Conditioning and Reinforcement: A Psychology Report on Behavior

This psychology report delves into the concepts of conditioning and reinforcement, exploring how they influence human behavior. The report begins by defining positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment, and then discusses how these concepts relate to the work of B.F. Skinner, building upon the foundation of classical conditioning laid by Ivan Pavlov. The report provides real-world examples of how these principles are applied across various environments, including the interactions between parents and children, teachers and students, and employers and employees. It highlights how positive reinforcement, such as encouragement and rewards, can be used to promote desired behaviors, while negative reinforcement and punishment can be used to discourage undesirable actions. The report concludes that external reinforcements, both positive and negative, play a significant role in shaping human conduct.

Running head: CONDITIONING AND REINFORCEMENT
CONDITIONING AND REINFORCEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CONDITIONING AND REINFORCEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Discussion........................................................................................................................................1
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................2
References........................................................................................................................................4

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Introduction
For the present purpose the discussion shall be focusing upon three psychological
methods of influencing the behaviour of a person, which deal with positive reinforcement,
negative reinforcement, and punishment. In the following section the processes of influencing
behaviour shall be explained by means of providing examples of the application of positive
reinforcement and punishment that exists in the interactions between; parent and child, teacher
and student, and between employer and employee.
Discussion
The theoretical premise of positive conditioning and negative conditioning has been
provided by B F Skinner, who had built upon the theoretical premise of Classical Conditioning
as provided by Ivan Pavlov. As per the views of Pavlov, learning is a process of repetitive
reinforcement, the conclusion which he had deduced on the basis of the experiment which he had
conducted on hid dogs. On the basis of the results of the experiment he had arrived at learning as
a result of Classical Conditioning (Pavlov & Watson, 2017).
Skinner had expanded the logic of Pavlov to say that positive reinforcements or
conditioning such as appreciation and motivation boosted the morale of the learner. While on the
other hand negative reinforcements or conditioning such as rebuking and demoralizing could
dampen the spirit of the learner. This logic is not just applicable in the school environment but
also in an organizational set up (Pavlov & Watson, 2017).
Punishment is also a method of influencing behaviour of a person which is manifested
exclusively by the application of coercive sanctions. Punishments are imposed on a person who

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is subordinately placed by a person who occupies a position of superiority. Punishments are
imposed when the behaviour of an individual is considered to be unacceptable and a need to
discipline the individual is felt. Since punishments reinforce the need to adopt an acceptable
form of behaviour, though it is in itself negative by nature, hence it can be considered as an
expression of positive reinforcement (Rehman, Mahabadi & Rehman, 2019).
In the home environment pertaining to the relational dynamics between parent and child,
the positive reinforcement works in the form of encouragement to perform well in school and
maintain a good behaviour through the provision of good examples exhibited by others. In
between teacher and student positive reinforcements can be implied in form of good grades and
appreciation; and in between employer and employee it can be in form of promotions and
appraisals. Examples of punishment between parent and child could be denial of some gift or
scolding for some misconduct by the former to the latter; in between teacher and student it could
be suspension of the latter by the former and in between employer and employee it could be
demotion or firing of the latter by the former. This is how positive conditioning and punishment
functions in home environment, workplace and in an organization (Rehman, Mahabadi &
Rehman, 2019).
Conclusion
Thus it could be concluded that human behaviour can be influenced by the application of
external reinforcements, for the good as well as for the bad. Positive conditioning, negative
conditioning and punishment are the external reinforcements which are used to influence the
behaviour of a person.

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References
Pavlov, I., & Watson, J. (2017). Skinner-Operant Conditioning.
Rehman, I., Mahabadi, N., & Rehman, C. I. (2019). Classical Conditioning. In StatPearls
[Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.