Applying Operant Conditioning to Child Behavior

This assignment delves into the application of operant conditioning theory to address and manage children's behaviors. It examines how parents can utilize positive reinforcement techniques, such as rewards, to encourage desired behaviors in their children. Conversely, it also explores the use of punishment strategies, like deducting privileges, to discourage negative actions. The assignment emphasizes the importance of understanding Skinner's operant conditioning principles in fostering positive child development and addressing behavioral challenges.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

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Answer 1
The five main areas of psychological theories are as follows:
Psychodynamic: The psychodynamic theory deals with explanation of personality by analyzing
conscious and unconscious forces. Such theory gives idea about unconscious thoughts and desire
shaping personality of an individual. The concepts related to psychodynamic approach has been
mainly given by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung (Luyten et al. 2017). Sigmund Freud mainly gave
the idea that unconscious mind influence human behavior and certain events in childhood shape
personality of individual. He defined personality to be consisting of three components such as id,
the superego and the ego. Id is related to pleasure seeking, superego is the tendency to obey
parents and society. Lastly, the ego related mediation between id and superego according to
demands of reality (van der Hart 2016).
Behaviourism: The theories of behaviorism in psychology deals with stimulus –response study
and the study of behavior through interaction with environment. Such theories favor the role of
environment in influencing behavior and mainly states that new behavior is learned either
through classical or operant conditioning (Olson 2015). Hence, instead of internal events like
thinking and emotion, behaviorism is concerned with observable behavior of humans.
Biological: The biological approach in psychology focus on the role of genetics and physiology
on influencing thoughts, feelings and behavior of an individual. According to this theory, there is
a biological cause behind feelings, thoughts and behavior. The biological approach is very
scientific because the experiments used in the theory are measurable and realistic (Olson 2015).
Despite being deterministic, this theory has been criticized because of too much attention on
nature side.

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Cognitive: The cognitive approach is the most dominant theory in psychology that studies
people minds in relation to attention, perception, thinking, consciousness and memory. It is
based on the assumption that thoughts influence behavior and this stimulate-behavioral response
(Neisser 2014). Unlike the behaviorist approach which rejected studying internal mental process
to analyze personality, cognitive theory focuses specifically on the impact of mental process on
behavior. Cognitive concept has been given by many theorist has application in education,
learning, moral development and addressing problem of depression in people. The theory has
been integrated in social learning theory and cognitive psychology too thus supporting treatment
for depressive patient. Cognitive concept is the main basis for cognitive behavioral therapy
(Lachman, Lachman and Butterfield 2015).
Humanistic: The humanistic theory in psychology deals with phenomenological approach where
personality is examined through people’s subjective experience. The main focus of attention in
this theory is the method by which individuals interpret events. This theory rejected both
behaviorist and psychodynamic approach (Schneider, Pierson and Bugental 2014).
Answer 2
By reviewing the case study of Shayla, a 13 year old girl in social service, it has been
found that Shayla has experienced emotional abuse and neglect while staying with her mother.
She is also very nervous child who face difficulty in conversing with other people. Shayla’s
behavior can be interpreted by means of psychodynamic approach and cognitive approach. As
psychodynamic theory of psychology examines unconscious mind and role of childhood
experience in mental health, this theory can help explain the reason for Shayla’s nervousness and
poor social skills. The way people are nurtured shaped the adults personality (Luyten et al.

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2017). Shayla was a nervous and anxious child mainly because she did not got the love and care
by her her mother. She was neglected by her mother and this had an impact on mental health.
She developed feelings of low self-esteem and poor self-confidence. This eventually translated to
greater difficulty in social activities.
Shayla’s personality and behavior can also be interpreted by means of cognitive theory of
psychology. Cognitive approach in psychology mainly focuses on study of the mind and the role
of thoughts in stimulating behavioral response (Neisser 2014). Hence, Shayla’s self-esteem and
poor self-confidence might be due to inappropriate thinking process. Her mother’s neglect and
emotional abuse might be the input in the environment that facilitated the mediation process and
led to output behavior of poor self-confidence in Shayla. The effect of child neglect on self
esteem has been greatly documented. Children who neglected fail to get adequate food, clothing
and nurturing in their childhood and thus the expected growth of a child is neglected. Evidence
has also revealed that parent’s closeness determines adolescent self-esteem perception. Positive
parent-child relationship facilitates healthy feelings of self-worth in children (Harris et al. 2015).
Hence, poor relationship between Shayla and her mother was the reason for poor self-esteem in
client which affected other life outcomes. To address the problem, Shayla may require cognitive
counseling and support to solve her difficulties faced in social communication.
Answer 3
Theory may be defined as set of assumptions or facts that explains the rational for any
observed phenomenon or explains the relation between cause and effect. In the field of
psychology, theory may be defined as a coherent explanation about a phenomenon. As
psychology is science, there is special emphasis on providing observable events and scientific

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method in theories, however all types of behavior cannot be realistically measures (Brooker,
Selden and Widdowson 2017). Hence, theories clearly explain observable events and connect
them with key principles to explain about different types of behavior and events.
An area of study refers to specific interdisciplinary filed in which extensive study is done
to build core concepts and idea. Although there are various divisions in psychology, however
choosing an area of study supports students to specialize in one specific area. Some of the
important area of study in psychology includes clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, social
psychology, learning & behavior and many others.
Answer 4
The factors contributing to anti-social behavior can be explained by psychoanalytic
theory. The symptoms of anti-social behavior include aggressiveness, anger, violent behavior
and absence of cooperative behavior. There might be different cause of anti-social behavior such
as family problem, exposure to harsh disciplinary practice, cognitive disabilities and health
problem (Sawyer, Borduin and Dopp 2015). The development of anti-social behavior in children
and adults can be explained through the exploration of Freud’s psychoanalytical theory. Sigmund
Freud explained that unconscious mind affects the behaviors and feelings of people. These
motives are influenced by past experienced and stored in the conscious mind (van der Hart
2016). On this basis, it can be said that many important aspects of human personality is rooted in
childhood experience. Conflicts in different stage of life might be the reason for developing anti-
social behavior. For example, events like aggressiveness in parent create conflict between
conscious and unconscious mind resulting in anxiety. People tend to release their tension by

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engaging in antisocial behavior (Taubner et al. 2017). Hence, the unconscious mind facet of the
psychoanalytic theory can help to explain the cause of anti-social behavior in certain individual.
Answer 5
Common sense:
Common sense may be defined as judgment of individual or ability to judge any matter
or events in daily life. This kind of judgment is mainly derived from experience. In scientific
study, common sense is a contradictory concept because it does not provide enough information
for reliable conclusion. Believing in common sense can be regarded as poor judgment because
common sense is restricted to personal experience and limits of personal experience may vary in
different people (Purkhardt, 2015).
Answer 6
Skinner’s operant conditioning is a behaviorist approach in psychology which explains
the method to modify behavior by use of positive and negative reinforcement (Skinner 2014).
Hence, any person can modify behavior of any individual by positive reinforcement. For
example, parents may encourage a child to study well by rewarding candy or other prize for
getting good marks in exam. Hence, prize or candy is the positive reinforcer in the example
because it is favorable event given to people who achieve the desired behavior. In contrast,
negative reinforcers are things that eliminate unpleasant outcome in a person. It can be said that
reinforcers are factors or things in the environment that increases the probability of repeating any
behavior. Skinner also gave the concept of punisher which is environmental responses that
decreased repetition of behavior (Skinner 2014).

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As a mother or father, I may also need to improve my child’s behavior or restrict any bad
behavior in my child. I can use the concept of reinforcers and punishers to improve my child’s
behavior and address development of negative behavior. For example, If my child may not pay
attention to his study and focus only on play, then I can use positive reinforcement to increased
my child’s attention in studies. For instance, on a day to day basis, to make my child learn any
lesson with full concentration, I may promise him/her to give them their favorite chocolate or
toys if they complete their lesion. Such reinforcement may encourage my child to focus on
studies. With more rewards or positive reinforcers in the future, my child can learn to repeat
good behaviors too. I can also apply Skinner’s operant condition to restrict my child from
developing any bad habits. For example, to prevent my child from being engrossed in video
game for long hours, I may deduct his pocket money. By this strategy, my child will be vigilant
to ensure that he does not engage in playing video games for longer period.

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Reference
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