Operant Conditioning, Schedules of Reinforcement, Extinction

1443 Words6 Pages
Operant Conditioning, Schedules of Reinforcement, Extinction Tenille Gaines Kaplan University PS360-01 Operant Conditioning, Schedules of Reinforcement, Extinction Introduction Classical and operant conditioning provides an explanation for the existence of certain behaviors that occur across the different settings in all of our lives. A child who will not clean his room, an adult who has a phobia of dogs, and a toddler who has frequent tantrums are examples of these everyday behaviors. This essay provides models as to how conditioning may influence a behavior, and behavior modification plans that can help overcome the obstacles outlined in these unique situations. Case 1: The Case of Bobby Bobby is an eight-year-old boy whose father would like help in teaching him the behavior of cleaning his room. The target behavior in this case is Bobby cleaning his room. The topography-based definition of cleaning the bedroom is putting toys in the toy box, putting dirty clothes in the hamper and hanging clean clothes in the closet, throwing trash in the trashcan, and making the bed. (Cooper, Heron, & Howard, 2007) Operant conditioning is the application of a reinforcer or punisher immediately after a behavior in order to increase or decrease future occurrences of the behavior. It is based on the cause effect relationship between a behavior and the consequence of the behavior. An example of operant conditioning is, every time Bobby engages in the behavior of cleaning his room, he will be rewarded with one dollar. The dollar would act as a reinforcer that is likely to strengthen the behavior of Bobby cleaning his room. In addition, if Bobby receives a spanking for not cleaning his room after being told to do so, the spanking acts as a punishment, which is meant to decrease the behavior of not cleaning his room as instructed. Reinforcement of the behavior has
Open Document