Negative Reinforcement

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Imagine you are asked by a roommate to help him devise a weight loss program to increase his chances of making the football team. Create a one month behavior modification program based on the principles of operant conditioning which will get him started towards his goal. Operant conditioning is a type of learning based on a system of rewards and punishments for different behaviors. In order to get my roommate to lose weight, I will create a program that emphasizes reinforcement for healthy behaviors while creating punishments for unhealthy behaviors. The reinforcement will increase the consistency of healthy behaviors while the punishments will decrease the probability that he will continue unhealthy ones. During the course of a month, he…show more content…
First, I will create a weekly workout plan for him to follow as well as create a meal plan to lower his caloric intake. Positive reinforcement is one of the two types of reinforcement that adds a stimulus to promote a positive behavior. I will give him motivation and praise whenever he completes a workout or other healthy behaviors. These can include eating healthy, getting enough sleep, and drinking plenty of water. I will also give him rewards, such as taking him to the mall or somewhere fun. Negative reinforcement is the second type of reinforcement which means to remove a stimulus in order to increase the likelihood of a behavior. I will remove junk food from our dorm in order to promote healthy eating. I will also tell his friends to not go out with him until he finishes his morning workout. Using the Premack Principle, I will also make a rule that he cannot watch T.V. or use social media until he does his morning workout. This will encourage him to do it as quickly as possible. However, my program will emphasize positive reinforcement to get a better response. If I put too much negative reinforcement, I may experience resistance and aggressive behavior from him. Through these reinforcements, he will become much
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