The learning theory underlying the Audiolingual Method is behaviorism, a prominent school of psychological thought in the first half of the twentieth century. Behaviorism posits that all learning occurs as humans respond to external stimuli and their response is either rewarded or punished, which serves to increase or decrease the behavior. Psychologist B. F. Skinner, in his 1957 book Verbal Behavior, included language among the behaviors that are learned through this type of conditioning. Brooks (1964) explained how behaviorist theory was to be applied in the classroom, with teachers providing linguistic stimuli in the form of dialogues and drills," reinforcing students" correct responses, and correcting their errors. Brooks summarized the application of behaviorist theory to language learning as follows: "The single paramount fact about language learning is that it concerns, not problem solving, but the formation and performance of habits" (p. 49).
Because the formation of correct linguistic habits is paramount, great emphasis is placed on proper pronunciation, intonation, and grammar usage. Students are discouraged from using language to create their own meaning due to the potential for making errors, which may potentially become ingrained habits.