Question

Psychologists like B. F. Skinner have studied how we can use operant conditioning to change the behavior of people and animals. Drawing on your personal experience, choose a person or animal whose behavior you want to change. (You may select your own behavior for this question if you wish.) How could you use operant conditioning to change the behavior of this person or animal?

In a multi-paragraph essay, describe your plan to change this behavior. Be sure to mention what type of reinforcer and reinforcement schedule you would use and explain why you made those particular choices. Include information from class materials, readings, and research on operant conditioning to support your discussion.

Answer 1

Operant Conditioning - In this, the individual makes a response in attempt to achieve a desired goal. The individual "operates on" or modifies the environment; hence the term Operant. It is sometimes also called as 'instrumental conditioning'. In this the strength of behavior is modified or even extinguished using rewards or punishment.

1. Positive Reinforcement is a stimulus that strengthens the responses that precede them.
2. Negative Reinforcement is a stimulus that helps avoid aversive stimuli or response by strengthening other responses. This type of reinenforcement can cause escapism or avoidance learning.
3. Punishment is a procedure by which the application or removal of Stimulus decreases the strength of a behavior. There are 2 types of Punishment. Positive Punishment is a procedure in which the application aversive Stimulus decreases the strength of preceding behavior. Negative Punishment is a procedure in which the removal of Stimulus (reinforcing stimulus) decreases the strength of preceding behavior (negative or undesired behavior).

Extinction is defined as behavior being extinguished or stops occurring because the behavior is no longer being reinforced.

The behavior can be reinforced or extinguished by fixing a schedule of interval. There are 2 types of intervals:

1. Continuous Reinforcement Schedule - In which the reward or punishment follows the behavior every time the behavior occurs.
2. Intermittent Reinforcement Schedules - There are 4 types of intermittent Reinforcement schedules:

• Fixed Interval - In this type of schedule the reinforcer or punishment is enforced or available after a fixed period of time. The time is fixed, and the number of times behavior occurring during that interval does not lead to immediate reinforcing or punishing.
• Variable Interval - In this type of schedule the reinforcer or punishment is enforced or available at a varying period of time. The varying time is usually the average of the total time in which reinforcement or punishment is available.
• Fixed Ratio - In this type of schedule the reinforcer or punishment is enforced or available after a fixed number of times the behavior has occurred. The reinforcer or punishment is dependent on the fixed number of responses or behavior. Thus, the rewarding or punishing will increase or decrease depending upon it.
• Variable Ratio - In this type of schedule the reinforcer or punishment is enforced or available after a variable number of times the behavior has occurred. The varying number is usually the average of the total number of times the behavior or response has to occur.

CHANGING OF BEHAVIOR

Behavior that I would like to change is a very common behavior. It is the behavior of eating junk food in between meals whenever I feel hungry. This is a bad habit that will eventually lead to obesity and other health diseases. So, to make sure I eat healthy and good food, I will need to change my behavior of snacking on Junk food. This can be done by operant conditioning of healthy food. Shaping of such good behavior is only possible by operant conditioning, as it requires me to make the response for it. I have to operate on my habit to shape it.

Easy way to do this can be by replacing the junk food by healthy foods and then positively reinforcing the behavior by rewarding self by using a Fixed-Ratio Schedule. So, the Fixed Ratio Schedule would require me to eat healthy all 7 days of the week and on the 7th day I can reward myself with the positive reinforcer (any junk food that I might have been craving for past week). The foods that can replace junk snacks can include foods like nuts, freshly cut fruits, dry fruits, green tea, pro-biotic foods or yogurt and home-made nut bars or low diet snacks (made of rice or oats or containing no sugar or fats). Here, the fixed ratio schedule is 7 days of week of response.

So, whenever I will feel hungry I will eat any of those food to fill me up and to satisfy the hunger pangs. When I have made sure that I have followed this regime for all 7 days, I will reward myself with any junk food on the 7th day that I might have been craving for. If I could not stick to the schedule, I will withhold the reward. Here, the junk food on the 7th day will act as a positive reinforcer for this habit. This happens because healthy foods are not very fun or tasty to eat, so, to make sure that you will get the junk food on 7th day, you will stick to the schedule.

Fixed Ratio Schedule has to be used because, then only will it promote healthy eating. If there is continuous reinforcement schedule, the diet plan will fail. And varying intervals or ratios also do not help either if you end up eating junk food at whatever time you feel is the average. These schedules will make sure that you cheat on the plan. So, the best schedule will be Fixed Ratio schedule. And without a positive reinforcer, you will not feel any motivation to go through the behavior. This will cause the behavior to never occur if there is nothing to look forward to.