Psychology Concepts: Psychology is a term derived from two Greek words that translate to life explanation, which makes it an important element of daily life. The field of psychology can be described as a discipline that focuses on the study of mind and behavior. This discipline is characterized by several concepts and approaches that are used by psychologists in understanding human behavior. Since psychology is a broad field, psychologists not only use these concepts and approaches but also conduct scientific research that enables them to understand human behavior. Some of the most common psychological concepts that are used to modify or change an individual’s behavior include operant conditioning, positive and negative punishment, …show more content…
An example of the use of this method is when my friend was recently grounded by his parents for misbehaving in school. While positive punishment helps in modifying behavior, it may cause an individual to be embarrassed and contribute to other negative behavior, which is a major ethical concern. On the contrary, negative punishment is a method that also contributes to weakening a behavior though it lessens or eliminates something pleasant. It involves taking away something desirable or good from an individual in order to discourage him/her from engaging in a particular behavior. For instance, one of my classmate’s phone rang in class despite being told by teachers not to bring our phones to class. Consequently, the teacher took away the phone from my classmate in order to discourage that behavior. The ethical concern that may emerge from using negative punishment is that it does not teach the victim of undesired behavior how to change his/her behavior. Positive reinforcement involves strengthening or fostering desired behavior through the addition or increase of a pleasant incentive. Positive reinforcement tends to be a more effective means of behavior modification that the two types of punishment. The addition or increase of incentive when using positive reinforcement is geared towards encouraging the occurrence of the behavior in the future. For instance, positive reinforcement is used by an
Positive reinforcement is rewarding a behavior with a consequence that is pleasant to the recipient in order to encourage the behavior. An example of this in The Breakfast Club
Positive reinforcement is when a child is given something in order to show the child to repeat an act and negative reinforcement is when something is taken away in order to repeat an act (). Many things occurred during my visits that are examples of punishment and reinforcement. An example of positive punishment is when the children were told to stop fidgeting in their chairs and they were told a second time when they were not listening. An example for negative punishment is when the monitor took away one of the girls necklaces because she would not sit still and listen to the play that was going on. An example of positive reinforcement is when the monitors gave a hug to one of the boys for helping cleaning up when she told the kids that it was clean up time. Finally, during the visits I did not see any examples of negative reinforcement, but an example would be taking away check marks that were placed next to their name for miss
e. Positive reinforcement presents an encouraging element to an individual after a wanted behavior is demonstrated. It helps to make the wanted behavior more likely to occur again in the future. An example of this is when a mother gives her child a treat after cleaning up his room. The child is more likely clean his room in the future because he received positive enforcement for performing the desired behavior.
13. The Ecological Perspective recognizes multiple levels of intervention including all of the following EXCEPT
Punishment, as one of the reinforcement-theory strategies has been used commonly but it may bring potentially negative side effects. Therefore, punishment should not been used before positive and negative reinforcement fail. The threat of punishment for undesired behaviours is more effective than the use of punishment because punishment decreases undesirable behaviours only temporarily and may create anger and resentment, which hurt communication and undermine goodwill and personal initiative of followers (Uduji, 2013). The stimulus involved in punishment can include monetary punishment (e.g., salary deduction, demotion), non-monetary punishment (e.g., reduced sponsored holiday trips), or behavioural responses (e.g.,
A positive or negative punishment will always decrease an unwanted behavior. The only difference between the two is in positive punishment something is added, and in negative punishment something unpleasant is removed. An example of positive punishment would be spanking a child, and an example of negative punishment would be losing money to a swear jar. The last two forms of consequences are positive and negative reinforcement. Reinforcement always increases the desired behavior. In positive reinforcement, something pleasant is added and in negative reinforcement something unpleasant is taken away. An example of positive reinforcement would be a teacher complimenting students after a correct answer, and an example of negative reinforcement would be
These may sound reasonable as punishments, and even effective. Before I did this paper I would have agreed with the judges and teachers who gave these punishments. After, However, I feel differently. Several psychologists have found that shaming doesn’t change a behavior. Instead of associating a negative with their actions, people subconsciously associate the negative with themselves. Therefore, the poor decision making continues and can even become worse, the shaming becomes a desensitizer to guilt.
Reinforcement and Punishment are used in the classroom as well as many homes for small children. Reinforcement is the technique of inspiring or authorizing a pattern of behavior which may lead to a reward. Many children do what is right because of the positive reinforcements they may receive. In the learning environment, children look forward to reinforcement such as candy, snacks, as well as stickers or other fun activities. If positive reinforcement is used in children’s households, the children look to impress their parents. Punishment is considered to be the penalty due to a poor act or performance. Punishment is considered to be a harsh way of getting children to act properly in the classroom as well as at home. Punishment in certain households may be altered or restricted due to the way that their parents have been raised or their own specific method in raising their children. Most forms of punishment are violent and may also alter the way children function as they grow older. Reinforcement should be used in the classroom as well as in homes because of the way society is built. As children grow older, society expect adults to act a certain way or face the consequences as the result. Children that are not well disciplined tend to have a rougher path as they grow older and may find life to be more challenging because they do not know how to make exceptional decisions. Children should be introduced to reinforcement as a form of discipline in order in order to prepare
Positive reinforcement involves the addition of a reinforcing stimulus following a behavior that makes it more likely that the behavior will occur again in the future.
A general definition of positive reinforcement is “A stimulus or event that affects the likelihood that an immediately preceding behavior
Positive reinforcement is a way we can teach children, adults, and even animals that uses a reward as a way of showing approval for a behavior that is wanted in an effort to continue that particular behavior. For example, my daughter responded well in school when her good behavior in class was rewarded with the opportunity to pick something from the class treasure box, which was usually a book to read.
When studying behavior analysis in Psychology, reinforcement can be positive or negative. Most people have a difficult time distinguishing the difference between the two. B.F. Skinner discovered the effects of reinforcement and punishment using his operant conditioning chamber for his experiments. The operant conditioning chamber “Skinner Box” was a container that would hold a laboratory animal inside. The container was set to use devices to reinforce or punish the desired behavior of the animal. Skinner discovered through his experiments that he could train the animals using reinforcement and punishment to learn and perform desired behaviors. Positive reinforcement is adding something positive to motivate and reinforce
Creating a system of just punishment as an attempt to modify behavior has actually proven to be unsuccessful on many occasions and in various types of situations. The definition of punishment itself is intended to bring displeasure to whomever is on the receiving end of this notion. However, punishment can range from physical maltreatment to psychological dismay (Donnelly & Murray 2005). Both of these subtypes have resulted in even more negative outcomes. Children who are punished because they did not listen to their parents are more likely to become resentful toward them and are more likely to rebel and partake in those same behaviors that were trying to be avoided in the first place (Stein, 2005).
I remember when I was a junior high school pupil in Taiwan. Pupils would receive physical punishment for not reaching the scores that teachers expected. The teachers were presenting positive punishment to prevent pupils getting bad scores again. Dobbs’ (2009) research shows that physical punishment does not work as a disciplinary tool. Having a favourable event or outcome removed or using a 'time-out' might be more effective to encourage better behaviour. Physical punishment has not been allowed in Taiwanese schools since 2006. But in rural Taiwan where I work, some traditional parents or grandparents will still ask teachers to punish their children for their expected grades.
Positive reinforcement involves adding a stimulus following a certain behavior, making it more likely that the behavior will happen again in the future. In my project, the added stimulus would be the chocolate that I get to eat for not spitting, in attempt to reduce this habit as much as possible. An example of positive reinforcement in class is where we watched the video of the dog being trained, and he