You should by now have signed in and found the page on our web site for the text book - http://www.psychologicalscience.com/bmod/abcs.html
Please read sections 1.1 and 1.2 for this week.
After reading section 1.1, please respond to the following questions.
Prior to reading this chapter, what did you think about behavior modification? Why? What are three things you will remember from what you read in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you really liked that was in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you disliked that was in the chapter? Why? How has reading the chapter changed what you originally thought about behavior modification? How so?
Before reading these two sections, I had an idea as to what reinforcement, punishment, negative reinforcement, positive reinforcement, etc. was from previous psychology classes. For me though, these terms are ones that I need to use over and over again to really solidify their definitions. I find myself easily confusable because these terms are all very similar, but I found the workbook style to be very helpful because it forced me to use the concepts rather than just reading over them and lying and telling myself I understand when I actually may not. Because of this, I would have to say that my favorite part of the book thus far is the workbook style.
There are three things I learned/will (have to work to) remember from this chapter: the meaning of the term emit, the meaning of the term elicit, and self-reinforcement. Emit and elicit are two terms that are completely new to me so I will need to continually practice using them when talking about behavior modification. I know what self-reinforcement is, but have never really thought about it as a form of behavior modification. Because of this, the activities that corresponded with that section took me a little longer to comprehend/think of examples.
There wasn’t anything that I necessarily “disliked” about the chapter, but I could have definitely benefitted from more examples. Examples, especially ones that I would typically run into in my everyday life, really help me understand the material at hand.
After reading this chapter, I have realized how powerful behavior modification can be if you really know and understand how to use it correctly. The chapter also made me realize that you can change anything and everything by using the ABCs and reassures that behavior modification will be a great skill to have in a number of situations throughout life!
Prior to reading this chapter, beginning this semester even, my thoughts on behavior modification were very limited. To me it was just a class that seemed interesting and it happened to fulfill a major requirement. I hadn't put it together that the course would deal with punishments and reinforcements and so on until reading the chapter. I began to remember learning about these concepts in previous classes, but knew that I was previously confused and came to realize that it was going to take some time to be able to figure out and distinguish between them all.
Three things that I will remember from this chapter are 1. Reinforcement is something used to have a positive behavior occur more often, 2. Punishment is something used to decrease an undesirable behavior, and 3. that negative and positive are words that are not to be used with punishment and reinforcement. Even though these are things that I will remember, it will always be something that I have to take a second to think about in order to make the right decision. Having to actually think about the terms and apply them right away I think helped me figure out and remember these terms better than what I previously could.
That being said, the activities in the book were things that I did like, but they were also things I disliked at the same time. A couple of the activities I began to get confused on, and if it were discussed in class (which I'm sure it will be at some point) I think I could have been made clear on quicker. Particularly after self-reinforcement was brought into the picture I started confusing myself in the activities on whether or not it was just reinforcement, or if it was in fact self-reinforcement. I think it will take me a while to be able to distinguish the two.
After reading the chapter my thoughts on behavior modification have changed in that I'm wondering how many times someone else has changed my behaviors through reinforcement and punishment without my awareness of it. I'd say probably a lot more than what I would like to imagine. Now knowing what the terms are and how they potentially affect a person and their behaviors is something I will probably start thinking about every day. I'm very excited to learn more about this and be able to use it myself in order to help others and/or myself throughout the rest of my life.
Prior to reading these two sections, my thoughts on behavior modification was that it was going to be an interesting class that was going to teach my how to shape others behavior. This preconceived notion was based on what previous students had told me and what I read in the course description. I also had a general background knowledge from previous psychology courses on what positive and negative reinforcement and punishment were but I did not have a strong understanding and often got them confused.
Based on my previous knowledge, I learned much from these two sections regarding the behavior of others as well as my own. More specifically, I had never learned to shape or change someones behavior through Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence of modification. I believe some areas that I will struggle with initially are keeping the different types of reinforcement and punishment (aversive and pleasurable) and self-reinforcement straight. I also will need to work on remembering not to use "positive" and "negative" when describing behavior and the difference between "emit" and "elicit." I feel more confident than I previously did about being able to recognize the difference between pleasurable reinforcement and aversive punishment from the examples given in the text.
What I've liked thus far is the examples given in the text before being asked to come up with out own because it gives me a chance to have an idea of what I'm supposed to write rather than having to think of something on my own and feeling like I'm taking a shot in the dark. I learn better when I'm given examples rather than expected to come up with my own on a topic I'm not extremely familiar with.
One thing I disliked about what we've read thus far is that I feel like I'm writing too similar of responses to the questions and examples; basically, as if I was writing the same responses over and over again. This is not a huge issue because if I give myself the chance to understand it, I'm more confident, but it would be helpful to have more explanation of the difference between the types of modification.
This chapter has changed my view of behavior modification by deepening what I already know and has further intrigued me on what we will learn in this class. Also, even though different behaviors and consequences occur from the same antecedent, much change can occur within individuals and even one's self if we use the ABC's of behavior modification.
Upon reading this introductory chapter on behavior modification, my knowledge of the subject was relatively minimal. In various other psychology courses, famous behaviorists such as John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner were briefly discussed but their theories were never clear to me. Before entering this class, I expected the curriculum to focus on troubled individuals who were in need of such treatment; almost like an introductory counseling class.
This chapter introduced the ABC's of Behavior Modification. Maclin states that almost ALL behavior can be described in three basic steps: an antecedent, a behavior, and a consequence. Based on the context of the antecedent, humans will react with a behavior. This behavior will be either repeated or stopped in the future based on the consequence that follows it. If the consequence is pleasurable, it is likely that the subject will emit similar behavior in the future in that particular context. If the consquence is aversive, perhaps another behavior will be emitted when in that antecedent situation. This simple formula can be utilized in almost ever behavioral situation. When one understands the ABC's of behavior modification, they can utilize it to change anyone's behavior, including themselves.
I like how easy this text is to understand. It's very clear as to what Maclin is trying to state. Often times, when reading a published text, the reading can be dense and hard to get through. The examples given were a great supplement when understanding the basic theories presented in this chapter. Since I am a student, and am not in the working world yet, it can be hard to relate to many psychology textbooks as the examples given can be out of context. Maclin uses many real-world examples that many of us can relate to. The in-text activities also helped to keep my attention. Maclin delivers superior readability
One thing I disliked about the chapter was the response sections. My understanding of behavior modicfication is somewhat minimal, so coming up with more real-world examples was difficult. I often felt as if I was just changing a few nouns and verbs around. I'd like to get more examples from the text that describe other situations.
This chapter has in a sense, calmed me down for what's to come later in the semester. Behavior is a seemingly complex subject, often hard to put into words. The ABC's offer a frame in some sense, ready to be filled with whatever situation life throws at you. Behavior modification doesn't seem so 'mystic' to me anymore, and I feel if more people knew even the basics of behavior modification, they too could make a difference on themselves or their peers.
Before reading these sections, my idea of behavior modification dealt with persuasion, essentially modifying someone’s behavior to get what you want/need. Also, before reading theses sections, I was often confused by the terms reinforcement and punishment, and the negative and positive aspects that coincided with them. I found these terms to be confusing because of the negative and positive aspects, and what exactly made them positive and negative reinforcement or punishment to the action that had taken place.
The three things that I will remember from this chapter are to use the terms pleasurable and aversive, rather than using the terms positive or negative. Though these terms are in my everyday vocabulary, they are not appropriate for this class and the text. Also, I will have to remember to use the terms emit and elicit, for they tend to also confuse me. I will just tell myself to remember emit by remembering that when you DO something, there is always an antecedent and a consequence. Lastly, even though I was aware of the ABC’s before taking this class, after reading this chapter I realized that they are not linear and that it is important to realize that.
What I have liked thus far are the examples and how easy it was to understand the ABC’s. The examples gave me an opportunity to answer the problem rather than reading it and trying to soak it in that way.
I didn’t necessarily dislike anything about the chapter, but I would have liked to see the examples spread out more. After reading and trying to solve the ABC examples directly after one another, I began to feel as though they were all piling up on one another, though they were all simply stated.
After reading these sections, I realized that there is so much more to behavior modification than what I had initially perceived. In order to get the desired response it is important to use the right vocabulary. I am actually excited to read more of this textbook, and that is rare for me because they often bore me, but it has been made clear that I can use what I learn in this class and apply it to my everyday life.
Prior to my reading this chapter, I felt that behavior modification dealt with things such as encouraging or discouraging behavior and manipulation of behavior for a specific end. I believed this to be true based on my knowledge of psychological terms and application in everyday life.
Three things that I will remember from this chapter are, of course, the ABC's. I have always been familiar with the concept of the ABC's, but never viewed it as a psychological construct. Having read the chapter, using the ABC's as a basis for this class makes a great deal of sense to me, as all behavior stems either from a want of a certain consequence or from a reaction to an antecedent. Another thing that I will remember from this chapter is the use of aversive and pleasurable in the vocabulary of the text. This is a much more proper and effective way of describing the nature of the consequence of a behavior than using the standard positive and negative wording. One more thing that I will remember from this chapter is the usage of emit and elicit in the text, rather than do and make. It will take a little bit of doing for me to get used to using this terminology, but I feel that it will be beneficial to me, both in the enhancement of my vocabulary and in the professionalism of my speech within this class and this blog.
I really enjoyed the way that the examples were laid out within the text. It made the learning experience that much more involved and easy to understand. I also enjoyed the questioning of ourselves that was asked of us in the text. It helped me to apply the reading to my own personal life and my own behaviors and actions.
There wasn't really anything that I could say needed improvement for me in particular within this text. The examples and the way the reading was laid out was very in-tune with my learning style.
Reading the text didn't necessarily change any perceptions or views that I have held about behavior modification, however, it has helped me to understand that there is a great deal more to behavior modification than I had originally thought. Not a lot more in terms of what is involved, but more in terms of detail of those things that I had previously understood to be involved.
Before reading this section on behavior modification I had a slight understanding or assumption of what it was. I have taken a few psychology classes prior to this class and am familiar with basic terminology when it comes to behavior. I assumed that behavior modification would focus mostly on analyzing, interpreting, and eventually changing a person’s behavior; whether that behavior is my own or another individual’s. I feel I have a fairly decent understanding of behavior based on what I have learned in my previous psychology classes.
Although I have had introductory psychology classes, I have not had one that focuses specifically on behavior. I will remember the ABC’s most of all from this chapter because it was the main focus of the section and is one of the main points of this text. I will also remember the ABC’s because of the repetition throughout the section and all of the examples presented in the text.
I did enjoy the examples and repetition throughout the section. I often have to read things more than once before I feel I have a good hold of the material. This section made it easier for me to understand and see how the ABC’s work because of the constant examples. The workbook style of the text also made it easier for me to comprehend the material. I like being able to practice what I’m learning while I’m actually reading the material, rather than having to go back for future assignments.
I don’t believe there is anything I particularly disliked about this section of the text. I would like to be able to go over more specific examples in class, rather than just repeating the same situations and just changing the words and actions around though.
The section did not necessarily change what I originally thought about behavior modification. I think it just added a few more things to my understanding of behavior. I recognized a majority of terms within the reading and like I mentioned above the only that was unfamiliar was the ABC process.
To be honest, I didn’t know what this class was about at all. I saw behavior modification as possibly the way in which people alter their own behavior in certain situations. After attending our first class I quickly realized that behavior modification isn’t simply altering your own behavior, but that of others as well. After listening to the many examples of how we can alter other’s behavior (children, waitresses, or even dogs), I found that behavior modification will be discussed in a way that can actually influence our daily lives. As much as I would like to say that all of my college classes apply greatly to my daily life, there are many classes that I took and seemed to forget all about the instant I took my final exam. I saw behavior modification as a simple principle before I started reading the first chapter, but after the first chapter I quickly realized how complex this principle is. I think behavior modification will prove to have much more of an impact on me than I had originally expected after listening to the many ways it can be used.
After reading this chapter I will first, and foremost, remember the ABC’s (big shock, I know). The text is sure to keep repeating this principle in order to give the reader a full understanding of it. Not only that, but the text also strives to get the reader involved by the constant use of relevant examples and examples that the reader actually fills in. I liked the repetition of this strongly important subject because it is obviously something I need to fully understand and something that class will continue to build upon throughout the semester. I also will recall the visual chart of the ABC’s and believe this will help me to remember the structure much better in my head. Secondly, I remember how much of an impact the antecedent can have on the behavior as well as consequence. I had originally believed the consequence would be the greatest factor for our behaviors so it was interesting to learn how much of an impact the antecedent does have. I enjoyed the example of the joke when its consequences were changed dramatically due to the change of the antecedent (change of party to funeral). Lastly, I recalled that knowledge of a behaviors antecedent and consequence can then make our behavior “fairly predictable”. This would then more easily allow us to manipulate behavior. If we know of the antecedent and consequence beforehand, this might make modifying behavior easier to prepare for. Instead of focusing on a behavior itself, I think this strives to make us look at two different factors to help us understand and modify behavior. This may not be something we are used to, but it has a great amount of reason and I felt that was very clearly explained throughout the chapter.
The part of the chapter that I enjoyed the most was the examples. Sometimes textbooks can be so heavily factual, and that is it. I like when a textbook will take the time to relate a topic to me. Instead of trying to memorize hard facts, reading examples helps me remember the principle in a way that applies it to my life. The use of examples relevant to the reader helps me to understand something to a greater extent, and makes it something that I won’t read and completely forget moments later. Examples also help me to stay engaged in the reading.
One thing that I first disliked in this chapter was the constant use of the word “manipulate”. At first when hearing this I thought of very negative things. I thought back to my Psychology of Personality class when we took a test to see how high we would score on “machiavellism”. This test made it seem as if manipulation was relating to negative and conniving behaviors that were only done for personal gain. After reading the whole chapter, and especially the note at the very end of chapter 1.1, I found that manipulation can mean something as simple as telling someone to go in front of you politely in line. This is a form of positive manipulation. I believe I just have never thought of the word manipulation as a positive thing before, and that this is something I need to modify my view on.
The biggest change this chapter made on my original thoughts of behavior modification was that it made me realize behavior can be systematically broken down into 3 parts. These three parts can be studied closely, and possibly predict behavior. Originally I felt consequences greatly influenced behavior, but after reading about the ABC’s, I found that an antecedent to a behavior can have just as much, if not more impact than a consequence. I now see that behavior modification is a much more complex topic that can be studied greatly in depth. I also am excited to learn more about how it can relate to our lives and the lives of others around us.
Before I read the first couple sections from the text I believed behavior modification to focus more on the brain and why we do the things we do. I never really considered how much you can manipulate others and yourself to do or not to do certain behaviors. I have always thought of different professions that would need to use good techniques for changing behaviors, such as teachers and trainers, but I never really thought about how behavior modification can really help people change others behaviors in all different types of settings and situations. I work at a youth program called Kids Club and we have to use reinforcement procedures rather than punishment on the youth to encourage a behavioral change.
Three things that I am going to remember the most from this chapter are the ABC's. We are going to have to refer back to these when we look at every behavior we study in this class. Therefore I really thought about them and tried relating them to my personal life and the activities I do every day like eating, watching tv. ect. and set up an ABC table of my own. Ex. A=At Four Queens; B=Ate a milkshake; C=Felt Full.
One thing I really liked about this chapter that I will like about the class is how we have to fill in blanks with abstract ideas that we come up with. This will ensure that we understand what each topic means specifically and we can compare it to our personal life. I thought about my job while reading about reinforcement and punishment.
The thing I like least about the chapters was the way it skipped around from the topics about reinforcement and punishment. I would have liked the reinforcement, reinforcer, and reinforcing to all be bunched together and explained first and then move on to punishment, punisher, and finally punishing. This would have helped me keep method was being explained.
The biggest thing that has changed for me after reading this chapter is the idea that every behavior has certain steps which must occur in order to target and modify that certain behavior. It is much more specific than I originally thought. If you were to change any of the ABC for a particular behavior than the situation is completely altered.
Before reading the first chapter, I never thought much about behavior modification. There have been instances in which I wish I could control the way people act, but it never went much further than that.
The three main things that I’ll remember from the first chapter are the ABCs, the fact that the antecedent is so important in what behaviors are acted out, and that it is possible to change someone’s behavior. I will remember the ABCs because that’s the main point of the chapter and I know that that is a topic we will be discussing throughout the course. I remembered the antecedent because it’s an important part in the ABCs and I never really thought about how the location of the behavior is crucial. Lastly, I’ll remember that it’s possible to change someone’s behavior because I never thought that was actually possible and it would be very interesting to know how to do that.
One thing I really liked in this chapter was the example when the antecedent was different but the behavior was the same. It really made me think about how important the antecedent is and how it can drastically change the consequence of the behavior.
There wasn’t much that I disliked about the chapter. I felt there were many examples which really helped me understand the material.
After reading the chapter, I discovered that it is possible to change the way people behave by using the ABCs, which is another thing that I have learned. It seems quite easy by using the ABCs to help change the way someone behaves, which I find very interesting.
Before reading this chapter, my thoughts on behavior modification were pretty similar to what they are now. The concept of the ABC's has always made a lot of sense to me, and seem to have subconsciously gone through my head without ever knowing to refer to them as A B and C. Reinforcement is something I've grown extremely familiar with, due my past experience as a coach and also, in part, within the career I'm pursuing, which is school counseling. Overall, I would say behavior modification is something I've always found myself interested in, and am definitely intrigued in seeing where this semester goes.
Three things I WILL remember from this chapter are: 1-The ABC are the most important factor in behavior modification. 2- The importance of the antecedent/consequence. 3- the meaning of the words emit and elicit. These are things that I definitely plan to remember through out the year, not only because they are the basis for what we learn in the future, but also because they are simply valuable information. Realizing an antecedent and consequence combination is crucial in predicting, and manipulating, behavior.
I personally really like the concept of changing someone's behavior simply based on the antecedent and consequence combo. It becomes so obvious how much our environments change our behavior, and the more we are able to pick up on that the more clear things will be.
As far as dislike goes, I'm having difficulty thinking of anything I truly DISliked about the chapter. I suppose if anything, I didn't like the part where we made up our own antecedent, behavior, and consequence part just because I wasn't sure if I was doing it right. (lol)
Reading this chapter didn't change what I originally thought about behavior modification TOO much, however, it did open my eyes to the idea that we can shape behavior simply based on realizing antecedents. Changing behavior based upon consequences (whether they be pleasurable or aversive) has always been obvious, but now it seems all to clear that we have to consciously realize the antecedent as well.
:)
Before reading this chapter, and coming to this class I had no idea what behavior modification would entail. After the first class I was very interested to get started learning, although I was not sure what kinds of things would be in the chapter, or how we would go about learning how to modify behavior except that I expected conditioning to be top of the list, because to me it seemed the most obvious way to modify behavior.
I will remember the ABC’s of behavior modification, (antecedent, behavior, and consequence) and the fact that they are on a sort of feedback loop and consequences are related to antecedents. I will also remember that reinforcement is a procedure that increases the frequency of behavior while punishment is a procedure that decreases the frequency of behavior. Those are things I really concentrated on getting down, reading carefully and looking over twice because they seemed to be the main point of the chapter.
I really liked the examples in the chapter, because they helped me understand things better.
It’s not that I disliked anything about the chapter, but I did have trouble thinking of examples for negative reinforcement, and I’m not sure I fully understand this point, as I’m not sure how water boarding actually works.
As I didn’t have an original opinion about behavior modification, this chapter has just given me a better idea of what it is about, and what this class will entail by starting with a very detailed explanation of behaviors.
As far as reinforcement, and the ABC’s it is something that is more likely to occur after the antecedent. They can also occur naturally or a reinforcement procedure can be used. Naturally occurring reinforcement are obviously not planned. A reinforcement procedure however is something that is designed specifically to increase a behavior. Reinforcement involves a desirable consequence. This good thing that happens as a result of a behavior is what reinforces the behavior to happen again when the antecedent arises.
Punishment, like reinforcement is something that decreases the likelihood of a behavior occurring after the antecedent. Punishment can also be naturally occurring or in procedure form. When the outcome is aversive, it becomes punishment.
When discussing positive and negative punishment or reinforcement, they mean the same for both terms. Positive punishment/reinforcement is adding something, whether it is an aversive stimulus or desirable one. Negative punishment refers to taking away something.
Prior to reading the first section of the textbook, I did not know much about behavior modification. I knew that behavior could be changed and modified, and that it also does not occur without consequences. However, I did not know too much about the "antecedents" of behaviors. I knew very little because I have not been exposed to this information in my school career. I have been taught about B.F. Skinner's principles, and not much more past those.
The first thing I learned from the chapter was that behavior can be broken down into building blocks(ABC's of Behavior). The antecedent occurs and triggers a behavior , which results in consequence. Another thing that was new to me was that if you know an antecedent and a consequence, the behavior becomes predictable. A third piece of information that I learned from this chapter was that the ABC's occur in almost everything we do.
I enjoyed reading about the manipulation of behavior. I work with kids and this information could turn out to help me a lot in my job. I look forward to learning more about it. The only thing that I dislike about the chapter is the typos. There is just a couple of them and it is not a big deal....just sayin'.
For just the first chapter in a textbook, there was a lot of information in it. I can honestly say that after reading it, I am excited to know what is coming next. I learned behavior can be broken down to be more understood(Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence). And that using these building blocks, one can manipulate and predict an individual's behavior.
I have never been particularly great at modifying my behavior so behavior modification seemed difficult - something only experts could succeed with. Changing an undesirable behavior (such as cracking my knuckles) seemed nearly impossible, because I have been engaging in many behaviors since I was a child. After reading the first two sections of Chapter 1, I am not as intimidated by behavior modification. It almost seems simple when you break it down into the ABC's (although I know it probably won't feel simple). I was able to understand the basic idea of how to predict certain behaviors, by controlling the antecedent and the consequence. I thought the examples were very helpful to my understanding. They forced me to think more than I would have if I only skimmed the reading. I also expanded my vocabulary. Before this assignment, I did not know the meaning of emit (doing a behavior) or elicit (bring about a certain behavior). With practice, I will be able to use these terms more comfortably. The second section emphasized the difference between reinforcement and punishment. I have been taught the difference between these before, but always have trouble identifying them in examples. I think that this course will help me retain the meanings of these words.
There wasn't anything I disliked about the book. The style was helpful, because it was easy to understand. A lot of textbooks get hung up on big words, and then have a hard time getting the message across to the students. This book was written for the students. It was clear and concise. The examples forced you to think beyond the reading. Overall, it was a lot of information though. So I hope we also go through some examples during class. After only reading two sections, I am confident that behavior modification is possible with the right knowledge and technique.
Before reading this part, I thought behavior modification means which just can make people to change their behavior getting better from their bad habits. In my country, my major also have behavior modification course. So I heard some information related the course from my friend who took that class. But it gave me not only limited information also wrong ideas.
Three things that I will remember from this section: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence. Actually I didn’t know that what is ABCs of behavior modification. Of course, professor MacLin already said that in class but I couldn’t understand well because of my poor English skills. I think I should remember these basic concepts for taking behavior modification class.
I like examples which can be helpful for understanding. So, especially I like the example that explains when someone tells a joke. Because it was so clear process of ABC’s , I can understand easily. And one thing I disliked about the chapter is response part. It is so difficult to explain my thought through writing than just thinking.
After reading this section, every result can be interpreted differently according to antecedents and consequences. Therefore, I knew that antecedents and consequences can be changed through controlling because I can make different behaviors.
I felt that I knew very little about the empirical study of of Behavior Modification. I was aware that human beings are capable of responding how they choose, or are trained to respond.
I remembered Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence. Antecedent creates context. Behavior is the action within context. Consequence is the result of the behavior.
I liked the use of boxes for the ABC's. The boxes spaced out the idea in a way that allowed me to develop understanding regarding the ABC's.
I have more knowledge of the language of Behavior Modification.
Before I read this chapter I was semi informed about behavior techniques. After figuring out my senior year of high school that I had a condition called Trichotillomania and that it was a psychological problem I began doing research and finding out ways to control the behavior. I really wanted to get into this class to not only continue my improvement, but learn how to handle other behaviors for the future. Because I have learned that problems that are negative can be controlled by learned behavior, I believe it is possible to change something even if you have had the problem your whole life.
Three things that I learned in the first chapter that will stay with me would first be the examples of the A,B,C’s with the same antecedent with the different outcomes. Because of the learned behavior we know the difference between calling a taxi and answering a question in class. By understanding the A,B,C’s you can easily identify the missing piece to any learned behavior. For example,
Antecedent- walk into a room
Behavior- flip a switch
Consequence- light turns on
Or
Antecedent- walk into a room
Behavior- Flip a switch
Consequence- light turns off
Both have the same A and B but could either have two outcomes.
Second part of section 1.1 that I will remember is the overall statement of by knowing the Antecedent and the Consequence the behavior can be easily identified or changed. This also leads to the third part that I agree with and will easily remember is that the environment can dictate behaviors where the behavior occurs. I agree with this statement, for when I began to be aware of my picking of trichatillomani, I was able to see what time of day, what room, what activity caused the most problem. By avoiding the feelings, areas, and events that cause the consequence you slowly can change the behavior.
The one part I may not fully agree with or understand is the comment about when the antecedent and consequence is known that the behaviors become more predictable. This statement I believe, but also there are many different ways and things people do things. Such as in the example of going to the market and getting food, the behavior could be many different things.
Overall my idea of behavior modification has not been changed for the fact that I believe that the brain can be trained and controlled with hard work and dedication. It is the skill of realizing and understanding the surrounding events of the behavior causing a consequence.
Before reading section 1 of the reading, I had an understanding of the types of reinforcement and punishment from an introductory psychology class. The terms positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment were very familiar to me because they have been mentioned in every psychology class I have taken. However, I have heard you use the terms “positive punishment” and “negative punishment” and I am not really family with those terms yet. I also knew before the reading that B.F. Skinner is considered a very important person to people studying behaviorism and behavior modification. Also, before reading, I didn’t really know exactly what the term “aversive” meant. I assumed through context clues that it must refer to something bad or unpleasant.
Something from the reading that I wouldn’t forget anytime soon is the ABCs because the entire reading was devoted to them. I now know that the ABCs stand for antecedent, behavior, and consequence. Every behavior has an antecedent and a consequence. In different settings, the consequence of the same behavior can be completely different. For example, the diagrams of the boxes showing the different consequences of telling a joke at a party versus at a funeral. I also learned that the term “aversive” actually does mean unpleasant, as I had guessed. Some other terms introduced into the reading regarding behavior are emit, elicit, and salient.
I liked all of the diagrams in the reading. At first, they seemed a bit repetitive and might have been a nuisance but they actually just cemented the idea of antecedent, behavior, and consequence in my head. I also liked that terms I didn’t quite grasp were in italics with the definition in parenthesis. I didn’t need to go to dictionary.com to look them up. There wasn’t really anything about the reading that I would say I disliked.
Since I didn’t know very much about behavior modification before the reading, I learned a lot of new terms and the basic stages of a behavior, the ABCs. What really got me thinking was the section in the reading about manipulation. It just made me wonder whether manipulation was just someone modifying your behavior so subtly you barely noticed.
Prior to reading this chapter I thought Behavior Modification would just look at boring examples of ways to reinforce or correct behavior. The reason I believed this was because that is typically what you cover in most classes in general you really do not always look at it in depth but just in means to memorize it and write it on a test.Three things that I remeber from the assigned text is that ABC's are not linear they influence each other, reinforcements can occur naturally or through the utilization of a reinforcement procedure, and self-reinforcers play a role in wether a behavior contiues to happen regardless of outside forces. The reason I remeber these is because of the examples and then having to complte them myself.The thing I really liked in this chapter was that it did not just dive into these crazy concepts but worked towards easily understandable ones with the use of examples and writing my own examples. The one thing i disliked about this chapter was that the terms got to me confusing because they seemed like they could be interchanged. Reading the chapter actually showed behavior modification's application rather than just droning on and on about concepts without stopping.
Before reading the sections from the book, I had my own ideas of what Behavior Modification is. My ideas were based on improving any behavior that an individual is not proud of. In other words improving an existing behavior to gain a better lifestyle skills. When reading the chapter it was easy to follow along and generate my own ideas and examples.
The ABCs (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence), I simply remember this by: Where is it happening, what are you doing, and the outcome.
For example:
A. At the mall
B. you steal
C. you get in trouble
The behavior a person does has specific consequences but its also important to keep in mind, where is the setting of the behavior that is being done.
I had a pretty good knowledge about reinforcement and punishment and which one to use and when. Basically if a behavior that someone is doing is desirable then an individual wants to increase that particular behavior.
Example: The mother saw that her kid made his/her bed in the morning without being told, so the mom gives the kid a candy bar.
When talking about punishment, you want to decrease the amount of occurrences of that behavior because it is aversive.
Example:
Mom or dad sees their two kids pushing each other, so they tell them they cant watch cartoons before bedtime, and I am guessing that their kids really like watching cartoons at this time, so they will stop being violent so they can get what they want.
Prior to reading this section of the book I thought behavior modification was going to be a lot like conditioning and Learning. I figured there would be similar terms (which there were, Reinforcement, Punishment adversive etc)and similar steps to get the action or behavior that you want to achieve. I thought this because I assumed it would be generally the same idea.
The three things that I will remember most about this reading are for sure the Antecedant, Behavior, Consequence sequence (ABC's of Behavior) because the book did a very good job of explaining this is a way that was easy to understand. I will also remember positive and negative valence because that is something I didn't know before. The third thing I remember most is the reinforcer and punisher because that is simialar to what I have learned in previous classes.
I really liked that the charts in the chapter that helped to lay out the ABC's of behavior. I am more of a visual learner I like to listen to someone talk about it or I want to see it drawn out like that. Sometimes reading a text book gets difficult because you are on page 40 of something you don't understand and your not even really reading the words anymore but this was broken up nicely into sections that were easy to understand and visual which gives you another view point.
I didn't really care for the writting sentences activities in the book I felt like the charts and the rest of it got the point across and those were not really necessary.
I thought behavior modification was going to be a lot more confusing that what I read in the chapter. I enjoyed Conditioning and Learning but I found it sometimes difficult to follow I think that was due to several things the difficult text being one of them. I feel much more confident that I understand what I just read from this chapter and confident that I could explain the ABC's of Behavior to someone just from reading this. I also think that behavior modification will be easier to apply.
Before reading this chapter, i was under the impression that there was far more to modifying a behavior than just the ABC's. It seemed to be a daunting task that many people would not attempt on their own. When broken down the way you have it, it seems rather simple, almost too easy. However, it makes a lot of sense. Antecedent, behavior and consequence are all linked to each other, without one, you cant have the other, and by knowing and understanding this relationship you can easily predict or even shape an individuals behavior. These three things make it very easy to remember and made the chapter quite enjoyable. I liked filling in the blocks, it reminded me of a word book game I played when i was younger. You can keep coming up with knew ideas and yet you would be able to figure out the solution. There wasn't anything that I didn't enjoy. I feel I have a good general understanding of behavior now and feel like I could begin to implement some of these ideas on myself.
Prior to reading chapter 1.1 on behavior modification, I really wasn’t sure what behavior modification was. I originally thought that behavior modification focused on changing your personal behavior rather than focusing on other’s behavior.
There are three things that I will remember after reading chapter 1.1. The first thing that I will remember is the words antecedent (before behavior), behavior, and consequence (after behavior) because these are the bases of behavior modification. The second thing that I will remember after reading the chapter are that when you know the relationship between the antecedent and the consequence, the behavior is clear. I will remember that behaviors are clearer when you know the relationship between the antecedent and consequence because you can logically fill in the blank for the behavior based on the information given before and after the behavior. The third idea that I will remember after reading the article is that when we control the antecedents and the consequences, we can start to control the behavior. I will remember this because if we know the antecedent and the consequence, we can accurately identify the behavior, and after we accurately identify the behavior or know what the behavior is, we can then work on controlling the behavior.
One concept that was included in chapter 1.1 that I enjoyed was the idea that consequences can be pleasurable or aversive. The concept is very simple, however I feel that many times people think of consequences as being aversive or undesirable. We often hear the phrase if you behave a certain way then you will suffer the consequences. The reading was a helpful reminder that consequences can also be pleasurable.
One idea that was included in chapter 1.1 that I disliked was not using the words positive and negative as descriptors. The only reason I don’t like the idea of not using the words positive and negative is because it will be hard to stop myself from using the two words.
The reading from chapter 1.1 has changed my original thought of behavior modification. My original thought of behavior modification was that it focused on changing one’s personal behavior. After reading chapter 1.1, I now recognize that behavior modification focuses on one’s personal behavior as well as everyone else’s behavior. I know understand how beneficial behavior modification can be when dealing with manipulation, predicting someone’s behavior, and knowing the outcomes of reward/punishment on behavior.
Before reading the first chapter of the book, I thought that this class was going to be more about reading behavior and somehow changing it. I was surprised to discover that in this class we will be diving more deeply into how to "manipulate", so to say, other peoples behaviors by recognizing them, analyzing them, and then modifying them if we want by knowing and distinguishing between the different parts and processes to changing or modifying someone's behavior or our own.
The first thing that I will remember about the chapter is the different parts to a behavioral outcome. I never realized how complex the antecedent, behavior, and consequence really were before reading Chapter 1.1. The second thing that I will remember about this chapter is how important the Antecedent is to a situation and how everyone's behavior is ultimately effected by the Antecedent. Depending on the situation that you are at, the appropriate behavior is chosen and by choosing the appropriate behavior, the desired consequence is hopefully displayed. The third thing that I will remember about this chapter is how detrimental it could be for someone to choose the wrong behavior to emit in the wrong situation or antecedent. By doing this, the consequence of the persons behavior emitted in the wrong situation could bring about a totally different consequence than if the right behavior was used.
I really enjoyed this chapter as a whole. There was not one particular thing that really jumped out at me in this chapter while I was reading it. The ABC's of Behavior Modification is so simple but yet so complex at the same time and is very fundamental to being able to understand this class and the material taught as a whole.
One thing that I didn't like about the chapter was the big exercise boxes. I think that the diagram boxes provide enough context for the student to understand and I don't think the student needs to come up with their own examples to really grasp the idea and concepts presented in the chapter.
I do agree that the book ABC's of B mod is very simple but at the same time it is very complex and it does take come practice to grasp the concepts and ideas!
When I thought about behavior modification, I thought the class would deal with how to change others and even your own behavior towards things in life. To be honest it is completely what I thought with a little extra twist. The language is not what I thought it would be, but it is pleasurable in many ways.
In 1.1 I will remember what pleasurable and aversive mean. This is because I love the though of how you can make something pleasurable or aversive. Also how every person takes a situation and chooses to make it pleasurable or aversive. I also will remember antecedent, behavior and consequence. I felt like this truely did explain a lot for me and how you control every part. Third I learned and will remember emmited and elicited. Emmited it to do a behavior while elicited is to make a behavior.
The one thing that I really liked in this chapter is how the chapter is layed out and the way the book is presented. The read is easy, which I find very pleasurable because it elicted my behavior to actually read. I hope I got that right!
There was not anything that I did not enjoy in the chapters. I am finding out that I have a lot to learn and that this semester is going to be filled with lots of pleasurable experiences!
By reading I have been able to see that I will have pleasurable reienforcement by staying in this class and continuing my reading for the chapters to come!
Before reading this chapter, I never thought about how behavior modification could be used to change your own behavior, and I didn’t realize that we do it all the time, everyday. I helped my roommate try to come up with some way to modify a behavior (for a class project she had to do) and I thinking of all these hard ways to do something. I just didn’t really know much about modifying a behavior. I only knew as much from what I was taught in other classes. That is what I thought behavior modification was before reading this section/ joining the class.
The one of the three things that I will remember from this chapter is the ABC’s, which are Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence. I was impressed and surprised, although I know it just doesn’t take those three things to change a behavior, by how these three steps do work. Another thing I will remember and try to understand is emit which is to do, and everything we emit there is always an antecedent and a consequence that follows. Another thing that I will remember is the behavior modification meaning of punishment and reinforcement. Reinforcement is the procedure used to increase of the frequency of a behavior and punishment is procedure used to decrease the frequency of a behavior. I will remember those because they are important term in understanding behavior modification.
I liked the layout of the chapter and how everything was explained and you could see through the charts all that were being talked about and the parts where I could fill them in and be able to actually knew what the chapter is talking about by actually doing it. As for something that I didn’t like about the chapter, there really wasn’t anything that I disliked about it. I think it was well explained throughout the chapter and I understood most of it.
I think it will be a very interesting class to learn about! I have always had an interest in behavior modification so I’m excited to really learn more about it!
Prior to reading sections 1.1 and 1.2, I thought that behavior modification was just the study of behavior. I mostly thought that behaviorists just observed behavior and made a hypothesis. I will remember what the ABC's of psychology refer to, What the term valence means and how to use it in my vocabulary, and I will be able to notice that someone smiling back at you means more than the actual gesture, it is a naturally occurring reinforcement. These first twm sections were very precise and to the point. I feel like there is nothing that should be changed. There was nothing in these sections I disliked. Section 1.1 was the most inoformative, but both have very useful information. After reading this chapter I now realize there is more to behavior modification than just observing people and their behaviors. It had its entirely own vocabulary and has more of a process than I expected.
Prior to reading this chapter, I had a general understanding for the way behavior works and what causes it, but I think I was a little mixed up on what some of the terms mean. For example, negative punishment means removing something that was ordinarily pleasurable and negative reinforcement can involve taking away something aversive.
Three things I will remember from the chapter are:
1. self reinforcement- the self-delivery of a
consequence following a particular behavior. I think this is important to know because we do it every single day and we may or may not be aware of it.
2. The ABCs of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) these are important to remember because it can help us to determine what type of behavior is appropriate in which setting.
3. Emit means to ‘do’ a behavior. Elicit means to ‘make’ a behavior occur. This is important to remember because the terms sound so similar but have very different meanings.
I liked that there were a lot of examples of real life behavior because it helps to relate to it easier.
So far there wasn't anything that I disliked.
Reading the chapter changed my thoughts in that I realized that the environment has a large factor on your behavior. Doing the same behavior in two different environments can have very different consequences.
Prior to reading this chapter, I had a general understanding for the way behavior works and what causes it, but I think I was a little mixed up on what some of the terms mean. For example, negative punishment means removing something that was ordinarily pleasurable and negative reinforcement can involve taking away something aversive.
Three things I will remember from the chapter are:
1. self reinforcement- the self-delivery of a
consequence following a particular behavior. I think this is important to know because we do it every single day and we may or may not be aware of it.
2. The ABCs of behavior (antecedent, behavior, consequence) these are important to remember because it can help us to determine what type of behavior is appropriate in which setting.
3. Emit means to ‘do’ a behavior. Elicit means to ‘make’ a behavior occur. This is important to remember because the terms sound so similar but have very different meanings.
I liked that there were a lot of examples of real life behavior because it helps to relate to it easier.
So far there wasn't anything that I disliked.
Reading the chapter changed my thoughts in that I realized that the environment has a large factor on your behavior. Doing the same behavior in two different environments can have very different consequences.
Prior to reading this chapters, I had a basic understanding of the fundamentals of behavior. Before I transferred to Northern Iowa, I swam shallowly in the pool of psychology at Knox College. I knew that every action had a consequence, and that actions can be prevented or stimulated.
The first thing I will remember, that I have actually brought up in conversation, is the example of a bad joker. The reason I will remember this example is because that action shows how self center a person can be. Even though Joe sees others not laughing, he doesn't care because he thinks the jokes are funny.
The second thing I will remember, regarding the ABC's, is a summary of my own. The ABC's can be compared to a mathematical situation. If we know what happened before (A), and we know what action was taken (B), then we can predict what will happen (C)therefore A+B=C. If we know A, and we know C, then we can conclude B (A+C=B). If we know B, and we know C, then we can assume A (B+C=A). But with these equations, this chapter left me wondering: If I A = B, and B = C, technically A = C; however C cannot exist with B.
The third thing I will remember is that environment has a strong impact on behavior. This information appeared to me as common knowledge that is highly over looked, yet can have serious long term consequences. A person uses illegal drugs because they were in a situation where it was made available. The predicted consequence of the abuse can be addiction. Addiction can be defeated if the person is removed from the environment in which the drug is available. However, this does not mean that the addiction is easily beat. The long term consequences that environment bestowed was compromised health, weathered appearance, and unstable mental health.
One thing I really like about this chapter was that it took the time to fully develop the readers understanding of ABC. On the contrary, I felt the chapter was redundant. I think the examples could have been condensed.
I think answering these questions has helped changed my opinion of Behavior Modification by allowing me to express my thoughts of the readings. I felt the reading itself was general, but at the same time it broadened my thoughts of how everything in life can be calculated and connected.