Essays on Operant Conditioning

Introduction

Language acquisition denotes the procedure by which humans gain the ability to recognize and understand language, along with the ability to create and make use of words and sentences for the purpose of communication.  Language acquisition is considered to be one of the exemplary human qualities,
Philosophers in early societies were concerned in how humans gained the ability to comprehend and create language well ahead of experimental methods for trying those theories that were developed. However, for the major part they seemed to consider language acquisition as a division of man's ability to gain information and become skilled at Continue reading...

Abstract

There is a strong mutual relationship between substance abuse and psychology. This study has found that the problem of substance abuse is caused by psychological contexts in which an individual undergoes and, therefore, psychological interventions are necessary as ways to control it. In the study too, it has been found that substance abuse has accounted to many mental and other psychological problems to addicts. The research has reviewed literatures from various sources: online psychological periodicals, research articles, white papers, books and experts views from psychologists. In this regard, it has defined substance abuse and discussed ways in which psychology Continue reading...

Section 1: Proposal

Within the major profession of criminology, one recurring problem is the explanation of criminal behavior patterns and their relationship to crime, involving the subtopics of the sociological legal and psychiatric aspects of crime which contribute to defining and elaborating on criminal behavior.

Section 2: Body Sections

Casey, Sharon. "Elements of Psychological Maturity and Its Influence on Antisocial and
Criminal Behavior." The open criminology journal 4.Suppl 1-M1 (2011): 32-39.
This article by Casey explores the concept of psychological maturity in adolescents and how it relates to teen violence. The author explores the background information currently existing in the field of developmental psychology to Continue reading...

Behavioral Psychology is one of the basic topics in psychology that looks into how people or animals behave the way they behave. Although, behavioral psychology is one of the foundations of psychology, teachers have observed that students find the topic a little difficult to understand. The topic tries to find an explanation why people or animals have their corresponding mental and physical reactions in response to certain stimuli. In behavioral psychology, the idea is that the behavior of people and animals can be both conditioned and results of either rewards or punishments applied to them. Further, it is also Continue reading...

Conditioning in Psychology refers to the processes by which repeated stimulus produce predictable and frequent response. There are two types of conditioning namely classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning was discovered by Ivan Pavlov during his digestive system research (Kalat, 2011). Pavlov noticed that the dogs salivated whenever they sighted attendants dressed in lab coats. He attributed this behavior to the repeated exposure of both food and lab coats to the dogs. Pavlov investigated the behavior by ringing a bell whenever he was presenting food to dog. After repeated occurrences, he observed that the dogs could salivate when the Continue reading...

Introduction

Everyday questions about people, how they think and behave take center stage. Understanding behavior and mannerisms are the purposes of psychology. Understanding behavior facilitates the comprehension of self. Further analysis purports the idea of not only predicting behavior, but also manipulating it. The ability to manage and manipulate behavior is a powerful tool and as with any power misuse can occur. If wielded properly, it can help advance human civilization by managing characteristics that are self-destructive and cultivating ones that are beneficial.

Description and Contrast

The manner in which people behave is dependent of the learning processes they undergo. One acquires knowledge, Continue reading...

Learning is one of the areas of human psychology that remains, to this day, hotly contested by researchers. Some claim that learning is one type of process, while others claim that learning takes place through a different process. Two of the leading theories regarding learning are the theories of operant and classical conditioning. Both have been studied extensively throughout the years, and each has supporters and detractors. Choosing a method for learning and teaching behavior is different from learning complex ideas and engagement in a classroom, but principles of operant and classical conditioning can still be used in these Continue reading...

In psychology, there is a learning theory that states that as we learn, we adjust the manner in which we perceive our environment and the manner in which we interpret the incoming stimuli. Consequently, all this alters the way we interact, or behave. It is from this theory that one learns about behaviorism. The latter is the study or our behaviors after exposure to given stimuli within the environment. This helps us in understanding the effects given stimuli have on us.
In the learning theory, we have classical and operant conditioning. In classical conditioning, one learns to associate one Continue reading...

Introduction

Psychology is a vast field. There are many laws, principles, and theories that govern the train of thoughts of psychologists and mental health professionals working in the field. Basically, psychology is a branch of science that is concerned with the academic and applied discipline of studying behaviors and mental functions of animals, which in this case, would be humans. Psychology is not only concerned with studying the behaviors and mental functions of an individual because it may also aim to study the behaviors and mental functions of a group or population. The objective of this paper is to discuss Continue reading...

Research suggests that early childhood education is extremely important for the success of children as they age. Without proper early childhood education, children are set up for failure in their lives before they even begin to attend school; children who attend preschool programs, for instance, have a much easier time learning in the kindergarten and first grade classrooms than children who are immediately placed into those same classrooms (Edwards, Cutter-Mackenzie et al., 2014). Perhaps some of the most important skills that children learn in these early childhood educational experiences are not academic skills, but are the skills that they Continue reading...

Introduction

Many thinkers and scientists have proposed models and theories about how people learn; they are called learning theories. The learning theories are classified as behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, humanism and design-based. Behaviorism is based on the supposition that learning occurs for an organism through interactions with the environment. Behaviouristic school assumes that an organism always responds to a stimulus and the ‘responses’ are depends on the nature of the stimulus, i.e. rewarding or pain giving. Here, the learner is considered as a system that has the capability to respond to a stimulus and the learner is passive. The definition that Continue reading...

In the world today, there are people that have the desire to live according to society’s rules so as to keep from being the odd person out, and that desire is even stronger today than it was 25 years ago.
People either scramble into groups or are put into them because of how the world views them or how they grew up, and both have a critical impact on how a person views the world or the people around them.
There are also other evils in the world or about society that makes people yearn to be loved, Continue reading...

Introduction

Obsessive compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder of the brain and behavior which causes severe anxiety and involves both obsessions and compulsions which may interfere with the normal activities of a person. People with OCD fall into different categories. They maybe washers, checkers, doubters and sinners, counters and arrangers and hoarders. According to Robinson et al. (2014), washers are those who are afraid of contamination while checkers are those who repeatedly check things associated with danger like gas stoves. Doubters and sinners are those who think that they will be punished if they do not do things right. Counters Continue reading...

Classical Conditioning

According to Basford and Slevin (2003), classical conditioning relates to the normal-unlearned stimulus-response, which is normally experienced during reflex actions. The result is that a subject exposed to the neutral stimuli will respond in a similar manner as when exposed to the unconditioned stimuli. Examples include having lunch at noon and taking a bath in the morning. Extinction of classical conditioning occurs when the pairing between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus is stopped.

Components of Classical Conditioning

- Neutral stimulus; this refers to a stimulus, which does not generate any response.
- Unconditioned Stimulus: this refers to a stimulus, which can Continue reading...

Abstract

Great deal of children all over the world suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Symptoms of ADHD include hyperactivity, emotionalism and difficulty of staying focused. Children with ADHD usually have the lack of comprehension skills, poor study results and problems with following instructions as a result, they are more likely to conflict with coevals and teachers.
There are different types of ADHD treatments, the most common one is academic interventions which include manipulating antecedent conditions, parent tutoring, homework management programs, instructional modifications, self-monitoring. Self- monitoring technique is crucial for children with ADHD, as teaches them not only to regulate Continue reading...

There are numerous ways to handle or react to various situations in human life, personal or professional. These ways are termed as behavior. It can be anything; general ways of life, responding to certain stimulus, responding to challenges, responding to social needs etc. These behavior is considered very important for success in any one’s action and reaction. Especially in case of management where there are great theories and defined ways of completion available, it becomes very vital that professionals have the right set of behaviors so that probability of success gets increased. There is a lot of academic Continue reading...

Learning and training a person or animal to behave a certain way can sometimes be tricky. Depending on the subject, mere instruction is not enough. At times the subject may require added motivation to learn or accept the training. In order to handle situation such as these, psychologists came up with what is known as operant conditioning, a system of rewards and punishments that allow the subject to be trained behaviorally.
Operant conditioning is a simple concept to understand. It is a learning technique, occurring through the practice of rewards and punishments for certain behaviors. Operant conditioning allows the Continue reading...

Human behaviour is one of the most studied subjects in the world today. The complexity of human behaviour has elicited a colossal amount of research by psychologists seeking to understand some of the behavioral trends exhibited by human beings. Consequently, these psychologists have advanced several theories that explain some of the fundamental aspects of human behaviour. Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable human behaviour. Theories of behaviorism emphasize behavioral changes that result from a stimulus-response association that is made by a learner. The proponents of this theory regard all human behaviour as a sort of response to natural stimuli ( Continue reading...

Leadership in Health and Social Care: The challenge of promoting effective teamwork on hand hygiene compliance in an inter-disciplinary environment for team leaders in Hong Kong authority hospitals

Part I

Introduction:
Hand hygiene is the single most effective and cost efficient method for preventing and reducing the transmission of hospital acquired infections. Adherence to hand hygiene practices is the most important method of reducing infections in healthcare facilities. Because hands of healthcare workers frequently serve as vectors for the transmission of organisms between patients, and are also a major reservoir for pathogens with antimicrobial resistance, the simple act of washing ones Continue reading...

Caffeine Intake Reduction and Feeling Tired

The series of studies have been taken recently to define the connection between constant consumption of caffeine. They determined high risk factors for organisms’ wellbeing. Caffeine is one of the most used drugs in the planet. The wide range of different drugs contains caffeine even if they are not associated directly with this component, such as OTC stimulants and combination analgesics. Caffeine can also be found in tea or coke. Therefore, it can be seen that this drug plays important role in the life of contemporary society. This issue deserves special attention.
The close connection between the constant stresses Continue reading...

In Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior (2012), Coon and Mitterer write, “The principles of operant conditioning [] are among the most powerful tools in psychology” (pg. 226). The definition of operant conditioning is a form of learning in which reinforcement increases the probability of a response. A response that is followed by a reinforcing stimulus is more likely to reoccur. Operant conditioning is explains much day-to-day behavior. Every individual lives his or her life according to the reinforcement they receive after performing an action. This kind of learning is operant conditioning—“learning based on the consequences of Continue reading...

A baby and parents are pieces of the one unit called family. From baby’s first yell, the world for two starts to change with the impressive quickness and every single day brings new discoveries not only for a child, but also for happy parents. The interaction between parents and their child is very interesting and productive; often, parents don’t even notice how baby is affecting their word outlook once and forever, positively or negatively, but always irreversibly (Leach, 1989). Children, especially infants, need to feel the endearment and caring; just parents are the first teachers for their Continue reading...

Psychotherapy for Anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders entail symptoms of extreme nervous conditions causing high levels of distress consequently interfering with a person's normal daily life. People suffering from Anxiety disorders are always in constant fear and worry and later, if left untreated, depression. As the most common of all emotional disorders, Anxiety disorders affect over 25 million Americans according to the American Psychological Association report (2009). In the effort to obtain relief from these symptoms, some patients opt to indulge in drug and alcohol abuse. This indulgence affects their performance both at school and work as well as their social relationships .
Most common Continue reading...

Psychology

Introduction
Art therapy is a well-known mental health profession that primarily uses creativity process of art making in order to enhance physical, emotional well-being, as well as and mental health of people. Art therapy is mainly based on belief that creative process of art-making helps people to resolve problems and conflicts, to develop interpersonal skills, to reduce stress, to manage behavior, and to increase self-esteem.
In general, art therapy incorporates the fields of visual arts, human growth, and the creative process with models of psychotherapy and counseling. The introduction of art therapy influenced significant changes on how people think, Continue reading...

PROFESSORINSTITUTION

Operant Conditioning 2
Introduction
Operant conditioning is a type of learning where a subject’s behavior is modified through antecedents and consequences. The concept was first discovered by Ivan Pavlov who was studying the digestive system of dogs. The theory of behaviorism was introduced by John B. Watson. Later, B.F. Skinner helped define the mechanics of behaviorism through his work. Over the years behaviorism has grown in popularity and scope. Research has shaped the practice of behaviorism as it has been adapted by many disciplines (education, psychology). The most popular use of Behavioral Therapy today is found in treating Continue reading...

The task of this paper on motivation is designed to describe the two scenarios provided from a motivation standpoint. The first chosen scenario is the one involving the person who bought a new Audi car who sees the word ‘FUSE’ lit up on the dashboard, followed by an annoying beeping sound after which the car dies. Several trips to the dealership in an effort to get the car fixed inspires emotional annoyance and creates inconvenience. The second chosen scenario involves Jill who meets Jack on a roller coaster ride and falls madly in love with him. In the beginning Continue reading...

Psychologist believe that all human behavior can be explained in one way or the other. There are theories that explain the origin of behavior and how people come to think of themselves and others. one such theory is the operant conditioning developed by B. F. Skinner (Bruce Tuckman, 2009). Skinner held that behavior that is positively reinforced, even when it is negative tends to continue while the one that is negatively reinforced tends to diminish with time. According to skinner one would behave depending on what one has been conditioned voluntarily or involuntarily. Is this applicable to anyone in Continue reading...

For ages, humans have used shaping procedures for training their young ones, people around them, as well as their pet animals. Shaping procedure (operant conditioning) in animals and humans uses rewards as stimulants to induce the idea and behavior while targeting the result, which is behavior change. Shaping procedure is the idea of emphasizing on the successive guesses to the final response. The procedure allows a trainer to move from an ‘it cannot be done’ situation to a ‘done’ position. In Most cases, the trainer is forced to shape a behavior pattern in an animal where it does not Continue reading...

Negative reinforcement is when a response or a behavior gets strengthened by removing, stopping or avoiding an outcome that is negative. This term negative reinforcement is mentioned by B. F Skinner in his operant conditioning theory. Aversive stimuli always tend to involve some discomfort that is either psychological or physical in nature. Negative reinforcement is one of the most principles of behavior that is misunderstood. The term stimulus can be used within any applied behavior analysis to be able to describe when something is taken away. The stimulus can be an object, noise or even emotion. Negative reinforcement is Continue reading...

Introduction to Psychology

Fall 2014
Years back, while at the age of eight, I went through a tough experience that still lingers in my mind today. These events took place on the beaches along the Pacific coast where I almost drowned. It occurred during my family’s vacation when my parents decided that we should spend time at the coast together. At the beach, the waters seemed calm. Without my parents’ permission or watch, I decided to venture deeper into the continental shelf. Suddenly, a huge wave appeared from nowhere, swept me off balance and its backwash dragged me further into the Continue reading...

Question 1

There are two ways that help explain how animals learn and these two ways are classical conditioning and operant conditioning. The two share a variety of basic principles just as they share a number of principles in their differences. Operant conditioning, a theory that was propagated by B. F Skinner seeks to explain the leaning of behavior through reward and punishment (Nevida 2011). Voluntary responses begin to be controlled by their consequences in operant conditioning. Classical conditioning on the other hand was propagated by Pavlov and furthered by Watson and in their view, details that behavior is as a Continue reading...

Introduction

Leadership plays a critical role in influencing the achievement of any organization’s objectives. There is no one way or criteria of determining an effective leadership system. This is because many systems of leadership exist and these systems work differently but in the long run, they still manage to facilitate the realization of goal and objectives. However, there are some styles that are often preferred to others. Depending on the direction of the organization, leadership can employ or adopt the most appropriate style to drive it towards accomplishing its motive or objective. Even with the criticism being advanced towards Continue reading...

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Adult learning principles vary dramatically from pedagogic principles. The motivation for an adult to learn differs dramatically from that of a child. These differences were first highlighted by Malcolm Knowles who is also known as the father of adult learning. Adults’ learning motivation comes from an immediacy need directly linked to their everyday roles. An adult learner primarily looks at relevance in learning to improve on-job performance and behavior. The classic paradigm of pedagogic learning – learning by rote is not applicable in the case of adults. The predominant difference between and adult and Continue reading...

Introduction

Crime has been an ever-present feature in the society. Every society has had some deviant individuals who have chosen to engage in this behavior. Throughout the years, the society has come up with various measures that punish those who engage in criminal behavior. The punitive measures have become progressively severe with the hope that criminals who witness the massive punishment that awaits them should they be involved in criminal activities will be deterred from committing crime. The presence of strict and severe punitive measures has to a significantly helped in the deterrence of criminal activities in the society. However, Continue reading...

Theories of Behaviorism and Operant Condition or Learning

Theories of behaviorism relate to principles that seek to explicate behavior in terms of overt or observable actions and responses. Behaviorism is essentially defined by the theories proposed by John Watson and B.F. Skinner, which highlight the stimulus and response mechanism as a way to observe and understand human behavior. Behaviorism highly values observable behavior because it is a manifestation of internal behavior that is measurable and may easily be recorded (Nevid, 2012). Behaviorists such as Watson and Skinner argue that the observable and measurable nature of overt behavior makes it an essential and reliable gauge of human behavior. Continue reading...

The Professor's name

In a daily routine life, people unconsciously learn by using classical and operant conditioning. The source of many fears, such as fear from animals and fear from public appearance is closely connected with the classical or operant conditioning. However, not only negative experiences are associated with conditioning, but positive one as well. Classical and operant conditioning are essential for understanding the close connection between our inner self and the surrounding.
One of the elementary principles of learning is classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a reflexive or automatic type of learning where, in time, one stimulus takes over the possibility Continue reading...

Growth and development are two dynamic processes that occur in the course of a human’s life. The two terms are often used interchangeably even though they denote different things. Growth is usually a process that takes place during the first twenty years of one’s life while development is a continuous process that takes place throughout one’s life (Beckett and Taylor, 2010). In trying to explain various aspects of growth and development in human life, psychologists have formulated various theories. Some of these theories have been proven and authenticated by research while some are still undergoing research Continue reading...

Operant Conditioning

For most of the time, the process of learning comes from the individual’s experience. People could change their behavior or improve themselves when they learn through various types of method (Walberg, 1984). Operant conditioning is one of the types of a learning process. It refers to the concept that inducing reinforcements could tend to continue a behavior while inducing punishment will stop it. It is a process in which the behavior is altered or modified by using positive reinforcements and punishments (Flora, 2004). For my example of the operant conditioning learning process, I will refer to the time Continue reading...

Good health, although frequently emphasised upon, is not given as much importance as it should be. We have been hearing the phrase “health is wealth” since school days. Somewhere along the way we forget about this and start to attract negative health behaviours. These negative health behaviours can lead to various illnesses, diseases and can sometimes even be fatal. These behaviours need to be reflected upon and revised for our own good. Activities that we take up become habit in time and these then become a part of our behaviour itself. Positive habits like exercising and following a healthy Continue reading...

- Introduction

Learning theories in Psychology.

The introduction will contain a preface to learning theories in psychology and the importance it has in the world. It will also contain the key points of the research paper.

Key points:

- Introduction to learning theories in psychology over the years.
2. Skinner’s Behaviourism as a learning technique.
3. Operant Conditioning- the experiment.
4. How the experiment can be extended to human beings.
5. Behaviour modification therapy.
II- A. Learning theories in psychology.
- Classical conditioning by Ivan Pavlov.

This section will contain an introduction to classical conditioning, it’s advantages and disadvantages.

- Operant Conditioning by B. F. Skinner.
Skinner’s reasons for developing this new technique will be examined Continue reading...