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Explaining Stephanie's Behavior

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Most teachers come across a child in their classroom that is difficult to deal with. In this case Stephanie has problems with cheating and stealing, and also is having problems being nice to other students and the teacher. This teacher has requested a referral and the psychologist has responded three theories to help this teacher create a behavior plan. Social Learning Theory, Cognitive-Developmental Theory, and Behaviorism-Operant Conditioning Theory are the three theories used to explain why Stephanie is behaving this way. The first theory that could explain Stephanie’s behavior is the Social Learning Theory. The Social Learning Theory states that children model the behaviors of the adults around them, and can be greatly influenced by these …show more content…

She has also heard her parents talk about cheating on their taxes. This could explain why she has been cheating on tests and stealing items from staff and other students. She watches her parents steal and cheat, so she believes that is the appropriate way to act.
The mom stated “I usually reward her for any type of misbehavior just to get her to stop at that moment.” Again this is reinforcing the negative behavior, making it more likely that Stephanie will continue the negative behavior. The mother also does not take action when she catches Stephanie stealing which leads Stephanie to believe that that is ok.
The best way to intervene is to sit Stephanie down and explain the rules of the classroom to Stephanie and explain to her what is wrong and why it is wrong. You should also come up with a behavioral plan and lay out different punishments for her behaviors. Children model adult’s behaviors. The best plan is to model prosocial behaviors and reward those behaviors when Stephanie does …show more content…

This theory states that harsh punishment rarely works for long term goals. It focuses on consistency and a warm relationship. (Feldman, 2011). When you use the threat of being sent to the principle and don’t follow through, Stephanie sees that as being an invalid punishment and it doesn’t make her negative behavior decrease. Stephanie hasn’t had a warm authority figure that she has been willing to listen to. She has only been handed harsh punishments or hasn’t had any punishment at all. Her parents allow her to get her way. Stephanie’s mom gets easily frustrated with her and tells her she wishes she never had her. Her mother also yells no at her when Stephanie is essentially throwing a fit. The best plan here would be to come up with some punishments that aren’t harsh, but that would maybe let Stephanie get her way, while enforcing positive behavior. An example of this would be a short time-out. It would give Stephanie time to calm down and remove her from the situation. You could also take away privileges, like going outside to play. The key to this is to be consistent in all aspects of Stephanie’s

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