Clark L. Hull and deductive behaviorism

Clark Hull proposes a new way of understanding behaviorism. He established the basic principles of a behavioral science to explain the behavior of animals of different species, in addition to individual and social behavior. This is what is known as deductive behaviorism.

The theory offered by Clark L. Hull (1884–1952) was the most detailed and complex of the great learning theories conceptualized throughout the 20th century. The basic concept for Hull was the force of habit, which he said was established with practice.

Habits were described as reward-based stimulus-response connections.. According to Hull, responses, and not perceptions or expectations, participate in the formation of habits, the process is gradual and reward is an essential condition.

Clark Hull’s deductive behaviorism

Hull is considered a neobehaviorist thinker; since he proposed a new way of understanding behaviorism based on the logical positivism that dominated at his time.

Like other behaviorist authors, Hull believed that human behavior could be explained by conditioning and reinforcement. In this case, the reduction of the drive (associated with a biological need such as hunger) acts as a reinforcement for that behavior.

This reinforcement increases the likelihood that the same behavior will occur again when the same need arises in the future.. Therefore, to survive in its environment, an organism must behave in a way that satisfies these survival needs.

Thus, in a stimulus-response relationship, when the stimulus and response are followed by a reduction in need, the probability that the same stimulus will “produce” the same response in the future increases.

As we already said, Hull wanted to establish the basic principles of a science of behavior to explain both the behavior of animals of different species, as well as individual and social behavior. His theory of deductive behaviorism proposes habit as a central concept.

The strength of the habit will depend on whether the stimulus-response sequence is followed by reinforcement and its magnitude.which will depend on the reduction of the drive associated with a biological need.

Hull’s learning theories were first presented in Mathematico-Deductive Theory of Rote Learning (1940), a collaboration with several co-workers, in which he expressed his findings through postulates expressed in both mathematical and verbal forms.

Hull developed these ideas in Principles of Behavior (1943), where he suggested that the stimulus-response connection depends on both the type and the amount of reinforcement.

Hull’s learning theory

Hull was one of the first theorists to attempt to create a grand theory designed to explain all behavior. His theory of learning, developed in 1943, is known as drive reduction theory.; which is based on the concept of homeostasis and assumes the idea that the body actively works to maintain a certain state of balance.

Apart from this idea, Hull suggested that all motivation arises as a result of these biological needs. Thus, in his theory, he used the term ‘drive’ to refer to the state of tension or excitement caused by biological or physiological needs.

An impulse, such as thirst, hunger or cold, creates an unpleasant state, a tension. To reduce this state of tension, humans and animals look for ways to satisfy these biological needs. (drink, eat, look for shelter). In this sense, Hull suggested that humans and animals repeat any behavior that reduces these impulses.

For its part, Hull’s learning theory defends that secondary units (unlike primary/innate units, which are biological needs such as the desire for socialization, thirst and hunger) They are learned through conditioning and indirectly satisfy the primary units. An example of secondary units would be the desire for money, as it helps pay for shelter or sustenance.

These secondary units occur when one is faced with more than one need. The purpose is to correct the disruption of balance (homeostasis), which is uncomfortable, meaning that behavior is learned and conditioned if, and only if, they satisfy a primary drive.

Mathematical formulation of the theory

Hull also developed a mathematical formula that represents his theory of learning, namely:

sEr = V x D x K x J x sHr – sIr – Ir – sOr – sLr

In this formula the symbols mean the following:

sEr: excitation potential, probability that an organism produces a response (r) to a stimulus (s)sr: force of habit, established by the number of prior conditioning.D: Driving force, determined by the amount of biological deprivation. K: incentive motivation, or the size or magnitude of the goal. J: the delay before the organism can seek reinforcement. lr: reactive inhibition, or fatigue. slr: conditioned inhibition, caused by the prior lack of reinforcement. sLr : reaction threshold, the smallest amount of reinforcement that learning will produce.sOR: random error.

According to Hull, the main contribution of his theory corresponds, to a large extent, to the elimination and reduction of impulses, which at some point hinder people’s activity.

In this sense, to the extent that human beings satisfy their needs, they will be able to improve their performance and, in this way, have greater success in life.

Final comments

Critics considered deductive behaviorism too complex or that it did not explain human motivation due to lack of generalization.

One of the biggest problems with Hull’s momentum reduction theory is that it does not take into account how secondary reinforcers reduce impulses.

Unlike primary drives such as hunger and thirst, secondary reinforcers do nothing to directly reduce physiological and biological needs. Another important criticism of this theory is that it does not explain why people engage in behaviors that do not reduce impulses.

In any case, This approach influenced later theories and explanations within psychology.. Many of the motivational theories that emerged during the 1950s and 1960s were based on Hull’s original theory or focused on providing alternatives to drive reduction theory. A great example is Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs, which emerged as an alternative to Hull’s approach.

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