Optimizing Life Through The Application Of Learning - Essay Example

OPTIMIZING LIFE THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF LEARNING Shaping In the process of operant conditioning, behaviours are modified to a certain requirement. Shaping is one such process that has enabled for behaviour to be slowly modified until that behaviour which is desired is achieved. Shaping is a phenomenon that incorporates encouraging behaviour that is similar to the behaviour that is aimed at (Boeree). With constant encouragement, a person adopts behaviour that is more complex than what they initially possessed. These efforts are useful for a behavioural specialist for children. This ability to gradually modify simple behaviour until more complex behaviour is reached is useful to a behavioural specialist for children. Children are usually equipped on with basic skills, and continue to learn new ones, and modify existing ones, as they develop. The behavioural specialist is required to identify the strong points of the character of a child, and develop those ones to the level of talents. If a behavioural specialist notices that a child has a tendency of throwing things around when they are mad, he may channel this to more desirable use. He may give the child a ball, and encourage him to throw it, and the child might end up liking baseball. This modification of behaviour might be useful to the personal life of the behavioural specialist. If the specialist has, say, fear of height, shaping may help overcome the fear. One way that the behavioural specialist could do this is by start with using the stair case to get to higher floors. The gradual ascent will help in dealing with the fear bit by bit. The behavioural specialist is able to notice the gradual increase in height, and address fear as it rises. A time goes by, and higher levels are reached, the amount of fear that is experienced at higher levels is considerably reduced. Schedules of Reinforcement In the process of operant conditioning, it is important to have a schedule to support the learning of new or modified behaviour. The schedule will determine when the behaviour will be reinforced, and at what cases the reinforcement will be applied. Schedule of reinforcement, therefore, refers to the rule stating what cases will be followed by behaviour reinforcement, and at what intervals. The aim of the reinforcement is to strengthen behaviour, and increase the chances of its reoccurrence in the future (Powell, G. and Symbaluk 273). In dealing with children in terms of behaviour change, it is necessary to know how to reinforce what behaviour. This is the application that schedule of reinforcement finds in the career of children behavioural specialist. A child behavioural specialist equipped with knowledge of making a schedule of reinforcement is able to design a schedule that will suit individual needs of children. A child who is extremely shy and another one who is hyperactive will require differing schedules for behaviour reinforcement. These children have different needs, thus to reinforce desired behaviour different mechanisms will have to be employed. This planning of how to reinforce behaviour can also be used in the personal life path of the behavioural specialist for children. This ability to design a schedule depending on the situation at hand can also be used in other spheres of life. The behavioural specialist might desire to change specific aspects of their behaviour. If one is accustomed to being late, then he may design a mechanism that is aimed at correcting this behaviour. He might decide to start sorting the needs for the following day the night before. Then the behavioural specialist might move on to waking up a little earlier than usual. These are step-wise adjustments that will culminate in adjusting characteristic lateness. Theories of Reinforcement In the study of organisms, motivation is based on the satisfaction that results from behaviour that caters to the needs of the organism. To understand what motivates a person to certain behaviour, it is imperative that the needs of the organism be clearly defined. There are two reinforcement theories that are involved in operant conditioning. Reinforcers use rewards to lead to behaviour modification. When rewards are applied, this is known as positive reinforcement, and when they are withheld, the approach is referred to as negative reinforcement (Boeree). In the career of a behavioural specialist for children, the knowledge of these theories is useful since they provide a guideline on what action to take in the modification of behaviour. A child who has shown bullying tendencies towards his peers in school may be asked to remain in class during recess. Recess is a period which children value so when they are denied this because of their behaviour, they will tend to refrain from such behaviour. A child who is a poor feeder will, conversely, be encouraged to eat by using positive reinforcement which involves rewarding the child on improvement. In the personal life of the behavioural specialist for children, these approaches of reinforcement are applicable in dealing with behaviour change. The behavioural specialist may do something they have desired to do for a while when they achieve behaviour-oriented goals. Take for instance, not feeling guilty since they completed research in time. This is negative reinforcement. Behavioural specialist may be rewarded by parents on having successfully helped a child to attain desired behaviour. Such positive reinforcement will encourage the behavioural specialist to keep on at the behaviour that enables delivery of results. Escape and Avoidance There are certain stimuli which are painful or unpleasant to an individual. The reaction that is normally elicited towards such stimuli is aversion. This running away from unpleasant stimulus is the basis of aversion. The negative stimulus may be ongoing, and if one gets away from such, this is called escape. There is the other instance where the undesirable stimulus is threatened, and the getting away from this kind of stimulus constitutes avoidance. The stimuli that are avoided in either of the described cases, is termed aversive (Powell, G. and Symbaluk 340). In dealing with children, aversive stimuli may take different forms. A behavioural specialist for children, who is knowledgeable in the mechanism of avoidance and escape, might use this method to steer children to the desired behaviour. When a verbal threat is issued, for instance, a child is conditioned to view the issuer of the threat as a punisher. This threat causes the child to become anxious thus avoiding the behaviour that has led to the threat. When the threat of punishment is withdrawn, the child then complies with the requirements of the punisher. In the personal life of the behavioural specialist for children, this type of conditioning can help in addressing childhood fear. The behavioural specialist should learn to confront fears that arise from past occurrences. This will help attain better quality of life. Fear, say, of the dentist can be traced back to childhood when visits to the dentist were painful experiences. This fear may cause one to delay necessary procedures. Punishment In the event of an undesirable behaviour, an adverse outcome may be issued out. This is known as punishment. Punishment is aimed at decreasing the behaviour it follows. Punishment may either be positive or negative. Positive punishment entails administering an unfavourable event, so as to weaken the response it comes after. It is also known as punishment by application (Boeree). Negative punishment, in contrast, is the process of removing something desirable following certain behaviour. This method of punishment is also termed punishment by removal. In both instances, the targeted behaviour is used. When dealing with children, punishment may be meted out to correct behaviour. In this way, punishment finds application to the professional life of a behavioural specialist for children. The behavioural specialist, understanding the difference between positive, and negative punishment, can decide which is most effective in correction of behaviour in children. Take for instance if a child twists the arm of his friend, in order to get his toy. As a punishment, the behavioural specialist may ask the child whose arm has been twisted may be asked to repeat the similar procedure on the other child. This is an example of positive punishment. In personal life, punishment may be used when dealing with family to correct behaviour. As a parent, the behavioural specialist for children will mete out punishment so as to steer children to the desired behaviour. If a child is denied ice cream after a meal because of poor feeding, this is punishment because it is undesirable to the child. Behaviour is, all the same, modified since the child learns that failure to take meals will result in punishment, one way or another. Self Control Self-control is a practice that entails the will of an individual. It is mostly manifested through emotions, thoughts, and the habits that people display (Pugh). Control of the self is crucial for the proper functioning of a person. In order to gain self-control, three steps are involved. First it is important to identify the standards themselves; these are the things that are supposed to be done. Then the awareness of when behaviour is falling short is also needed. The third requirement for self-control to be achieved is the ability to change the undesirable behaviour. In the professional life of a behavioural specialist for children, methods used in operant conditioning can be used in every step of the path towards self-control. When the specialist notices unbecoming behaviour in a child, he might use either reinforcement or punishment to regulate it. In the end, the child will be guided towards certain behavioural trends. In the personal life of the behavioural specialist for children, operant conditioning will help in eliminating behaviour that is not required. Every person usually has behaviour that they would like to do away with, and others that they would like to develop. In either way operant conditioning would help regulate behavioural tendencies. The feelings that are experienced when one sticks to, or goes against the desired behavioural goal act as reinforcers of behavioural modification. Language Operant conditioning may be used in the development of language. Language takes many forms, and it may be verbal or non-verbal. Language is essential in the community since it offers people the route to get to communicate their ideas (Pugh). Verbal behaviour may also be shaped by operant conditioning. To the professional life of a behavioural specialist, language is essential since it is the route via which ideas are communicated. Language can be used to effectively communicate the ideas to the children. For behaviour correction to occur as desired, then language is essential. When in the course of a conversation statements of opinion are constantly used, say, ‘I think,’ ‘I feel,’ and the like, the subject becomes conditioned. The behavioural specialist for children may use language for operant conditioning in personal life. In relating with friends, the behavioural specialist may use certain statement repetitively. By doing this, every time the other party thinks of the behavioural specialist, they imagine what punishment could befall them. The opinion of others towards the behavioural specialist, therefore, becomes conditioned to a certain manner. Works Cited Boeree, C. George. Personality Theories. 2006. 28 January 2012 . Powell, Russell A., et al. Introduction to Learning and Behavior. Stamford: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Pugh, Don. "Reinforcement of Expression of Opinion to Control Elements of a Conversation." 28 January 2012 . Read More