The Pros Of Operant Conditioning

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Of all the possible methods one could use to train children into behaving properly, my method of choice is operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a form of behaviorism in which living things are trained to behave a certain way through reinforcement or punishment. Reinforcement is when stimuli is employed to encourage good behaviors. This can be done positively (giving a subject rewards) or negatively (taking away harmful stimuli as a reward) (McLeod, 2015). Punishment can also be applied positively (adding unpleasant stimuli) or negatively (taking away pleasant things) to discourage unwanted behavior, but studies suggest that this method may have undesirable long-term effects on people (Cherry, n.d.). Applying reinforcing stimuli at varying patterns can yield different results in the subject’s response (how hard it works) and extinction (how soon it quits its behavior) (McLeod, 2015).…show more content…
The main reason is that such conditioning is actually quite common in everyday life when one takes time to notice it. Psychologists who promote this exercise say that proper behavior is often repeated when reinforced (McLeod, 2015), and I firmly believe them. Humans are constantly motivated to perform certain actions because of the consequences those actions create. Specifically, children behave and perform better in school when given praise, good grades, or some other reward. The praise they receive when following orders makes them feel proud and pleased with themselves, which causes them to repeat this behavior to get the same feelings in the future (How to use operant conditioning in your classroom, n.d.). Negative reinforcement can be equally effective. For example, when put into lengthy periods of ‘time-out’, children will be less likely to repeat the behavior for which they had been punished (Science of Education 2013, 2013). With this viable evidence supporting me, I can begin work on my subject’s

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