Operant Conditioning and Pre-Morbid State - Assignment Example

Skinner used the word operant to mean any behavior that people exhibit in a particular environment to generate a consequence (Huit & Hummel, 1997).

Examples of Operant Conditioning

Examples of Operant conditioning include a student studying hard to be position one to get a reward or an employee finishing work on time to get a promotion. In these examples, the consequence of getting a reward increases a certain behavior in people. Operant conditioning can also be used to abolish unwanted behavior. For example, pupils could be threatened with punishment if they made noise in class. The threat could lead to a decrease in noise.  As a result, they would always be orderly in class (Huit & Hummel, 1997).

In Operant conditioning, true learning does not occur. This is because people change temporarily due to the consequences that are presented. If rewards and punishments are removed, people would resume their normal behavior. This is a clear indication that true learning does not occur. Lastly, Operant conditioning removes free will because individuals act in a certain manner to please others or get certain rewards (Huit & Hummel, 1997).

Question 2: Pre-Morbid State

Pre-Morbid is a state of functionality preceding the commencement of an illness or a disease. Approximating pre-morbid intelligence has become a central component of neuropsychological practice and research. Three main systems are currently used. These include reading ability, approximate founded on demographic variables, and lexical decision-making. Each system has relative advantages and disadvantages (Watt, 2013).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Estimates of Pre-Morbid Abilities

A Demographic-based regression equation is advantageous because estimation is independent of the subject’s present cognitive state. However, such measurements predict only fifty percent of the variance in computed intelligence. Furthermore, in neurodevelopmental conditions, occupational attainment and maximum education may be affected by the disease process. The margin of error in such approaches could also be extremely large. Approximations based on the articulation of irregular words characterized by the National Adult Reading Test (NART) are the most popular method. Articulation accuracy matches with measured intelligence. This is resistant to some effects of clinical disorders. Merging NART and demographic variables increases the percentage of discrepancy in measured intelligence as opposed to using only one approach. Unfortunately, in clinical practice and research where NART is used mostly, NART performance may be affected if the patient is suffering from; Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and Korsakoff's syndrome among other diseases (Watt, 2013).

The last approach entails lexical decision-making. This involves giving two items to a patient for the patient to determine which of the duo the real world is. This is the best approach because it overcomes challenges associated with pronunciation tests. The approach is mostly used with patients suffering from dyslexia because of their articulation problems. The approach also gives a valid evaluation of pre-morbid ability in self-educated patients who are familiar with a word plus its meaning (Watt, 2013).

Question 3: Best Performance Method: Kaleo’s Post-Injury Cognitive Status

The main problem in clinical neuropsychology is the evaluation of pre-morbid levels of cognitive functioning. The best performance method consists of the best performance in daily tasks or the highest scores as the best estimates of pre-morbid ability. Cognitive Dissonance which is tackled in clinical neuropsychology arises when an individual faces evidence that clashes with their beliefs. Individuals who have a specific way of eating or practicing dismiss Kaleo’s Post-Injury Cognitive Status with anger because it contravenes their lifestyles (Kaleo, 2013).

In a case where a client wants to lose weight, a combination of exercise and a good diet would be the best method to control overweight. Exercising utilizes carbohydrates and fatty acids. As a result, clients experience weight drops due to a decline in the amount of carbohydrates and fats in the body. On the other hand, eating foods that contain less fat and carbohydrates could also reduce weight. Clients should prefer taking more vitamins and drinks to contain their weight (Kaleo, 2013).

There are legal ramifications when one diagnoses cognitive status. This could arise when methods used to end up compromising the health of a client. For example, if you have overweight clients who are anemic and counsel them to exercise, the patients may faint or even die. As a result, you may be prosecuted for giving wrong advice to a patient. It is important to understand the side effects of a prescription with the intention of giving clients the best prescription that cannot harm them (Kaleo, 2013).