...Operant Conditioning and Child Rearing Most people consider that learning takes place as a natural response from animals to diverse experiences. Nevertheless, learning is part of a more complex process that takes place when humans experience diverse events. Classical and operant conditioning are basic learning forms by which diverse patterns of behavior are acquired when a well-defined stimuli is present in a life experience. This paper discusses how the concept of operant conditioning may be applied in educating a child. Prior to discussing the concept it deems pertinent defining “operant conditioning as a form of cognition in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its favorable or unfavorable consequences" (Feldman, 2009). The concept contrasts with classical conditioning as the later deals with biological responses to stimuli while operant conditioning relates to voluntary responses performed to generate a desired outcome. In sum, operant conditioning emphasizes the notion that organisms operate on their current environments to produce a wanted result. BF Skinner, the most influential proponent of the concept of operating conditioning wanted to confirm that human behavior changes as a result of the environment changes. In this notion, Skinner attested that operant conditioning is learning in which behavioral responses differ depending on the outcomes such behaviors produce. Consequently, humans are able to willingly control the choices of...
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...* Introduction to developmental psychology (history, basic issues) * Theories of development * Research methods in child development Introduction History Child development as a science Parental preoccupation with “expert” child rearing started in the early 20th century. Parents started turning to paediatricians and psychologists for advice. John Watson pushed for rigid feeding schedules for infants and an orderly approach to child rearing. Benjamin Spock’s urged parents not engage in conflicts over issues such as weaning and toilet training, and to display affection to their children. Today Watson’s views are seen as emotionally cold and excessively rigid, while Spock’s recommendations as overly indulgent. What does developmental psychology study? Developmental science seeks to identify variables that influence development and to explain how they work together to shape an individual’s life. Scientists develop theories and conduct research aimed at describing, explaining, and predicting age-related changes in behaviour, thinking, emotions and social relationships. Definition Orderly and relatively enduring changes over time in physical and neurological structures, thought processes, and behaviour. 3 broad goals in the study of 3 child development: * To understand changes that appear to be universal * To explain individual differences * To understand how children’s behaviour is influenced by the environmental context or situation. ...
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...Perspectives Cathy Lint PSY/310 February 6, 2012 Katrina Ramos John B. Watson (1878-1958) John B. Watson was born in 1878 just outside Greenville, South Carolina, in what would be known today as a dysfunctional family because of the alcoholism, fighting, and extra-martial affairs. Watson had many behavioral problems due to his upbringing that caused Watson to have contact with the law at an early age. Watson went on to Furman University and graduated at the young age of 16 in 1900 with a master's degree. Watson was influenced by one of his professors at Furman when Watson decided to enter the University of Chicago where Watson was to study philosophy and psychology. Watson studied comparative psychology Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of animal behavior (Call, 2010). Watson felt more comfortable studying animals than he did humans and began his study in cortical development while using white rats. Although many other physiologists did not believe rats were capable of "associative learning" due to a rats brain development Watson thought otherwise. During Watson's experiments with the white rats could show that minimal learning was achieved during, the first week and that during the fourth week the white rats could form associations in the rats cortical development (Goodwin, 2008). Watson was able to have this study published that led to Watson's doctorate and his stay at the University of Chicago. During Watson's time at the...
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...nature of the environment and the nature of the person, as well. For most of us, our first environments were households with one or two parents, and we experienced them as children. Either our mother or father (or both) rewarded us with praise for doing things right, such as learning to walk, talk, potty train, pick up toys. They may also be punished for behavior that is not consistent with parental expectations and/or demands (As cited by Funder, 2013). For instance, a child may be put in "timeout" for not listening or breaking rules, in general. Thus, operant conditioning is the most significant type of learning that a person experiences as a youngster. In the case of the three-year-old girl, Olivia, she was classically-conditioned to associate a neutral stimulus (coughing) with being tickled by her sister -- a testament to the power of this kind of behavior modification, especially as a youngster (lovelaughliv42, 2011). Moreover, our conditioning continues throughout life -- through school, work, child-rearing, retirement, and so on. However, the environment, according to social learning theorists, also affects how we think, perceive, and...
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...Perspectives Paper December 17, 2012 Behavioral psychology, also known as behaviorism, is a perspective that became dominant during the early half of the 20th century thanks to prominent thinkers such as B.F. Skinner, and John B. Watson. The basis of behavioral psychology suggests that all behaviors are learned. Conditioning is the process of learning to react to the environment. Many theorists contributed to the theories of classical and operant conditioning, some theorists being Skinner, Watson, and Tolman. Each theorist contributed their own theories proven to impact a part of psychology. Many behaviors have been previously conditioned in the human species by the environment. Skinner, Watson, and Tolman all made their contributions to psychology with theories and proven statistics. John B. Watson John Watson proposed the idea of an objective psychology of behavior called "behaviorism." He saw psychology as the study of people's actions with the ability to predict and control those actions. His idea became known as “the behaviorists” theory (Goodwin. 2008). Theorists such as Skinner, Watson, and Tolman all had one common idea; that psychology was defined as the natural science of behavior, objective in its study, and was a pattern of adjustment functionally dependent upon stimulus conditions in the environment, and was emphasized in theory and research. Watson also used animal subjects...
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...Single parenting Single parenting is where a parent lives alone and takes most of the day to day the responsibilities in taking care of a child or children without a spouse or partner, in other words single parent involves a single person plus a dependent child (more likely to be a female parent) and is sometimes referred to as the broken nuclear family (where mom and dad and kids live under the same roof but parents decide to spilt-up). In Trinidad and Tobago there are 18 percent single parent and 9 percent single parent extended families (extended single parents is where the parent is living with their family such as mom, dad, siblings etc). How does one emerge as a single parent? There many reasons people in society become a single parent. Some reasons are:- Divorce -this is where a couple who have been married and have taken legal action of ending the marriage contract. In Trinidad and Tobago within the period of 2011 to 2013 there are 7,123 couples who applied for divorce. The rate of divorce in Trinidad and Tobago is 26.6 percent. Families are rapidly declining in our country and family foundations are weakening which brings a lot of negative side effects. In the U.S. the divorce rate is 40 to 50 percent of married couples divorce. Divorce can stem from misunderstandings between couples, the relationship grows apart, financial problems, intimacy disappears, not having a shared vision of success and also getting into the marriage for the wrong reasons. Unwanted...
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...RESEARCH SHOWING DIFFERENCES IN STM+LTM:4 Shallice and Warrington reported the case study of K.F. who as a result of an accident had a reduced STM of only one or two digits and a recency effect of one item. Yet his LTM for events after the accident was normal, supporting the idea of separate short and long-term stores. DESCRIBE THE WMM:4 Baddeley and Hitch proposed the Working Memory Model (WMM), the basis of their model was that the STM was not just one single store but in fact is made up of several components. The first element to their model is the central executive (CE), which coordinates all the information the memory working memory system, receives. It decides where to send incoming information, which is received from the senses or the LTM and has to do this efficiently as it has limited capacity. There are three slave systems, which operate under the CE, one of which is the Phonological Loop (PL). The PL stores any information, which the individual hears, like an inner ear, and uses the inner voice to silently repeat the information the individual has heard or seen (maintenance rehearsal). Another slave system is the visuo-spatial sketchpad, which is used for planning spatial tasks and temporarily storing visual or spatial information. The final slave system is the episodic buffer Information from the CE and the LTM can be stored in the episodic buffer to create a complete memory, which can then be transferred to the LTM for more permanent storage. OUTLINE RESEARCH...
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...Classical Conditioning: Association of Interest Led to Conditioning Sandra Davis PSY 390 May 21, 2012 Brian Newbury Classical Conditioning: Association of Interest Led to Conditioning Classical conditioning, synonymous with Pavlovian and respondent conditioning, is one of two types of learning (the other type of learning is operant conditioning) that provide a systematic approach to understanding human and nonhuman behavior and the potentiality of changing behavior. Learning significantly affects our way of living, functioning, and survival. Learning's predictability qualities assist in directing behavior. Kowalski & Westen (2009) affirm, "Learning is essentially about prediction-predicting the future from past experience and using these predictions to guide behavior" (p. 156). The most rudimental aspect of the theory of classical conditioning transcribes to the conditioning of a neutral stimulus to elicit a response similar to the unconditioned response brought about by the unconditioned stimulus. Theory of Classical Conditioning The classical conditioning procedure involves introducing a neutral stimulus that in due course becomes a conditioned stimulus; this systematic approach to conditioning enlists a formerly neutral stimulus to elicit a response after pairing with a stimulus that already automatically elicits that same response. In other words, an unconditioned reflex (response) occurs naturally, without prior learning; salivation, the unconditioned response...
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...personal experience that the style most appropriate and fitting to teaching children is observational learning. One of the most important factors of observational learning is whether the desired behavior is rewarded or not. The observation of punishment isn’t a guarantee that negative behavior won’t be learned or repeated. However, the chances of repeated desirable behavior increase if a child observes a reward. It is pretty simple to teach a child to clean his or her room with this approach. Although it may take a few times for the concept to sink in, it’s very basic: clean your (referring to the child) room and you will get to go to the park (or color, or watch television, whichever you want the reward to be). There are few things to do before you start. First, you need to consider a schedule for reinforcement. Do you want to reward your child every time he cleans his room with a continuous reinforcement schedule, or every once in a while with a partial reinforcement schedule? Personally, I prefer a variable-ratio schedule, which is a type of partial reinforcement schedule where the child is rewarded after a varying number of times that she cleaned her room properly. Also, extinction of the desired behavior occurs quicker with a continuous reinforcement schedule than with a partial reinforcement schedule. If you...
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...world of psychology there are many perspectives, a few which will be looking at is of John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner and also that of Edward C. Tolman. They will also be contrasted and compared to each other in their views as to regarding how each perspective relates to the modern-day psychology. You will see the differences in their perspectives as well as what motivated them to come up with them. Each man had ideals of his own and ways that they expressed them and these were just some of those ways. They were behaviorist in their own right and their ideals to expand on their knowledge and to help society better itself come to pass with those ideals. Starting with John B. Watson, his perspectives were centered on classical conditioning. He believed that behaviorism was the way to go. It was the new movement. He believed that introspection forms no essential part of methods, nor is the scientific value of its data dependent upon readiness with which lend themselves to interpretation in terms of consciousness (Goodwin, (2008). He felt more comfortable around animals than he did humans when it came to studying psychology so he settled for studying functionalist psychology, especially comparative psychology. He started out his first study with rat mazes and the hypothesis about kinesthetic sense. It was done in 1907, in which they would remove parts of the rat’s senses in some, like the eyes, middle of the ears, whiskers, or by anesthetizing the rats feet. After doing...
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...his theory for 20 years. After learning that another naturalist, Alfred Wallace had developed similar ideas the two announced their discovery in 1858. In 1859 Darwin published ‘On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection’ (Charles Darwin, 2015). 1842-1910, William James James was a psychologist who opened one of the fist psychology laboratories and helped develop the field of structuralism. Until 1875 there were no professors of psychology in American universities before James began teaching the subject. In 1883 he began to develop a view and practice of psychology and its clinical procedures (Marvin, 1995). 1849- 1936, Ivan Pavlov Pavlov was a psychologist whose experiments on learning led to the principle of classical conditioning. Pavlov's research on the physiology of digestion would earn him the Nobel Prize. With his assistants, he was able to condition the dogs to salivate at the click of a metronome (Lautenheiser, 1999). 1856-1939, Sigmund Freud Freud was the psychologist who founded the field of psychodynamic psychology. He was known for his tendency to trace nearly all psychological problems back to sexual issues. Freud's theory of the Oedipal Complex...
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...school and some theories behind it. “Corporal punishment is defined as the use of physical force causing pain, but not wounds as a means of discipline.” (Educate, don’t punish, 1999) Now, it has becomes difficult to draw the line between abuse and corporal punishment. Corporal punishment can range from a simple spanking to a tapping of the hand. While some parents do go to the extreme in punishing their children, I do not believe it is the majority of parents who abuse their children. In my mind, a swat on the butt or a tap on the hands does not constitute corporal punishment. Some children respond to time out or taking away things they value most, while others don’t. “Child abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to a child or puts a child at risk of harm. Child abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional. Neglect, or not providing for a child's needs, is also a form of abuse....
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...Diversity Veronica Benson Cunningham Grand Canyon University: EDU 131N September 16, 2012 The Behavioral theory that I will discuss is behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner (1901- 1990) who sought to understand why our voluntary actions are influenced by what happens to us immediately after we perform an act. In the 1960’s his ideas were used to develop behavior modifications techniques which are still used in present day. He is best noted for his research on operant conditioning and negative reinforcements. He developed the “cumulative recorder,” which showed rates of responding as a sloped line, as well as the skinner box ( tested a rat using a lever to get pleasure from positive reinforcement). The device (“cumulative recorder”) determined that behavior did not depend on the preceding stimulus as previously thought, but that behaviors were dependent upon what happens after the response, called the operant behavior. These principles can be witnessed in teaching, child rearing, and promoting the development of healthy social relationships. Skinner’s theory of reinforcing stimulus states that an act will be repeated if it receives a reward (reinforcement). We may repeatedly try to get this attention even more to receive this reinforcing stimulus. He felt that a person receives this stimulus only immediately after a particular act occurred. Although Skinner never used the term Behavioral modification, this term is attached to his name and it is widely...
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...states that there is a specific genetic vulnerability for alcoholism. There has been extensive studies on factors in the genes that could determine or influence the use of alcohol from generation to generation. However, these studies have shown no hard evidence for an association between alcoholism and inherited factors. The learning and social model proposes that alcoholism is a process that is slowly developed within a social situation or atmosphere. This model of alcoholism has also been researched by using both human and animal subjects. A conditioning model of alcohol tolerance has demonstrated that specific cues from the environment such as odor, sight, and taste, produce a stimulus that results in alcohol consumption. If ethanol, the addictive ingredient in alcohol , is not supplied, a psychological compensatory response called a craving is produced. The psychodynamic model of alcoholism proposes that problematic child rearing practices produce psychosexual maldevelopment and dependence/independece conflicts. It is believed that while habitual alcohol use is in process, the habitual drinker may use behavior such as exaggeration, denial, rationalization, and affiliation with socially deviant groups. Results of these behaviors may include decreased work efficiency, job loss, alienation of friends and family, or even hospitalization. The multidimensional model of alcoholism combines the interaction of biological, behavioral, and sociocultural factors. These three factors...
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...learning (Toates 2010 page 167) and that of Harlow’s study of non-human animals in his attachment study (Toates 2010 page 1960), as the main focus for my reference. Although it is now widely acknowledged that Harlow’s research methods would now be considered as being unethical. It was the subsequent debates in response to these research methods, that has sanctioned improvements in ethical standers and the findings of the research have also influenced the attitudes and practice of Western childcare and child psychology today. (Custance 2010 page 212). By analysing Harlow’s and Skinner’s research, I will review their theories that relate to learning being based upon the idea, that all behaviours are acquired through conditioning which occurs through interaction with the environment. ‘Stimulus-response psychology’ looks at understanding how learning consists of the attainment of the links between stimuli and responses (Toates 2010 page 161). Skinner was born in 1904 and even as a child he was keen on investigating how things worked. He later became interested in psychology, after studying the writtings of Watson and Pavlov (Toates 2010 page 158). Skinner believed that given the right conditions and in a scientifically controlled environment, they could predict and control animal behaviour. By...
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