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Operant Conditioning

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The Principles of Operant Conditioning and Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Operant conditioning involves operant behavior-responses that an organism makes to produce an effect on the environment. The concept of operant conditioning was introduced in 1938 by B.F.
Skinner. The principles of operant conditioning can be used to modify an existing behavior, either an undesirable behavior that you would like to eliminate or a desirable behavior that you would like to strengthen. The desirable behavior that I have decided to strengthen is the regularity of which I exercise. I will generate a plausible explanation for why the problem exists, describe one reason why I want to change the behavior, and provide one benefit that the change will bring. To conclude part A of my assignment, I will provide a carefully designed program for strengthening the behavior, making sure to include all relevant conditioning principles incorporated within my plan; which will include the use of positive and negative re-enforcers, and shaping.

In part B, I will design a series of test items that would indicate the difference intelligences according to Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. I will provide one original of how you would test each of the eight differences. Howard Gardner developed a theory of multiple intelligences in (1983, 2004) according to Gardner there are eight different types of intelligence. Each of the eight intelligence is distinct from the others, which means that we may be very talented in some of these areas and completely untalented in others.

Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box.
The box contained a lever in the side and as the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a

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