How Are Behaviors Learned?

Behavior is determined by a combination of inherited traits, experience, and the environment. Some behavior, called innate, comes from your genes, but other behavior is learned, either from interacting with the world or by being taught.

How do we learn behaviors?

Behaviorists argue that behavior is learned in interaction with our environment, and that all behaviors are learned through experience. Two key principles that are involved in new behavior are classical and operant conditioning. In classical conditioning, something new is paired with something that occurs naturally.

How are learned behaviors developed?

In general, a learned behavior is one that an organism develops as a result of experience. Learned behaviors contrast with innate behaviors, which are genetically hardwired and can be performed without any prior experience or training. Of course, some behaviors have both learned and innate elements.