Suitability Approach in Behavioural Change

Running head: SUITABILITY APPROACH IN BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE
SUITABILITY APPROACH IN BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

SUITABILITY APPROACH IN BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE1
Introduction
Adolescence can be defined as the transitioning period from childlike to adult-like
characteristics in individuals. Physiological changes though are readily visible, less definitive
attributes such as behaviour, thoughts, and social relations also go through radical change during
this period (Curtis, 2015). Such changes can be difficult for individuals to deal with, as could be
seen here in Mr Tan’s Secondary 2 classroom. In the following assignment, we will look into the
suitability of administering operant conditioning methods, which refers to the learning methods
reinforced through rewards and punishments (McLeod, 2015). We will begin with observing the
range of behaviours which are typically displayed by members of this age group, specifically 13
and 14 year olds, in a classroom environment; and then continue to evaluate a variety of
techniques under operant conditioning which could be applied in successfully managing such
behaviour in the classroom. The observed behaviours will be analysed and justified under certain
key developmental theories. The most notable theories that are being considered here are
Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development, Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial
development, Jean Piaget’s Cognitive learning theory and Albert Bandura’s Social Learning
theory.
Range of behaviours displayed in the classroom
In Mr Tan’s Secondary 2 class, there are a few significant notable aspects of student
behaviour that can be identified. According to the scenario brief, the teacher is finding it
problematic to manage the class, firstly because the students in the class do not partake in class
discussions. They also display evident lack of knowledge and communication by staying silent
when a question is asked and staring blankly at him. Furthermore, whatever assignment and

SUITABILITY APPROACH IN BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE2
homework is provided to them, most remain undone and un-submitted. In a classroom, this kind
of behaviour in a select number of students can be explained and justified rationally but a large
scale display of under developed cognitive and social behaviour is generally a matter of concern.
Analysis of the scenario
According to Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, adolescence is the fifth stage
that starts at age 13 and extends up to 19 (Cherry, 2018). The previous stage, middle childhood
identifies the children between and including ages 9 and 12 (Cherry, 2018). Secondary 2 students
fall at the margin of stages 4 and 5. For stages 4 and 5, the virtues are Competence and Fidelity
respectively, indicating that the aspect of self-identity, abilities, understanding of superiority and
inferiority and the question of one’s place in the world and what one can become, are identified
as the most significant ones (Dunkel & Harbke, 2017). The strongest connections that the
children in this age group make are with their school and their peers or any form of role model
that they are able to identify (Crocetti, 2017). From a psychosocial viewpoint, the current state of
behaviour can be explained as one where competence from the fourth stage is underdeveloped
and the identity formation as an effect of social connections are facing certain obstacles (Dunkel
& Harbke, 2017). This aspect of socially moderated behavioural development can be understood
under the social learning theory (Brenzina & Piquero, 2017), according to which, behavioural
development is correlated with the way individuals observe and imitate others. Furthermore, it
establishes a correlation with cognitive development and the immediate environment (Akers &
Jennings, 2015) stating that learning is a cognitive process taking place in a social environment
where the learners as active recipient of information are mutually influenced by cognition,
environment and behaviour, mutually (Yeager, 2017). Thus in the context of the classroom, the

SUITABILITY APPROACH IN BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE3
large scale display of non-attentive and non-responsive behaviour in Mr Tan’s classroom is a
collective output of the same factors that are conditioning the class to do so.
At the core of effective learning, as indicated by Bandura and substantiated in other
studies, there are four primary elements, namely attention, retention, reproduction and
motivation (Fang, 2018; Thomas, Morgan & Harris, 2016). These factors are also responsible for
modulating each other when learning in a social setting is considered (Thomas, Morgan &
Harris, 2016). Analysing the current context, the primary aspect that is lost in the students is
attention, following which their abilities of retention and reproduction are hampered. Thereby
their motivation to learn and involve in a classroom learning setup is heavily diminished,
resulting in the particular type of behaviour that is noticed.
Therefrom, the focus can be shifted to the aspect of knowledge and learning where
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development finds key significance. According to the cognitive
developmental / learning theory, the process of understanding is divided to function under two
heads, namely assimilation and accommodation. The former refers to the process where new
information and experiences are made to fit into the pre existing cognitive schemas (Berger,
2008, p. 44). Accommodation refers to the way the cognitive schema is altered to fit the newly
acquired information (McReynolds, 2015). Piaget’s theory further instantiates four
developmental stages, namely sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal
operational, based on the age and developmental chronology. The adolescent age group falls into
the final, formal operational stage where logical use of symbols pertaining to abstract concepts
and notions are responsible for demonstrating intelligence (McReynolds, 2015). The formal
operational stage is also characterised by the capacity to perform deductive reasoning where
specific conclusions from abstract concepts are drawn using logic (Berger, 2014). In that sense,