Psychologists like B. F. Skinner have studied how we can use operant conditionin

Question

Psychologists like B. F. Skinner have studied how we can use operant conditioning to change the behavior of people and animals. Drawing on your personal experience, choose a person or animal whose behavior you want to change. (You may select your own behavior for this question if you wish.) How could you use operant conditioning to change the behavior of this person or animal?

In an essay, describe your plan to change this behavior. Be sure to mention what type of reinforcer and reinforcement schedule you would use and explain why you made those particular choices. Include information from class materials, readings, and research on operant conditioning to support your discussion.

Explanation / Answer

Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning represents a very practical and realistic approach to motivation and learning. In his studies, he established a relationship between specific environment stimuli and their influence on an individual’s voluntary responses or operants. According to him, individuals and animals, operate on their environment to obtain certain positive outcomes and/ or avoid negative consequences. If I apply this principle of Shinerian hedonism to my everyday life, then I can see how much of my own academic success and study behaviour is influenced by my larger Protestant work ethic where I relish enjoyment of positive outcomes after a repeated set of responses. Thus for instance, if I was to apply the principle of operant conditioning on my response to preparation for a weekly test, then I would put myself on a fixed ration schedule where I would make several attempts or study the course material over there estreatch of the week beforehand the test because I would be unaware of which of my study trials or course material would actually come in the final test and so as would continue to study for the test. Such a Fixed ratio schedule is likely to motivate me towards the operant response of studying and is build around the expectation of a positive outcome such as internal satisfaction at having received a good grade. A positive reinforcement like this compared to avoidance of a negative reinforcement such as a consequent low mood after failing the test, will yield greater operant responses as I would have a higher expectancy of positive outcomes on a fixed ration schedule.thus, in this way, Skinner’s experimental formations about S-R conditioning can have positive implications for my own experimentations with my academic strifes.

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