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Pros and cons of positive and negative reinforcement
Pros and cons of positive and negative reinforcement
Strategies to minimize the effects of challenging behaviour
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Case Study 2
Old Dominion University
Jazmine Rojas
Wallace is student who had problems sitting during class and tends to stand up and walk around distracting the teacher and other students in the classroom. The strategy used by the teacher to address the target behavior by Wallace was to use positive reinforcement intervention for Wallace’s in-seat behavior while disregarding his out-of-seat behavior which is known as extinction. The technique Mr. Weber used included both a positive and negative reinforcement, resulting in differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior. After understanding that Wallace’s behavior was attention seeking, Mr. Weber chose to give attention to the target behavior which was staying in his seat, rather than
giving attention to the problem behavior which was standing out of his seat. Mr. Weber might have failed at other attempts to address Wallace’s behavior because he was still trying to figure out what was the function of his behavior. Without knowing this, alternate intervention plans, such as giving Wallace attention for being out of his seat acted as a reinforcement for him rather than a discipline. Sometimes behaviors can take long to see results; therefore, Mr. Weber needs to have patience and see the intervention plan through. The behavior can recur after a period of success because Wallace might try to test Mr. Weber to see his reaction to the negative conduct. Spontaneous recovery can occur when a teacher is trying to use the extinction technique since negative behavior is easier to act on than positive behavior. Mr. Weber must take this into consideration and remain with his intervention plan without pulling back on reinforcement regardless if Wallace’s behavior is successful. Mr. Weber could change the reinforcer utilized for Wallace's positive behavior, for example, after a specific measure of positive behavior implemented, Wallace can help the principal for ten minutes or sit with his favorite instructor for a period. Reinforcers can be powerful; in any case, after some time they can lose their effectiveness and Mr. Weber needs alternatives in his behavior management toolbox to assist Wallace.
Consider a student who yells out answers to the teacher’s questions without raising her hand. A teacher who decided to put this behavior on extinction would refrain from responding to the student’s comments. In an extinction burst, the initial ignoring is followed by an increase in the rate of talking out as the student tries even harder to get the teacher’s attention. The talking-out behavior may even escalate to yelling or other extreme behaviors.
In conclusion, the theory of behaviorism is based on observable behaviors for easier quantification and data collection. Effective techniques such as behavior intervention and discrete trial training originate from this school of thought. The approaches are very essential in altering the maladaptive behaviors in adults and children (Cherry, 2011). Today, conditioning and the use of reward and punishment are used to help people learn accepted behavior and in other cases to help them stop problematic behavior (Coon & Mitterer, 2008). This has made behavior modification and training easy and possible. Therefore, Dr. John Watson played a tremendous role in the transition of psychology from the work of earlier scholars to the modern scholars.
Students who frequently engage in off-task and inappropriate behavior disrupt the classroom and hinder learning for other students (Riley, et al, 2011). In order to reduce off-task behaviors exhibited by a particular student, it is crucial to determine the function of the behavior by conducting a functional behavioral assessment (FBA). Once the cause of the behavior is found, teachers can take steps to reduce the inappropriate behavior by implanting strategies to decrease their occurrence. This article examined the effectiveness of fixed-time delivery of teacher attention to increase on-task behavior of 2 students in a general education classroom. During the baseline phase, teacher attention was given in the normal manner and no changes were made.
Behavior modification is based on the principles of operant conditioning, which were developed by American behaviorist B.F. Skinner. In his research, he put a rat in a cage later known as the Skinner Box, in which the rat could receive a food pellet by pressing on a bar. The food reward acted as a reinforcement by strengthening the rat's bar-pressing behavior. Skinner studied how the rat's behavior changed in response to differing patterns of reinforcement. By studying the way the rats operated on their environment, Skinner formulated the concept of operant conditioning, through which behavior could be shaped by reinforcement or lack of it. Skinner considered his discovery applicable to a wide range of both human and animal behaviors(“Behavior,” 2001).
Various perspectives on behavior have changed the face of psychology over the centuries. Some of the most influential of these theories on behaviorism were made by John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner, and Edward C. Tolman. The manner in which behavior is modified has become a growing debate in the aspect of which technique is more reliable and effective. The theories from these three men have become a foundation for many different schools of thought throughout modern psychology. Through their research, many modern psychologists have grown a better knowledge on why people react and behave during certain situations or in different environments. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the various theories of Watson and Skinner to that of Tolman.
There are different ways that a teacher can deal with a student’s undesirable behavior. Some of these strategies are: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment or extinction. The type of r...
Kazdin, A. E. (1994). Behavior Modification in Applied Settings. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, Pacific Grove, CA.
In light of my School Experience (SE), I will be analysing, discussing and evaluating an aspect of classroom practice. The practice that I have chosen is ‘Behaviour Management’. Behaviour management plays a key role within the classroom and there are a number of techniques used by teachers on a day to day basis. I will look at these techniques in detail, analysing and evaluating them with the work of behaviour management authors and also taking into account my SE observations.
As part of the module practical teaching programme, I have been helping out in the homework club of an inner city primary school, one hour per week for the past twelve weeks. All in all I think I it was a very interesting experience and very beneficial in terms of my learning as a teacher. I had a number of valuable experiences and below are two of the most important in my opinion.
“Behavior theory consists of ideas about how human actions and emotions develop, are sustained, and are extinguished through principles of learning” (Walsh, 2010). Positive and negative reinforcement is used to help manipulate the behaviors of the individual. The theory has been used to help eliminate unwanted behaviors. In addition, behavior theory has been use primarily with children, and persons with developmental disabilities. According to Walsh (2010) behavior theory evolved in the 1960s from a field of philosophy to the field of science. Ivan Pavlov discovered classical conditioning, which plays a major role in behavioral theory. Classical conditioning is the process of learning through ones surroundings, conditioned, and unconditioned stimuli and response. B. F. Skinner discovered operant conditioning the process of learning to influence the future responses to the environment (Clark, 2004). The two concepts has been used throughout the behavior theory to help assist clients with unacceptable behaviors that is occurring. The combination of the two concepts has been a very helpful aspect to the behavior theory. Both concepts offer a different approach or solution to the behavior of the client.
B.F. Skinner is a major contributor to the Behavioral Theory of personality, a theory that states that our learning is shaped by positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, modeling, and observation. An individual acts in a certain way, a.k.a. gives a response, and then something happens after the response. In order for an action to be repeated in the future, what happens after the response either encourages the response by offering a reward that brings pleasure or allows an escape from a negative situation. The former is known as positive reinforcement, the latter known as negative reinforcement (Sincero, 2012). A teenager who received money for getting an “A” is being positively reinforced, while an individual who skips a class presentation is being negatively reinforced by escaping from the intense fear and anxiety that would have occurred during the presentation.
Personal examples of a behaviorist style of instruction are based on the widely renowned theory by B.F. Skinner, which in the classroom can be summarized by reinf...
Applying behaviorist theories in the classroom is called direct instruction (Campana, 2011). As Campana’s (2011) video explains, these forms of direct instruction include breaking down tasks into smaller and easier steps, modeling by the instructor, repetition and review, and structured/systematic planning. There are many proven advantages to using behaviorist techniques in the classroom. As in Skinner’s theory of learning, the implementation of reinforcements can improve behavior, increase motivation, and raise self-esteem in students.
...epeated pairing or exposure to consequence-based procedures such as extinction. That is, consistent exposure to extinction or other consequence-based interventions may establish high-p instructions as discriminative stimuli for compliance (Wilder, Allison, Nicholson, Abellon, & Saulnier, 2010). Lastly, while the studies presented established the effectiveness of positive reinforcement on noncompliance, it will be of interest to find out if there are conditions in which positive reinforcement contingencies are not as effective. For example, it may be less effective when given a more difficult or highly aversive tasks. In addition, most of the research conducted has used edible reinforcers, so future research should attempt to determine the effects of other positive reinforcers on escape-maintained problem behavior. Future research could examine these possibilities.
Inequality is a major topic in the 21st century media. Whether it involves, race, gender, sexual orientation, or economic means, countless stories portray the inequalities modern day society exhibits. In accordance with the structured paper topics, I wished to study the social seating behavior of students in Frank Dining Hall at Colgate University, and furthermore see if the observations exhibited forms of inequality. On a more detailed level of description in regards to social seating behavior, the study refers not only to who students choose to sit with, but also the area they pick and why. Within my observations I collected data on race, grade, athletic affiliation, time of day and more; however, I gave particular emphasis towards two unique