Please read sections 1.3 and 1.4 for this week.
After reading the sections, think of all the terms and concepts used in all of section 1 (1.1, 1.2 and the ones in these two sections). Please respond to the following questions and try to use these terms and concepts as you respond to the following questions.
Which section did you like the most? Why? Which section did you like the least? Why? What do you think is the most useful piece of information from section 1.3? Why? Most useful from 1.4? Why? What are your thoughts on the use of reinforcement? Why? What are your thoughts on the use of punishment? Why?
Prior to reading these sections, what did you think about behavior modification? Why? What are three things you will remember from what you read in the sections? Why? How has reading the sections changed what you originally thought about behavior modification? How so?
Finally indicate two topics or concepts that you would like me to cover in more depth in class.
Let me know if you have any questions.
I found the section 1.2 to be the most interesting to me. I can relate to this topic because I work in an environment where I see reinforcement and punishment quite often. I work with disabled and mentally handicapped children and we used reinforcement a lot with these children to encourage good behaviors and actions. There are times when punishment has been used with these children, but while working at this job I have realized that reinforcement works better than punishment. Reinforcement just helps to encourage better behavior and the children learn faster with reinforcement than punishment. So I guess my views on reinforcement are that it is a good thing and that it works better than punishment. I feel punishment just puts fear in children’s minds and then they are scared to every do anything similar to that action that they got punished for every again. Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, seems to have a better affect on learning behaviors.
I really didn’t find a certain section to be uninteresting, but I did find section 1.3 to be confusing. It is going to take some practice to learn how to word things correctly speaking in behavioral language. I just worry that I won’t understand or catch on to the language part as quickly as I hope to and I fear that I’ll mess up the language. Hopefully with a bit more discussion in class and working on it will help me get more confident in learning how to write or speak the language of behavior.
I felt that the most useful information from 1.3 was that you need to learn how to speak the language of behavior and how to use it correctly. If you don’t then and you use the wrong language you can misclassify behaviors and the information will be completely wrong and misleading to others. I personally felt that all the information in 1.4 is needed and useful. I didn’t know really most of those terms before I read this section so most of the information in 1.4 was useful and helpful to me in understanding how to used behavioral terms and the meanings of those terms.
Prior to reading these sections, I felt that behavior modification just dealt with aspects of behaviors and how behaviors can be affected or changed due to certain things or situations. The three things I will remember from these sections is that reinforcements are better than punishments in most cases, that you need to use behavioral language correctly or you could mislead information and findings, and that terms and behavioral principles are important to understanding the workings of behaviors. You really need to know the language and principles to have an understanding of the things and ways in which behaviors can change or be affected. These sections have changed as ideas on behavior modification and how I really need to pay attention to terms and how you use the terms.
I think I need a little more help on learning how to make correct sentences using behavioral language. I also think I could use a little more information on establishing operations and exactly all that in included in that term.
I start my training at a job this week that also deal with the mentally disabled. I have a good feel that I too will see this as well. It is great that your job has allowed you to understand and use reinforcement and punishment. But I do agree the reinforcement with children tends to work better.
The section that I liked the most was 1.5. I felt that section 1.5 did a very good job distinguishing between topographical and functional classes of behavior. After reading this section I now understand that that behavior can be defined by what they look like (topographical) or by what they accomplish (functional). I liked how the section gave examples of topographical behavior and functional classes of behavior and then allowed the reader to think of their own examples. I also enjoyed how the reading continuously reminded the reader how important defining target behavior is, the constant repetition of reminding the reader to be very specific when describing target behavior allowed me to not forget that information. I liked that the reading provided examples and provided the four outcomes of target behavior reinforcement, showing why a specific target behavior is important.
The section that I liked the least was section 1.3. I liked section 1.3 the least because I felt that the section didn’t expand enough on the why the language of behavior is very precise. I felt the section provided the reader with all of this information but didn’t provide any examples or reasoning.
The most useful piece of information from section 1.3 is that the language of behavior is very precise. I think it’s the most important information presented in section 1. 3 because the concept is mentioned in the two following sections and 1.3 devoted a whole section to expressing the importance of being very precise when describing behavior.
The most useful piece of information from section 1.4 would be all of the vocabulary. I liked how the section provided you with an actual definition of all of the vocabulary, but then broke it down into a more understandable definition and then allowed the reader to come up with their own examples. I felt the most useful information in the section was the vocabulary because the vocabulary words are going to be present in the remainder of the class and we will be expected to know how to properly communicate and describe behavior using the vocabulary included in this section.
The most useful piece of information from section 1.5 was clearly distinguishing topographical behavior (the way they look) vs. functional behavior (what they do/accomplish). The importance of knowing the difference between topographical and functional behaviors is important because although some behaviors appear to be similar they have very different purposes and some behaviors look very different but serve the same purpose.
My thought on reinforcement is that in order for reinforcement to be beneficial the target behavior should be clearly defined in order for reinforcement to work so that the reinforcer knows what specific behavior to reinforce and the individual emitting the target behavior understands what behavior is being reinforced. Also whenever the target behavior is emitted, the target behavior needs to be reinforced so there’s not an extinction of the target behavior. When the target behavior is not emitted, there should be no reinforcement. Also behavior that is not the target behavior should not be reinforced because it may cause the undesirable behavior to continue.
My thoughts on punishment are almost identical on my thoughts on reinforcement. In order for punishment to decrease the frequency of a target behavior, the target behavior should clearly be defined using precise descriptors of the target behavior. If the target behavior is not clearly defined then the reinforcer might punish the wrong behavior. Also when the target behavior isn’t clearly defined the individual behaving in the undesirable way may be confused as to which behavior they are being punished for.
Prior to reading these sections I believed that behavior modification was focused on changing your personal behavior because I felt that you couldn’t change anyone else’s behavior. I didn’t realize that behavior modification would be used to describe, predict, and manipulate your own as well as other’s behavior.
The three things that I will remember after reading these sections are that it is important to use precise language when defining behavior to allow behavior modification to work. I will also remember the two classifications of behavior are topographical (the way they look) and functional (what they do/ accomplish). The third idea that I will remember after reading the sections is that you can’t always judge a behavior by the way it looks. I will remember these three concepts mentioned the most because they were repeated in the readings several times and various examples were provided.
One thing that I really liked in all of the sections was that the reading provided examples to explain the most important concepts or vocabulary terms and then allowed the reader to come up with their own examples, which allowed the reader to make sure they could understand the concepts to the best of their ability. I also liked how the examples that the reader had to come up with had the reader use the concepts in the correct concept. In other words, when the reading asked the reader to come up with examples using specific vocabulary terms, the reader had to understand the correct way or context to use the term.
There wasn’t anything that I didn’t like in the sections. I would’ve liked to see more examples given in the sections, showing various ways vocabulary terms could be used.
After reading the sections my view on behavior modification has changed. I know understand that behavior modification doesn’t just focus on your own personal behavior. I now realize that behavior modification allows individuals to predict, manipulate, and evaluate behaviors at an individual as well as a group level. I also understand after reading the sections that behavior modification uses precise language to define behavior and understand the importance of clearly defining behavior.
I would like the vocabulary covered more in class. I understand the meaning of the vocabulary words, but am still having trouble putting the vocabulary words in the correct context. I’m still not comfortable with putting the new vocabulary into sentences or using the vocabulary words to describe behavior.
The section that I liked the most was 1.4. I felt that section 1.4 did a very good job defining the precise language used in behavior modification. I felt that this section was the most useful and could be used for the remainder of the class. I liked that the section allowed the reader to express their understanding of the section by allowing the reader to come up with their own examples.
The section that I liked the least was section 1.3. I liked section 1.3 the least because I felt that the section didn’t expand enough on the why the language of behavior is very precise. I felt the section provided the reader with all of this information but didn’t provide any examples or reasoning.
The most useful piece of information from section 1.3 is that the language of behavior is very precise. I think it’s the most important information presented in section 1. 3 because the concept is mentioned in the two following sections and 1.3 devoted a whole section to expressing the importance of being very precise when describing behavior.
The most useful piece of information from section 1.4 would be all of the vocabulary. I liked how the section provided you with an actual definition of all of the vocabulary, but then broke it down into a more understandable definition and then allowed the reader to come up with their own examples. I felt the most useful information in the section was the vocabulary because the vocabulary words are going to be present in the remainder of the class and we will be expected to know how to properly communicate and describe behavior using the vocabulary included in this section.
My thought on reinforcement is that in order for reinforcement to be beneficial the target behavior should be clearly defined in order for reinforcement to work so that the reinforcer knows what specific behavior to reinforce and the individual emitting the target behavior understands what behavior is being reinforced. Also whenever the target behavior is emitted, the target behavior needs to be reinforced so there’s not an extinction of the target behavior. When the target behavior is not emitted, there should be no reinforcement. Also behavior that is not the target behavior should not be reinforced because it may cause the undesirable behavior to continue.
My thoughts on punishment are almost identical on my thoughts on reinforcement. In order for punishment to decrease the frequency of a target behavior, the target behavior should clearly be defined using precise descriptors of the target behavior. If the target behavior is not clearly defined then the reinforcer might punish the wrong behavior. Also when the target behavior isn’t clearly defined the individual behaving in the undesirable way may be confused as to which behavior they are being punished for.
Prior to reading these sections I believed that behavior modification was focused on changing your personal behavior because I felt that you couldn’t change anyone else’s behavior. I didn’t realize that behavior modification would be used to describe, predict, and manipulate your own as well as other’s behavior.
The three things that I will remember after reading these sections are that it is important to use precise language when defining behavior to allow behavior modification to work. I will also remember that much of behavior modification relies on observation and classification. The third idea that I will remember after reading the sections is that you can’t always judge a behavior by the way it looks. I will remember these three concepts mentioned the most because they were repeated in the readings several times and various examples were provided.
One thing that I really liked in all of the sections was that the reading provided examples to explain the most important concepts or vocabulary terms and then allowed the reader to come up with their own examples, which allowed the reader to make sure they could understand the concepts to the best of their ability. I also liked how the examples that the reader had to come up with had the reader use the concepts in the correct concept. In other words, when the reading asked the reader to come up with examples using specific vocabulary terms, the reader had to understand the correct way or context to use the term.
There wasn’t anything that I didn’t like in the sections. I would’ve liked to see more examples given in the sections, showing various ways vocabulary terms could be used.
After reading the sections my view on behavior modification has changed. I know understand that behavior modification doesn’t just focus on your own personal behavior. I now realize that behavior modification allows individuals to predict, manipulate, and evaluate behaviors at an individual as well as a group level. I also understand after reading the sections that behavior modification uses precise language to define behavior and understand the importance of clearly defining behavior.
I would like the vocabulary covered more in class. I understand the meaning of the vocabulary words, but am still having trouble putting the vocabulary words in the correct context. I’m still not comfortable with putting the new vocabulary into sentences or using the vocabulary words to describe behavior.
The section that I liked the most was section 1.2 on reinforcements and punishments. I liked this section because I can easily apply it to my everyday life. Reinforcements are used to increase the frequency of a behavior and punishments, on the other hand, are used to decrease the frequency of a certain behavior. By knowing what these words mean, I am better able to use them in my life. All behaviors that we do have a consequence, whether they be good or bad. By adding reinforcements or punishments, we are better able to alter certain behaviors. Another part of this section that I found useful was the concept of self-reinforcement. This could be as simple as patting yourself on the back when you do something good. On the first day of class our professor asked who had made a New Year's Resolution. This concept could be applied to those students who did make one. A positive self-reinforcement could make them be more likely to continue with their resolution instead of giving up.
There wasn't a section that I particularly did not like. I did, however, find section 1.3 to be the most confusing. Being able to talk fluently the language of behavior will take a lot of practice and I got a little bit intimidated while reading the section. I am always afraid that I will not be able to understand the language. I think that it will be necessary to break it down into smaller pieces to get a better grasp at what everything means.
The most useful part from section 1.3 was that it is possible for people to learn how to speak the language of behavior. Not everyone is going to understand it right away, but with enough practice, it is possible. I think that the section did a good job on reinforcing that idea.
The most useful part of section 1.4 was all of the definitions. There were clear definitions that were not too difficult to follow. Even though there are a lot of them, they all relate to each and go back to the original subject of reinforcements and punishment.
My thoughts on reinforcements are that they are a good thing when used appropriately. In order for a reinforcer to work properly, we have to have a clear definition on the behavior that we are trying to modify.
The same thing goes with punishment as it does with reinforcer, there has to be a clear definition on the behavior that we are trying to modify.
Prior to this class, I thought that behavior modification meant that we are trying to figure out why individuals do what they do and then we would try to alter it. After reading chapter 1, I have realized that there is so much more to it then what I originally thought. I didn't realize that there was a "language of behavior."
The first thing that I will remember are the ABC's of behavior modification-antecedent (setting the occasion for the behavior), the actual behavior, and the consequence of that behavior. The second thing I will remember is that a punishment is to decrease the frequency of a behavior and reinforcements are meant to increase the frequency of a behavior. The third thing I will remember is that the language of behavior can describe almost all situations: everything has a consequence.
One topic that I would like to discuss more in depth during class would be all of the definitions. I think by going over them more and more will help them to sink in and be better able to actually use them.
The section that I liked the most was section 1.4 because we learned so many new behavioral terms that I have not seen in my psychology courses prior to this one. The one I found most interesting is target behavior because it is hard to pinpoint every target behavior in our daily routines; therefore we are always learning something new. While reading this area of the section I found myself stopping and thinking of many target behaviors that I have just in a small amount of time while doing my daily work. The section that I liked the least was 1.3 because I found it a bit confusing. Learning about language has never really interested me, but I am more than willing to take another shot at it especially since it is an area in something I love to learn about; psychology. I am interested in trying to get a better understanding about it, possibly while discussing it with classmates or even doing more research about it.
The most useful part about section 1.3, to me, is the discussion about learning the terms by being forced to use them in real life experiences rather than just studying them and writing definitions down on paper. I think it is important for us to take what we learn in the text and in class and apply it to our everyday lives so we can get the hang of it and put our new knowledge to good use. The most useful part about section 1.4 to me is that we learn many new terms and vocabulary that we can add to our routines. As I said before, it is important that we use these outside of class and while talking to other people, especially those interested in psychology, because it can widen our horizons and also help us teach others what we have learned.
My thoughts on reinforcement are that we should become more familiar with the demands and experience behind it. I personally love giving compliments when I see a hairdo I like or an outfit, because it always makes me feel good when I receive them as well. I feel that reinforcement is a great concept because it is kind of a foundation for moves we make every day. Punishment is similar for me in this case because I feel without it, we won’t learn much in life. If what we do doesn’t have a consequence then I don’t see a motive or a reason for doing it in the first place.
Before I read these sections, I didn’t know a whole lot about behavior modification. I was kind of in the dark about where to even begin because although I had learned about reinforcement and punishment in my psychology classes a few years ago, I never saw it as behavior modification and now I can see why it fits into that area. The three things I will remember most from these sections are that we need to work on language in everything we do, reinforcement is something that we can control but don’t always notice, and that punishment is a key to learning why we do things and why we don’t. Reading these sections has changed what I thought about behavior modification because, like I stated before, I never really knew what it consisted of so I didn’t know what to think coming into it.
Some things I would like to cover more in class are all the terms that we learned in the sections because there were so many of them and it is hard grasp each one in a small period of time. Also, I would like to discuss more about language so I can learn more about the importance of it.
The section that I enjoyed the most was the section 1.2 on reinforcement and punishment. I had so many examples going through my head while reading this section because I have a four year old daughter who I am constantly trying to modify her behavior with positive reinforcement and punishment. There was an example of a natural consequence that came to mind right away when reading this section , and it was when my daughter asked me to make her one of her favorite shakes, and I don’t make this too often because it takes a while to make, but this time I did. She was so excited she was getting it she was squirmish in her seat and bouncing around the kitchen. I told her numerous times to settle down. When I gave her the shake she would take a sip, then dance and sing about how much she loved it, & I continuously told her to relax, sit down and drink it, but because she didn’t listen, she knocked the shake off the table & it spilled all over the floor. She was scared I was going to be mad about her spilling, but I calmly said, pick up the cup, get a towel and clean it up. She did so, while crying, and asked why I didn’t yell at her for spilling, and I told her because now you just don’t have the shake, that is what happens. This upset her because she wanted me to make her another, but this was her natural consequence for not relaxing like I asked, she had to clean it up herself and she didn’t have a shake. Im sure she would have preferred a time out and another shake;)
My least favorite section so far is 1.3 just because its about the language of behavior, and I am more interested in the behavior and the way to modify it than the language of it. It is somewhat confusing when the language and words are so similar, like extinction and extinction burst, but I look forward to learning more about these and easier ways to understand them, even if it is in a song or rhyme.
I thought it was useful in section 1.3 to be able to see some of the language used in examples, like the fables, it made more sense what the terms were rather than just the definition of the term. For example, I didn’t understand completely what extinction was exactly, but after reading it in the original crow story and then in language fable, it was easier to understand. In section 1.4, I enjoyed reading about satiation, because it’s the idea that there can be too much of a good thing. It seems this is something I say a lot, everything needs to happen in moderation. I was however, sort of confused abut the discriminative stimuli, and this is something I would like to discuss more in class.
My thoughts on punishment and reinforcement is that they both work well, but everyone and every situation is different. I have learned that reinforcement with my four year old now works better than punishment. When I notice her doing some thing good, or something I want to encourage I tell her how good of a job she is doing and make sure to tell others in front of her, reinforcing this good behavior. I also always try to encourage her good decisions with this same method. I want to learn more about these ideas in this class, and elicit my daughters positive choices in things like when she emits to clean her room.
I think the most interesting chapter for me was 1.4 because it was filled with so much useful vocabulary. Sometimes it’s good to just lay out all the vocabulary you need so you have a neat reference all in one place. I feel like I probably learned the most from this one because it had the most new information and was explained very well so that I really didn’t have any questions after reading it.
The section I liked the least was probably section 1.3. Probably just because it was a little more boring than the rest of the sections, because it was just telling us how it’s tough to use the language of behavior with lots of examples on how to do so. However, I still found it to be informative.
The most useful information in 1.3, I think, was the instruction to make sure we use the behavioral terminology in the correct ways. I have a tendency to write a lot and not think about all the words I’m using and if they are correct and/or make sense, so I think this will help me make more educated decisions in verbalizing my knowledge of behavior and other topics in psychology.
There was a lot of useful information in section 1.4 because there was so much vocabulary that we will probably be using a lot throughout this semester, and our lives if we continue on with psychology in the future. Vocabulary terms like satiation— kind ofmeaning than an organism has had it’s fill and doesn’t need any additional reinforcement, and elicited or emitted are also good vocabulary terms that I’ll probably use a lot throughout the course of my education in psychology.
I think reinforcement is a great way to change or continue positive behaviors. If an organism is being reinforced for a continuous behavior, than they will probably continue the behavior because the outcome is pleasurable for them. I thing both reinforcement and punishment is important for changing behaviors, but in my opinion, reinforcement may have a better overall outcome.
I think the use of punishment, like reinforcement, has a distinct time and place. I think in a more obvious sense, like applying positive corporal punishment to children, or taking something pleasurable away from them (or an animal), negative punishment, to change a behavior should either be used very sparingly, or hand in hand with positive and negative reinforcers. Otherwise it has been noted that future bad behaviors may occur because they only know of punishment. For example, if a child is being punished every time they try to learn something, or are being badly criticized for their school work, the child will no longer want to learn, which isn’t good for anybody in the situation.
I’m not sure if I had a definite opinion about behavior modification before reading these sections/starting this course. I guess I just thought it would be interesting and teach us how to understand and/or change behavior/behavioral processes.
Some things I’ll probably remember from these sections will be the ABC’s of behavior which were the antedecent, behavior, and consequence. I found this the most memorable because it reduces basically everything we do into a little behavioral formula.
I found establishing operation, which means to make a reinforcer more reinforcing, along with an abundance of other vocabulary words memorable because they’ll be useful in understanding behavior and other topics In psychology. I also found the free feeding weight concept interesting in regard to experimental rats in psychology, where experimenters record the weight of the rat when it is allowed to feed freely and then deprive it until it’s reached a proportion of it’s free feeding weight before they conduct an reinforcement experiment. I found that topic memorable because it involves certain methods about experimentation which can be interesting to learn about.
After starting this course, behavior modification isn’t exactly what I thought it was going to be, not that that’s a bad thing. There are things I like and dislike about it, but like other topics in psychology, a lot of processes within behavior modification follow a formula, which is interesting and essentially simplifies something that most people often think about as very complex.
If I could learn more about anything, I’d probably want to go over operant responses and discriminative stimuli. I mostly got the gist of the ideas but I think going over them a little more might give me a better understanding of the concepts.
I like section 1.1 the most, because I understand the ABC’s very well, I like how the definitions were easy to understand and the behavior sequence was easy to follow, because it went hand in hand, learning that we aren’t always aware of the behaviors emit daily was sort of a shocker to me. I kind of thought in my own way that we did, because we knew what card to play to get what wanted, also used when manipulating someone or a situation, but it is true that we are really unaware of some of the behaviors we emit. I realize I do things that get a reaction/consequence that I did not think would have happened and it also depends on the antecedent/”setting” of where this behavior takes places.
I would have to say I liked section 1.3 the least, because I think at first and maybe for a while I might struggle with “the language of behavior.” There is going to be so much information to take in and understand that I might get confused and find myself not sure how to use the language at the appropriate times or even use the wrong definitions to explain certain behaviors, also that there are many different way to explain the same thing will be confusing and difficult. The most useful piece of information was all the examples that were stated for you and how to use the correct words to explain a behavior and so on, it helped put the behaviors into real sentences and situations that made it easier to understand and be able to put your own thoughts into play.
The most useful information hands down were the definitions broken down and written out for us to learn and understand and there were examples backing it up to understand how to use the terms.
Reinforcement: “Used in behavior modification to increase the frequency of behavior.” I love it, for example when we my brothers and I were younger and sat at the dinner table our dad would poke you with a fork in your arm if you had or elbows on the table or call you out and embarrass you, that being said we would no longer want to embarrassed of that behavior that it “forced” you not do that anymore, this could be confused as a punishment, but him reinforcing our behaviors.
Punishment: I think punishment is necessary in many situations and it helps people change behaviors that don’t appeal to others or when someone does something that bothers you. Especially when dealing with children, people come to realize certain behaviors receive punishment and it’s not something they like or want to receive.
Prior to reading these sections I did not think behavior modification was going to be so complex or using an entirely different language to explain behaviors more in depth, the terms used make since, it’s just a lot of information to learn and understand how to use it in the correct format. 3 things I will remember: The ABC’s, because that was easy and simple to follow, emitting behavior is doing, the words positive and negative are replaced with the words pleasurable or aversive. After reading the sections I realize this is going to be a lot more in depth learning of terms and the language used to explain behaviors, it’s not simple like read, memorize, explain and analyze in your words, you are going to need to be able to explain things using the correct terms, not your own.
It’s kind of vague, but I would like to cover the terms and examples in class more, just so it will get easier to be able to understand them and maybe explain the language to us.
The section I found most interesting and informative was 1.4 because it gave me some new information I hadn’t heard in Intro during the few lectures we spent on behaviors. I found the new information extremely useful, especially because I had some difficulties with wording in my topical blog on Thursday. I wasn’t entire sure on what words to use where and I didn’t want to be confusing. In hindsight, I should have just read ahead and figured it out then.
Section 1.2 gave me the least amount of new information, so I found lit less interesting than the others. If I hadn’t already learned most of what it talked about, though, I would have found it more interesting. Knowing the difference between positive and negative reinforcement and punishment and how to use them is key to a lot of what is talked about, so if I were going into this without any prior knowledge, I think I’d be most interested in this section.
The most useful part of 1.3 was definitely the examples on how to “translate” into behavior language. I learn best with examples, so that part really helped me understand the rest of the section. Reading about the need to speak the language of behavior was useful, but the examples really made it stick.
All the terms from 1.4 were what I liked the best. As I said before, I found it the most interesting because it had the largest amount of new information for me. Getting all of the terms at once like that can be tedious to read through and memorize, but I know I’ll be referring back to this section until I get the hang of it.
I think that reinforcement is the most effective way to change a behavior. From the time I was 12 until I got a ‘real’ job at 17, I babysat for a variety of families with all types of children. Sitting children in the corner, scolding them, or taking away toys/dessert/etc for bad behaviors really just irritates the kid more. Most of the kids I dealt with would find some way to be even more obnoxious to myself and their siblings after a punishment was doled out. They usually did better when rewarded with an extra story before bedtime or an extra scoop of ice cream after dinner and praises for good behaviors. Punishment does have it’s place, some of the kids worked better with time-outs and removal of toys, and I certainly wasn’t going to ignore bad behavior to solely focus on praising the good. I think there’s a delicate balance for optimal behavior modification, and it’s different for every child.
Before reading these sections, I viewed behavior modification as the stereotyped “behavior manipulation” type of thing. I didn’t really think about all the reinforcers and punishers that affect how everyone acts, and I especially didn’t notice how often I employ the techniques to get people to act in ways I want. It’s not necessarily selfish, but it does make life a little easier. I’ll definitely remember that I am subjected to and employ behavior modification tactics when I’m not even aware of it, I’ll remember (or at least try my best to remember) all the terms from 1.4 so I can effectively convey my thoughts. And lastly, I’ll how the ABCs interact with each other instead of in a strict A to B to C manner.
I definitely would like the behavior terms covered more in class. The textbook is great, but I don’t think I fully grasp what each term means. I would also like to understand the concept of an extinction burst a little better. I’m not quite sure I know how to define it.
I do agree with you. When we have examples to bounce off of, it tends to stick with us as long as we understand what is being said. I like your relating the vocb to babysitting. I too babysat since I was little and you do catch on to what upsets the child more when it comes to dicipline.
I really enjoyed reading section 1.4 although it has a lot of terms and I will probably have to reread the section to fully grasp the concepts but I thought it was really informative and interesting. I love learning new terms and how those terms apply to behavior modification. There wasn’t really a section I liked less, but I guess 1.3 but it wasn’t really that bad to read. It was a real easy read.
So there really isn’t a reason I didn’t like it. I thought it was very informative that behavior has a different language and that it was properly explained (more terms were said in 1.4). I liked how it was compared to learning a new language. I thought it was a good way to really understand what it means to have a certain language. It kind of reminded me of how music has its own language and you have to learn that in order to play it fluently. You don’t learn music all in one shot but you build up on it, and that is what I think of when trying to learn the terms of behavior modification. I just have to keep saying the words over and over again and reread them again and again to really understand and be able to use them.
The terms that were used in 1.4 such as operant behavior with is the network of factors and events involved in the behavior of human and non-human animals. I thought that it was interesting to learn all of the terms. Although like mentioned above I’ll have to reread the terms to really know and understand them. But other than that the most usefully information is all the terms that are used and when the definition is said and then a really good example is said right after to really understand what it means.
I never really thought about the use of reinforcement, but I think it is interesting with how it can be used. I posted a video on one of my prior blogs on The Big Bang Theory and how reinforcement was used with the behavior he wanted to be used and he rewarded her with chocolate. I think that it is interesting that something like that can influence someone else’s behavior. So, if it works without hurting something I think it is very interesting.
Again, I really never thought about the use of punishment, but again referring to the video that I posted earlier, when one of characters did something the other did not like he sprayed him with water. It was for the humor sake of the show but I felt it did a good job at showing what punishment was. Which is defined as (like in the chapter) a decrease in the strength of a response following the application or removal of a stimulus. I guess again I think that it can be used if it isn’t really harming anything. A good one is if you are trying to change how much someone said a bad word and every time they say something bad you would completely stop talking to them. I think that eventually when you are taking away your conversation with them when they say it they will eventually change what they say. I don’t think that is harmful so the use of it I don’t see why it would be wrong.
I didn’t think that behavior modification had all the terms. So, prior to reading the sections I knew about punishment and reinforcement. I didn’t know about target behavior or emitted, elicited or discriminate stimulus. So I thought it was all about reinforcement and not really anything else. I thought it was a long drawn out process that took A LOT of work and was really hard to do. I know it’s not easy but I didn’t know the steps behind changing someone’s behavior. I didn’t know it had all the terms behind it when I thought of taking behavior modification.
I’ll try and remember all the terms that I have learned. The three things that I will remember are that behavior modification builds up and that what you learn you will need to remember to continue learning about behavior modification. Another thing I learned is elicit means to make the behavior occur and emit mean to do the behavior. Another thing that I learned from the sections is about the free feed weight which refers back to deprivation which is withholding any stimulus which serves as a reinforcement. The free feed weight is just one way this is used when using deprivation.
I’ve said this several times, it’s changed the why I think about behavioral modification in the sense that it has its own language and that you have to really understand the terms to understand what someone might be talking about when discussing behavior modification.
I would like the discussion of the terms in class because there are a lot of them and to have someone talk more about them would help a lot while trying to learn them. I think that would be good to really understand them better. There wasn’t much more besides that.
After reading some more of the sections within the few weeks I wanted to expand on idea of punishment and reinforcement, more on positive and negative punishment and reinforement. Before this blog I didn't really understand the difference after reading chapter 2 (2.1 and 2.2 and going into a little of 2.3) I wanted to write more on it. Negative reinforcement is the removal of an aversive stimulus, upon emitting a target behavior with the goal of increasing the frequency of a response. The example is used about decreasing a fine when you drive well for a few months. While positive reinforcement is introducing a desirable stimulus, upon emitting a target behavior with the goal of increasing the frequency of a response. I used in another blog about a child walking into classroom and was quiet and the teacher praised the child. That child will continue to walk into the classroom quietly.
I wanted to also discuss positive and negative punishment because I really didn't understand it. Positive punishment is the introduction or addition of an aversive stimulus upon emitting an undesirable behavior, with the goal of decreasing the frequency of such a response, i.e. getting hit for sitting down it will decrease the likelihood of them sitting down. Negative punishment which is the removal or subtraction of a desirable stimulus upon emitting an undesirable behavior with the goal of decreasing the frequency of such a response. I.e your friends stop taking you to movies because you talk to much.
After reading all the sections I thought I would expand more on reinforcement and punishment! I'm glad I am understanding it more through the reading that I am doing and looking back at what I wrote and being able to expand on that.
Which section did you like the most? Why?
Out of all the sections I found section 1.1 most pleasurable. This is due to that fact that you control your antecedent and behavior which then allows you to most then likely get the correct consequence. This section made me realize how salient and concrete the behavior modification words truely can be. I was able to see that you are in charge of anything and everything that you do.
I have not came to a section that I have not liked, this is due to the fact that the reading is easy and the teacher has allowed the enviroment to be a fun and enjoyable.
To me the most useful piece of information was the part about extinction and extinction blast. I find this very useful because it shows that you have to make an action in order for one to get what they want. This shows that one has to suffer before things can get better. Which sounds like life in general. I however do no understand it completely but all in good time it will come to me.
I felt like the whole section was useful. It was a recap of words that I have already learned and at the same time new words were introduced. I know that will emit ways that I will be able to understand fully all the words. I feel that this section was pleasurble but difficult at times to understand.
Reinforcement is very useful to those who was want a pleasurable behavior to continue. Reinforcement to me is something that is done to someone to continue the pleasurable actions or behaviors. I for the most part relate reinforcement as a pleasurable consquence.
My thoughts on punishment also are pleasurable because you are dealing with adversive behavior and are not happy with them. With punishment you are able to try things in order to get a pleasurable outcome and the behavior that you are wanting. I overall thing that reinforcement and punishment happen everyday but we do not stop to think about it much.
I thought that behavior modification was going to be an interesting class. I had just picked up a psychology minor at the end of the fall semester and so I have been going into it with an open mind. It is a very interesting class and I know that in the end of this semester my behavior will change and in change I mean pleasurable way.
Three things that I rememeber from the reading are that behavior mod. has its own language and is very diverse from the other languages that are spoke in the college and outside world today. Also pleasurable is positive and avserive is negative. The reason for remembering this is because I tend to look at this world as either being pleausurable or aversive. Along with every antecedent, behavior and consequence. One can choose to elicit pleasurable or aversive behavior or responces. Third and formost that I will learn in this class and it will allow me to become a better person because I will view things differently.
Reading the sections has changed my view already because I am starting to see that I can control everything that I do. Along with control how it comes. Life is a true blessing when you look at it. The readings has allowed me to see where I have messed up in life and how I could of changed things.
I have been able to understand almost everything for the most about. I am able to get a good grip about what the teacher is wanting me to learn and understand. I do feel that talking over the words in clas will help me along with others understand more of what is truely going on in the reading.
I really enjoyed reading section 1.3. I found the relationship between deprivation and satiation really interesting. The term extinction also added a bit of spice to the section as well. I enjoyed this section because it really helped solidify sections 1.1 and 1.2 in my mind. It also showed me how important it will be to learn and know all the terms presented throughout the book and got me excited to learn more about the class so that I will be able to translate what Skinner and Goldiamond are talking about.
What I liked least about the two sections is all of the terminology that was thrown at us in 1.3 and 1.4. I felt a bit overwhelmed with all the information. Breaking it apart or giving examples and more in depth explanations would have helped a bit on the information overload.
I think the most important information presented in 1.3 was about the terms deprivation, satiation, and extinction. Although all the terms that are learned throughout this course will be of great importance, I thought those three terms were highlighted on very well in this section.
I thought that section 1.4 as a whole was very important. I felt that this chapter along with the last three have been crucial to understanding this class because it is a comprehensive setup where what you learn in the beginning is built upon as the semester goes on. When thinking about the terms reinforcement and punishment, I think back to my Intro to Psych class. These terms and Skinner himself were just grazed upon in this course but I remember the information pretty well. My thoughts on these terms is that they are opposites of each other. As Dr. MacLin stated in class today, it is more important to dwell on the reinforcements rather than the punishments. Not to say that reinforcements are more important than punishments, but that reinforcements are more desired than punishments in most situations.
Before reading sections 1.3 and 1.4, I only had a brief understanding of the concept of Behavior Modification, but after reading both sections I now realize that there is so much more to it and my understanding and knowledge of the subject has increased. Three things that I remember so far is that this class is going to have its own language, that it is important to have a good grasp on the terminology of this class because being able to "decifer" sentences is an ultimate outcome of taking this class for myself, and that everything learned so far is really interconnected and this has been really interesting so far and not what I had expected from the beginning. I think that we should keep going over the terminology and practicing it a lot because being able to practice this "language" often will just improve everyone's understanding overall.
The section I liked the most was section 1.4. It was very interesting to learn all the terms and how to use them in sentences. I think that this section will be the most helpful to go back and study the terms for further use of them in are writings. The section also did a nice job of not only explaining the terms but also it gives great examples for those terms as well. This really helps in the ability to relate the terms to real life. Also having the writing spaces for us to write the sentences are very good practice.
My least favorite section was 1.3. I felt like this section contained a lot of what we learned the first two chapters and then it tried to incorporate section 1.4 in it a little bit too. I feel that this section could have been combined with section 1.4, because it would have been nice to know some of those terms and their definitions before we started to write out those paragraphs.
I think the most useful information I took away from section 1.3 was when the paragraph about Aesop’s Fables was translated into behavioral terms. It really helped to see how it would be to write out everyday life events in behavioral terminology. It also helped in getting to know the terminology better as well.
The most useful information in section 1.4 was the breaking down of each behavioral term. It really helps to get to know terminology when there are precise definitions and good examples to back up the terminology. Also, since we keep building on these terms throughout the class it’s a nice section to go back and study so the terms can remain fresh in your mind.
I think that reinforcement is the best way to teach something the desired behavior you want it to learn. You need to have a good target behavior so that the behavior you’re trying to teach is clearly understood and not mixed up with other behaviors. It’s also important to have establishing operations so that it makes the reinforcer more attractive to the organism. If all those factors are set then reinforcement can be a very effective tool in shaping organisms behaviors.
Punishment is very good tool to get rid of a certain behavior, but it’s not a good tool for learning. Its greatest uses in my opinion are to have shape an organism’s behavior when that behavior is unwanted. So when punishment is used, the organism relates the punishment to the behavior that occurred before it was punished and so that unwanted behavior will decrease. Punishment isn’t good for teaching an organism what kind of behavior you want it to do, it just tells it the behavior you don’t want it to do.
Before reading these sections, I really didn’t know much about behavior modification. I’ve heard a lot of the terms that are in the sections I read, but I have never used them in depth like we have so far in this class. I have mostly just had brief encounters with the terms in other psychology classes and so I really had no idea what it was all about.
Three things I will remember from the sections are the terminology, how to use the terminology in sentences, and how the terms are used to change behavior. The terminology will easily be remembered because I will use it throughout the remainder of the class so it’s important to know what I’m talking about. Also to know to know how to use the terms in a sentence will be of great value to me when I’m writing out further blogs for the class. Finally, learning about how each term has connections to one another in changing an organism’s behavior and the process you need to do them is a good thing to remember as well.
Reading the sections has gave me a general idea about what the class is about and what behavior modification has to do with changing a person’s behavior. I now know the basics of behavior modifications and I can build on knowledge throughout the rest of the class.
Things I would like to have covered in class more would be the terms and how to use them in sentences. It takes awhile for me to learn and use new things so having extra examples of those things would help.
How has reading the sections changed what you originally thought about behavior modification? How so?
The section I enjoyed the most was section 1.4, due to the fact that it gave us the change to actually write out and apply the concepts in writing. Allowing us to learn and understand them by writing it out, even when they could be confusing. My least favorite was 1.3 due to it was a smidgen more confusing then 1.4 and understand it enough to write things down was hard. The most important thing I got from the section 1.3 was the story of the Crow and the water pitcher, it described the concepts and emitted behaviors in a easier to follow way. 1.4's important feature was the vocabulary provided and allowing use to use them. As for my thoughts on reinforcement, I think its the better choice of trying to train a children or animals. However, in some cases punishment may be necessary to make things work. However, when inflicting pain as a punishment I look down on.
Before reading these sections I actually didn't quiet realize how much Behavior Modifications were present in our lives. They are practically everywhere wither someone else influence the behavior or the environment itself. I will remember the story of the Crow and the Pitcher, the vocabulary and how confusing some of them are, and how speaking in the language of Behavior is going to take some work.
I thought B-Mod was rather simple and would use the same words and understand of your average English. These sections have changed how I look at Behavior Modification more deeply since it really does have it's own in depth way of speaking and interpretations.
My favorite section so far would have to be section one. I found the ABC concept to be rather intriguing. I would have never thought that antecedent, behavior, and consequence could easily be put into almost any situation. I also never really realized that by altering one of them, you risk the possibility of altering all three. It is said, “For every behavior we emit (do) there is an antecedent and a consequence.” I see this as, for every action there is a reaction.
As far as a section I didn’t like, I don’t really think that there was any that I disliked. Some of them just took a bit longer than others to understand. For example positive punishment. That kind of tripped me up until we talked about it in class. It’s difficult to grasp the fact that a punishment can be positive, but when described as disciplining your child, for example, it makes much more sense.
The most useful piece of information in section 1.3 would probably be the parts about elict and emit. It is important to remember that although the words are very close sounding, they have two very different meanings. Elict means to make a behavior and emit means to do the behavior (not the same as an involuntary behavior, but more so that a stimulus gets you to make a behavior.)
The most important part in section 1.4 would be the parts about the target behavior( the behavior of interest for which you are attempting to increase or decrease in frequency) and operant behavior( the network of factors and events involved in the behavior of human and non human animals.) So in more simple terms, target behaviors are those that we aim for. It could be us increasing or decreasing a behavior. Operant behaviors are more open-ended. They set the stage for what kind of action will occur.
My thoughts on reinforcement are all pretty positive. I believe that reinforcement is one of the best things to use in parenting to get your kid to help out and be responsible. Pretty much the same goes along with punishment, though I do believe that punishment should be used in heavy moderation.
Prior to reading all of this, I had no idea what bmod even was. To be honest, I’m still in the process of figuring that out. Three things I will remember are punishment, reinforcement, and deprivation. Basically because these three terms as the most simple for me to understand thus far and are used in everyday life.
Reading the sections actually gave me an idea what to expect out of this course and a general idea what behavior is.
The only topic that I can really think of that I am interested in is how we can focus on the behaviors of those who suffer from mental illnesses and substance abuse. I’m pretty open to learning anything else.
I section that I enjoyed the most would be 1.2, close second would be 1.3. I liked 1.2 the best because it helped me fully grasp the concept of punishment and reinforcement. I used to get those two terms mixed up in previous classes and I think it is because I thought negative reinforcement and punishment were the same thing, but I now know it’s not. Reinforcement has always been of interest to me as well because as I previously mentioned I believe reinforcement to be a powerful motivator in the workplace, and it other settings as well. Punishment works in some occasions but it most often just instills fear in the organism. It’s been proven that fear works well in the short term but not in the long term. 1.3 was a very good section as well. I loved all the examples that were given to help understand the terms. I learn well by examples. Section 1.4 was a good section as well but I found that I was just bombarded with a bunch of terms that is going to take me a week or so to fully understand and be able to incorporate in my language for class. It did have a lot of those practice boxes though that was very helpful. It will just take time for me to understand, like the sections said, it’s not going to happen overnight. I believe that reinforcement should be used first, punishment last. I suppose there are certain situations where punishment would be the only option, but I’m talking about in general. I was talking to my parents this weekend about punishment and my mom started feeling bad about the fact that she had spanked when I was little. She only did about maybe three times maximum. I remember one certain occurrence when I was living in New York. I was about four years old at the time. I decided it would be a good idea to completely disregard all the traffic signals and run across a busy intersection. My mother was livid and she punished me and used negative reinforcement as well (took away my barbies). I never ran across the street again, but I think her punishment was not the cause. I think running across the street in general was a punishment, it was very scary. Maybe punishment in that occurrence was necessary, because it helped me understand the severity of my actions. Prior to taking this class, whenever I thought of behavior modification I thought of Pavlov’s dogs and Skinner’s rats and whenever I mentioned to one of my friends that I was taking a class called behavior modification that it what some of them would mention as well. Behavior modification sounds like a narrow topic that I was surprised to find out there was an entire class dedicated to it, but there must be a lot of things I do not know and I am excited to find out. I want to learn about what different situations are applicable/appropriate for either punishment or reinforcement and how to know which one to use in any given situation or is up to our discretion. I also would like to learn about behavior modification. The other thing I would like to go over in class is sentence practicing with the new vocabulary. I thought I had grasped the concept of emit and elicit but those two very different words are easy to mix up.
Out of all the sections in chapter one I liked 1.1 the best, probably because I liked the idea that the ABC's are all connected and not linear. Any part of the sequence cn be changed, therefore possible changing the other parts.
It is not that I disliked section 1.2 it just seemed more like a review of section 1.1 and extenstion of it that could have been in 1.1.
In my opinion the most useful part from section 1.3 was the difference and explaination on how to use elicit and emit. It will be nice to practice using these terms more often and impress people or confuse them, by using them.
The terms being outlines in section 1.4 was very useful. It was like a review but it also tied them all together. Having the practice boxes in each section is a very useful tool to understanding and grasping the language of behavior modification.
I think I have a love/hate relationship between reinforcement and punishment. I see how both can be beneficial in modifying peoples behaviors, but I also can be disgusted with how some people use them.
Before the readings, I didn't really think to much on behavior modification. But that also means I didn't realize how it (ABC's) are a part of everything I and other do everyday.
I think from the readings I will take away all of it, because it will be what we draw on all semester as we learn about b.mod. Speaking in the language will probably be the most important part of what I learned.
So far my favorite section in chapter 1 would have to be 1.1. I say that probably because it lays the ground work for behavior modification and how our behaviors and the consequences of those behaviors affect us on a daily basis. The ABC's of bmod intrigues me. The interconnectivity of antecedent, behaviors, and consequences is amazing and how just changing one of those will result in huge changes.
Section 1.2 was probably my least favorite if I had to choose one. It seemed a little repetative of the information covered in 1.1... It also touched on the importance of punishment vs. reinforcement I did find that useful and interesting, I never realized the different ways we can use those terms.
The most important information I took away from section 1.3 was the concept behind Establishing operation and how it relates to reinforcement. The establishing operation is what makes the reinforcer more reinforcing. An example of this would be the use of deprivation as a tool to make food more reinforcing. Another important piece of information was the idea of extinction. We must continue to reinforce the target behavior on a continuous basis or we will allow for extinction, when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer reinforced.
The best information from section 1.4 was all the terms used. Section 1.4 was term heavy and had a lot of important concepts and terms that are important to know and understand before you can really appreciate behavior modification. Section 1.4 will be very helpful as the year goes on for review and will be very useful.
Reinforcement and Punishment can be controversial in some circumstances but I believe that if they are used correctly and repeated routinely, they can be very useful in successfully modifying behaviors to just how we'd like them to be.
Prior to reading these sections I wasn't aware of just how complex Bmod really was. It is important to know and understand the information from one section in order to be properly prepared to learn the information in the next section. Reading and understanding will be very important in this class. Three things that really stand out is, 1) the concept of the ABC's of Bmod, 2)emit= to do/ elicit= to make, 3) Discriminative stimuli are around us everyday in life and tend to direct the behaviors we emit.
After reading the first few sections, I would say that section 1.1 and section 1.4 were my favorite. Section 1.1 layed all the basic information and was easy to comprehend. Without this section, the whole book would be more confusing.
Section 1.4 had many vocabulary words that I have never used in my daily vocabulary, but after this class I hope to be able to do so.
I did not dislike any of these sections. 1.2 and 1.3 were the shortest, however they were both filled with a lot of good, useful information.
The most useful piece of information from section 1.3 was the definition of topographically similar. I have never heard of this concept used in psychology and the web shoots you straight to topograpgic maps, which is clearly not what I am looking for. I know that it is a great example, but there were not many that related to behaviorism.
Although any psych major should know what reinforcement and punishment is, section 1.4 does a great job going through the differences between the two and makes it easy to understand for those who are not majoring in the related field.
The use of reinforcement and punishment are neccessary for those who are interested in behavior modification and also for those who are not. It is good to know about both of these concepts because everyone uses them whether they realize it or not. For example, smiling back at someone, or waving is a naturally occurring reinforcement. Yet, when someone is smiling or waving, they are not seeing their behavior as a reinforcement. We also need these to teach people right from wrong, if we were never punished or rewarded for doing good or bad things we would have a skewed view on what is right and wrong throughout our society.
There is a lot more to behaviorism than most could imagine. There is more of a process, it does not just involove observing behaviors. After reading these sections I realize my own behavior more often. The ABC's can be utilized in almost every situation. Such as me righting this blog, or getting in my car to go to school. Even putting on my coat before I leave the house because I know it is freezing. Not only do i observe people's behavior, but I notice my own.
I would like to talk about topographically similar and discriminate stimulus in class so I can become more comfortable using the two in context.
In reading section 1.1 & 1.2, it made more sense to me when it talked about the antecedent setting the behavior, because I wasnt sure what it meant before the behavior. I def think a behavior can be controlled by using the AABC's bc we can possibly change or manipulate the situation (A) which could change the behavior, or if not, the consequence, whether aversive or pleasurable will usually change the behavior. I know with my daughter that is one thing we talk about a lot, why she has to act different in differnt settings. She was hot at the grocery store the other day and wanted to take her shirt off, I had to explain to her that even though she had an undershirt on underneath, it was not ok to take her shirt off in the store, but at home, that is ok to do. The grocery store or home is the antecedent, taking her shirt off is the behavior, and the consequence at the store is funny looks at me for letting her wear a tank top in winter or at her for doin that, and at home its that she cools off and is comfortable, which is much less aversive.
Well, I did have a comment here but it seems to have disappeared within a short time frame! (I have it printed off to back up what I'm saying:D) However, I would like to further add that one thing I learned in this section were target behaviors. Target behaviors are the behaviors of interest for which you are attempting to increase or decrease in frequency. This means that target behaviors are behaviors that we want to increase or decrease the likelihood of them happening. The example that you listed was brushing your teeth, if you want to increase the amount of times you brush your teeth each day, then brushing teeth in the target behvaior.