Describe Two Specific Examples Of Child Observation

Each person is a social being and is aware of the environment that they live in. People learn from their experiences as well as from observing others. When children learn about their environment first hand or by observing another, negative and positive behaviors are reinforcement. If a child does a behavior and receives a reward for that behavior, the rewarded behavior is reinforced. Similarly, when someone witnesses negative consequences based on their behavior, they tend to modify that behavior (Schmied & Tully, 2009, p. 9).

I will be observing a seven-year-old child for my project. What I have learned from being a parent and watching my kids as they grow up the social emotional, physical and intellectual changes that occur in children between birth and the end of adolescence are that they all progress at individual intervals from dependency to increasing individualism. Because these developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as part of the built in parenting skills we all possess. When children are born they have no sense of fear but quickly develop a fear of what

Social learning theorists refer to this as vicarious reinforcement, and view it as a large influence on human behavioural responses to environmental stimuli.

Negative reinforcers, he claimed, are when a child chooses certain behaviour in order to avoid a punishment. An example of negative reinforcement is when a child is allowed to skip a required chore if homework is finished by a certain time. A simple example of punishment is when a child is reprimanded or criticised for inappropriate behaviour.

Positive reinforcers- Likely to repeat their behaviour when they get something they desire. He suggested this was the most effective way of encouraging new learning. Positive reinforcers for children include gaining adult attention, praise, stickers, sweets and treats.

What is the difference between positive reinforcer and positive reinforcement ? Describe two ways in which the story about Dawn, Sid and Rod illustrates the distinction. (pp. 1-6)

People, especially younger children, are learning daily from their role models and the environment. Any type of behavior display socially is learned primarily by observing and imitating the actions of others. The social behavior is also influenced by being rewarded and/or punished for these actions.

Obiel Macedo, a one year and seven month old infant accomplished many tasks on the developmental checklist. I went to his house, his mother and baby sister were present while I was with him. We sat down and I handed the infant a small container filled with different size blocks. Immediately he grabbed the container, poured out the blocks and began to build a tower quickly. Once he was done creating the tower of blocks, a few seconds later he knocked it down vigorously and started all over again. Then, I handed him a red crayon and a blank sheet of paper, but instead of writing on the paper he went up to the wall and scribbles spontaneously.

Through out the observation both children were moving from place to place. The little girl would grab one toy then go find another one. She would play one type of activity then go back to building blocks. She would stack blocks and connect the rail road tracks for the train. For approximately 3 minutes or more the girl would stay fully engaged trying connecting the railroad tracks. She would forget that she was in a room full of other toys, for a moment I possibly thought she could be autistic because she was able to stay focused on one activity for a long period of time and not engage other children. Her fine motor skills were adequate for her age she was able to hold objects in her hand. While she was fascinated in putting together the railroad

2. Negative reinforcements – this also makes children repeat behaviour but in different ways e.g.: If a child does well in an exam therefore they don’t have to do their chores.

Classical conditioning is often associated with physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s experiment with the salivating dog (Hutchinson, 2015). This experiment focused on conditioning the dog to associate food with the bell while salivating, and eventually salivates when the bell is rung even without the presence of food. Operant conditioning theory is changed behavior as the result of a reinforcement (Hutchinson, 2015). In our society, we associate positive reinforcements with compliments, smiles, high-fives in order to encourage a behavior more. Negative reinforcement involves jail, detention, and grounding, and this is to stop a behavior from continuing. A cognitive social learning theory states that behavior can be learned through observations, beliefs, expectations, and imitation of others (Hutchinson, 2015). A major difference between cognitive social learning theory and the others, is a lack of manipulation to encourage the individual to follow through with a behavior. Rather, cognitive social learning theories suggest that a change in thinking can ultimately result in a change in behavior (Hutchinson, 2015).

Primary reinforcers does not dependent on learning experiences (Chance 2014, p.138). Since they are not a product of learning, they are called unconditional reinforcers (Chance 2014, p. 138). Primary reinforcers are food or sleep. For example, when I am hunger, I eat. Secondary reinforcers works with the primary reinforcers. However, secondary reinfocers are learned experiences (Chance 2014, p.139). They are called conditional reinforcers such consists of every day praise. For instance, when a person teaches their dogs to sit, they reward them with a treat each time they sit. Generalized reinforcers focus on many reinforces and are paired with many other reinforcers (Chance 2014, p. 140). Money is primary reinforcers that can be traded

In this experiment of a bird pecking a button, the bird tends to peck the button more times because it is aware of the fact that every time it pecks, food is provided. The bird ensures that it pecks the button because doing so results to provision of food. To maintain the availability of food therefore, the bird has to peck the button continuously. The graph during the first half of the experiment is a bit steep showing that the reinforcer, in this case, provision of food, tends to make the bird increase the rate of pecking the button.

Prior to the study, the researcher identified preferred social interactions and tangible items that might function as reinforcer. For the social interactions, pictures of the experimenter and the child engaging in these interactions were taken with a digital camera and for the tangible items, pictures of the tangible item were also taken to be used in a preference assessment. Pictures were then printed in color onto 7.62 x 12.7-cm cardstock paper. A multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessment was conducted to determine preferences for the interactions and tangible items (DeLeon & Iwata, 1996). Then a reinforcer assessment was conducted to determine whether the interactions and tangible items functioned as reinforcers for the child. A multi-element within a reversal single-subject experimental design was used for the reinforcer assessment (Graff & Gibson, 2003).

From a very early age, children begin to learn about the association between behaviors and consequences. They realize that there is always going to be a consequence whether it’d be positive or negative, that would follow the behavior. Sometimes children behave very well and most of the time, children tend to give parents and others around them a hard time. When it comes to behavior modification, some basic steps include identifying the behavior, setting expectations, monitoring progress, and reinforcing correct behaviors. Positive reinforcement has a lot of effect on children when it comes to modifying a targeted behavior. A reinforcer,