symptom of internal and invisible conflicts. These conflicts may arise from
early trauma or loss or from a troubled relationship with parents or carers. Children
do not have the inner resources to be able to process and digest their troubled
feelings fully and these may be expressed in inappropriate and difficult behaviour.

When a childs too painful or too difficult feelings are left untalked about, they
leak out in difficult and challenging behaviour or in neurotic symptoms.

Sometimes, the source of a painful feeling is buried so deeply under defensive

mechanisms that it is very hard to find. Consequently, pupils may not understand
why they are behaving in this way.

Psychodynamic assessment is carried out by trained professional, such as

psychiatrist or psychoanalytic counsellors, using techniques designed to provide
insight into past conflicts. This uses the responses of the pupil to make inferences
about underlying and sub-conscious motives for behaviour.

1
Freud, S (1984) The Unconscious in Richards, A The Pelican Freud Library, Vol. 11. The Theory of
Psychoanalysis. Harmondsworth, Penguin (Original work pubd 1915).

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Interventions based on the results of a psychodynamic assessment:
Build up pupils inner resources and sense of security such that they can give up
any defensive negative behaviour
Build supportive relationships, especially with a significant adult
Enable pupils to talk about their feelings in an appropriate and secure
environment e.g. expressing painful feeling through drama, storytelling, play, film
scripts or cartoons.

The behaviourist perspective

This perspective is based on the work of psychologists Watson (1930)2, Skinner
(1953)3 and Thorndike (1932)4. The main principle, as expressed in Thorndikes
Law of Effect, is that behaviour that leads to satisfaction is strengthened and
behaviour which is ignored or is unsatisfying is weakened. Behaviourist theory
claims that all behaviour is learned and can therefore be modified by a system of
rewards and punishment.

The behaviourist movement, which originated in America early in the last century,
evolved in part as a reaction to the Freudian school in Vienna. Anxious to present
the new science of psychology as a scientific method, they claimed that the study of
behaviour requires a scientific approach based on objectivity and experimentation.
The introspective methods (i.e. hypothesising about what is going on inside
someones head, as used by the Freudian school) were considered to be
unscientific. Instead, emphasis was placed on observable and measurable
behaviour, rather than a search for causes hidden in an individuals past.

Behavioural assessment in school involves the systematic observation and recording

of the antecedent conditions and consequences that surround particular behaviours.

This is then recorded on observation checklists (ABC5 antecedent, behaviour,

consequences) to form an initial assessment. This can also be used as a baseline
from which post-intervention behaviour can be assessed.

The aim of this systematic approach is to avoid:

Intuitive judgements about the frequency of a particular behaviour, and
Inaccurate evaluation of improvements in behaviour based on perceptions that
may be biased.

Behavioural interventions or behaviour modification programmes aim to change

behaviour patterns by offering positive reinforcements for appropriate behaviours
and negative consequences for inappropriate behaviours.

Rewards may be:

2
Watson, J. B. (1930). Behaviorism (revised edition). University of Chicago Press.
3
Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and Human Behavior. New York: Macmillan.
4
Thorndike, E. L. (1932). The Fundamentals of Learning. New York, NY, US: Teachers College Bureau of
Publications.
5
for an explanation of the ABC approach see BESD, TDA Self-study Task 9, Activity 3

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 Informal (e.g. acknowledgement or praise) or
Formal (e.g. behavioural contracts which establish clear targets leading to
stickers, tokens, points etc. leading to larger rewards).

The Cognitive perspective

This perspective suggests that individual cognitive processes, such as reasoning,
understanding and interpretation of events influence behaviour most. The cognitive
approach goes some way to addressing the question Why does the same stimulus
produces different responses in different people?

The main cognitive influences on behaviour are considered to be pupils:

View of themselves
Understanding of their behaviour and how this affects other people
Views of who is responsible for the behaviour
Goals - what are they trying to achieve?

A cognitive approach maintains that problem behaviour may develop when pupils
misperceive and misconstrue a situation, so that they respond in a way that seems
appropriate and rational to them, but inappropriate to other people who see the
situation differently. Behaviour can be changed if attitudes, expectations and beliefs
are understood and adapted.

A cognitive perspective differs from a psychodynamic perspective, because it does

not refer to unconscious processes; rather it refers to conscious awareness and
thinking and reasoning about the current situation. It is also unlike a behavioural
perspective in that it refers to non-observable cognitive events which cannot easily
be measured.

Cognitive assessment in schools is likely to be through the use of self-monitoring

logs and self-reports or interviews so that pupils can describe the thoughts that are
associated with a particular behaviour The aim is to understand behaviours from the
pupils point of view.

The aim of cognitive interventions in school is to clarify and challenge

misperceptions, attributions and attitudes and to give pupils some control of their
behaviour. For example an intervention such as an Anger Management programme
aims to give the pupil more control over his behaviour by helping him to understand
the triggers which lead to angry outbursts and to recognise alternative responses
which are more socially acceptable6.

Much of the work on teaching Emotional Literacy in schools is aimed at pupils

developing a better understanding of their own behaviour and how it affects others.

The Humanist perspective

This developed from the work of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers7. In 1957 and
1958, at the invitation of Maslow and Rogers, two meetings were held in Detroit
6
See Unit 13: Understanding and Managing Anger
7
Rogers, C. (1974) On becoming a person, London: Constable.

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among psychologists, who were interested in founding a professional association
dedicated to a more humanistic vision. Maslow and his colleagues came to refer to
their movement as third force psychology, the first two forces being psychoanalysis
and behaviourism. The third force is based on philosophies of existentialism and
humanism

Behaviourists recognise only one motivation for behaviour (i.e. to maximise those
experiences that result in positive reinforcement). Humanists, however, take into
account other very important drivers, which they consider to be essential for human
development. These are the need:
To belong to a social group
To think well of oneself
For personal growth.

In his diagrammatic pyramid of the hierarchy of human needs (below), Abraham

Maslow places the most basic needs - physiological needs such as hunger and thirst
and safety needs - at the bottom of the pyramid. Next come the need to belong and
the need to think well of oneself. At the top is self-actualisation, which is interpreted
as the need to fulfil oneself (i.e. to become all that one is capable of becoming).

From Maslow's perspective, the drive to learn is intrinsic and the purpose of learning
is to bring about self-actualisation. An individual is ready to act in relation to a level of
need only when the previous levels of need have been met. For many pupils,
especially those with BESD, the need to belong to a group and the need to think well
of oneself are needs that may not have been met at home or in their school careers.
According to Maslow, therefore, for these pupils, the drive to self-actualisation is
unlikely to be recognised.

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Humanist interventions in schools focus on addressing the hierarchy of need and
developing self-esteem and a sense of belonging. Interventions, such as counselling,
involve working with pupils to help them learn alternative ways of perceiving and
interpreting themselves and their world which will enable them to be less dependent
on those around them for a sense of worth and consequently more resilient to
troubling factors in their lives.

We should recognise that the misbehaving child is only trying to find his
place: he is acting on the faulty logic that his behaviour will give him the social
acceptance he desires8.

The Ecosystemic perspective

This perspective is based on the idea of an ecosystem, in which even quite small
changes in any part of the ecosystem, will bring about related changes elsewhere.
The theoretical origins of the Ecosystemic perspective of human behaviour rest in
the work of Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968)9. Molnar and Lindquist (1989)10 have
applied the model to schools and classrooms.

An ecosystemic approach offers new ways of conceptualising behavioural problems

in schools and is based on the view that human behaviour is developed and
maintained through interactional processes.

Key features of the ecosystemic approach to behaviour are that:

problem behaviour does not originate from within the individual, who displays it,
but is a product of social interaction
the cause of any instance of problem behaviour is part of a cyclical chain of
actions and reactions between participants.

Behaviour problems are, thus, the product of interactions between teachers, pupils
and families or between pupils themselves, and these interactions occur in certain
contexts. Teachers, pupils and families can become locked into a pattern of negative
circular interaction leading to deteriorating behaviour. Behavioural change can,
therefore, occur only through focusing on the context as well as the individuals.

Ecosystemic assessment requires teachers to examine their interpretations of their

interactions with pupils, other teachers and parents. The focus is on interpretation

and attribution at a particular time and in a particular context (e.g. in a peer group, in
the classroom, in the playground or at home).

8
Dreikurs, R. et al.1998. Maintaining Sanity in the (Classroom (2nd ed.) Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis
9
Bertalanffy, L.von (1968) General Systems Theory: Foundation, Development, Applications. New York:
Braziller
10
Molnar, A. & Lindquist, B. (1989) Changing problem behaviour in schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

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Ecosystemic interventions in school focus on the idea that there are different, equally
valid, interpretations of the same behaviour or situation. Teachers and pupils need to
look for a positive interpretation in order to reframe the behaviour and so break out
of the negative cyclical chain of actions and reactions between participants. The aim
of reframing is for both teacher and pupils to view the problem behaviour in a new
and more positive light. This might involve describing the behaviour in neutral and
observable terms, identifying positive contributions that the pupil makes and creating
a new positive perspective which the pupil can act on.

See online resource:

www.education.gov.uk/lamb/besd/psychological-perspective/perspectives

Psychological perspectives in schools

Frederickson and Cline11 report the percentages of each type of strategy
recommended by educational psychologies in one local authority in one school term:
Behavioural strategies were most frequently used
The use of behavioural strategies was reported about three times more often in
primary than secondary schools
Counselling and other cognitive interventions were more frequently implemented
in secondary schools than in primary.

See online resource:

www.education.gov.uk/lamb/besd/psychological-perspective/perspectives-schools-
data

TASKS
1. Listening to staff talking about pupils you may identify the different
perspectives on behaviour which influence their comments. Can you identify
the perspectives that the teachers might be adopting in the following
comments by matching them to perspectives described in the previous
section?
Michaels behaviour improves when he is given a smiley face for sitting
quietly.
Marias aggressive outbursts seem to occur mostly in the playground after
lunch break.
Toby is withdrawn and emotionally insecure, he has had a difficult
relationship with his father.
Lucy is now able to talk about the reasons she feels angry and to identify
the triggers which make her lose her temper in class.

2. It is not necessary to view any one perspective as exclusive as some

perspectives will be more relevant to individual cases than others, thus

11
Frederickson & Cline (2009) Special Educational Needs and Diversity. Maidenhead: Open University Press

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 enabling a choice of approach according to the context in which the behaviour
occurs.

Use the table below to list of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the
various psychological perspectives and think about the type of situations,
dealing with pupils with BESD, in which you might decide to adopt an
approach based on that perspective.

Perspective Strengths ...think of a Weaknesses ...think of a

situation in situation in
which you which this
would find this approach
approach would not be
helpful helpful
Psycho-
dynamic

Behavioural

Cognitive

Humanist

Ecosystemic

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 3. Read your school behaviour policy and identify the perspectives that inform
the strategy. Is it dominated by one perspective or does it reflect a range of
perspectives?

4. Talk to a colleague about a pupil with BESD with whom he or she requires
support. Identify the main perspective or perspectives that your colleague is
taking on the pupils behaviour. What kinds of interventions might you
suggest?

REFERENCES
Ayers et al. (2001) Perspectives on Behaviour: A practical guide for effective
interventions for teachers (2nd ed) London: David Fulton

Bertalanffy, L.von (1968) General Systems Theory: Foundation, Development,

Applications. New York: Braziller

Dreikurs, R. Et al (1998) Maintaining Sanity in the Classroom (2nd ed) Philadelphia:

Taylor and Francis

Frederickson & Cline (2009) Special Educational Needs and Diversity. Maidenhead:
Open University Press

Freud, S (1984) The Unconscious in Richards, A The Pelican Freud Library, Vol. 11.
The Theory of Psychoanalysis. Harmondsworth, Penguin (Original work pubd
1915).

Molnar, A. & Lindquist, B. (1989) Changing problem behaviour in schools. San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Rogers, C. (1974) On becoming a person, London: Constable.

Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and Human Behavior. New York: Macmillan.

Thorndike, E. L. (1932). The Fundamentals of Learning. New York, NY, US:

Teachers College Bureau of Publications.

Watson, J. B. (1930). Behaviorism (revised edition). University of Chicago Press.

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