Behavioral Theories of Learning

Skinners terminology provides that positive reinforcers are any division of encouragement like rewards, awards and conclusions and positive reinforcement is the act itself of receiving the reward or achieving the goal (Skinner B. F. , 1969). The definitions of operant conditioning provide that nix reinforcement is a mode of wayal theory that as a payoff of experiencing a negative condition, a especial(a) appearance is enhanced, strengthened or emphasized. (http//www. mcli. dist. maricopa. edu/proj/nru/opcond. html, 1999).A adept casing of positive reinforcement internal a classroom would be a teacher great(p) extra credits for pupils who would achieve a certain high average. How is this positive reinforcement? Students exit become prompt to excel and give extra effort to achieve the award and in the process they get to visualize more ultimately benefiting them in the end. A pre-school teacher giving candy to the brave little girl who go out not cry and back out of her first day in school is also an instance of positive reinforcement.The school board giving an award or an additional benefit for the teacher of the month, this is another example of a positive reinforcement. Why is that? By promising to give a little extra something, the school encourages the teachers to improve their over-all command performance and by doing so, they are encouraging a little friendly competition among beau educators. The education curve is sure to climb the charts if all the teachers and school-age childs are motivated. How allow that be achieved? It is simple.The teachers will be inspired to think of innovative teaching methods that will be effective on pupils and in turn the students learn more. Some teachers are not as approachable as others that is the agreement why students dont ask questions eventide though they did not fully understand the subject yield, as a solution, they can earn themselves available to students for consultation. As a result, th e schools educational model benefits because of cooperation and communication. Everybody gets a special kind of something in the end.The key word in positive reinforcement is benefit. One way or another, everyone receives something beneficial to himself and to others as well. An example of negative reinforcement inside the four corners of the classroom would be a teacher who warns students that if they fail the exam they would get an automatic flunk grade. This is negative reinforcement because if a student wants to avoid getting a weakness grade, he would study. His studying habits will be strengthened as a topic of being threatened of getting a failing grade.The application of negative reinforcement can be most normally seen in the fields of education and reform. The use of fines, imprisonment is one much(prenominal) example of the use of negative reinforcement to warn of the negative consequences of associating with accessible ills (Skinner,1953). Negative Reinforcement as compared to punishment strengthens a behavior because a negative condition is stopped or avoided as a result of such behavior while the latter weakens a behavior because of the basis of a negative condition as a result of the behavior (mcli. dist.maricopa. edu, 1999). An example of punishment is when a student is caught cheating by his professor, the consequence would be detention or suspension. Another demeanor of a student which is very suitable for punishment is bribing a teacher in effect for him to get an A. This offense should be dealt with seriously because it can allude the educational system not to mention the character and reputation of the school. penalisation endeavors to make the person realize the intensity of the offense that was committed and for him to glitter on his actions.All these will be in vain if an important goal of punishment is not achieved, which goal is for the person not to repeat the uniform offense ever again. The application of these kinds of r einforcement depends upon the situation and the individual upon whom these will be enforced. Imagine expelling a student for being caught littering inside the school grounds. The use of these types of reinforcements would vary not exactly because of a particular scenario but the attitude and intent of the person involved would have to be taken into consideration as well. In positive and negative reinforcement, the responses and set up are unpredictable.The effect would be of course either positive or negative as well. Positive solution results when the sought after response or behavior is achieved by using a certain kind of reinforcement, however, this desired outcome is not always achieved. For instance, in positive reinforcement, the aim is gain and encouragement but the psyche of the person being motivated or encouraged does not depend on the positive reinforcer. For instance, no matter what benefit the teacher promises the student but the latter is not locomote by it, ther e would be no positive result.The results in negative reinforcement, the aim of which is education or reform, will not be effected when the expected reaction or behavior is not achieved. As in the example given above, when a teacher suspends or sends a student in detention for cheating but the latter does it again, negative outcome results. In the field of education, positive or negative enforcement or even punishment may be associated with each other not only because they are modes to elicit a certain response from a student but because of the result they so aspire.The means may be distinguishable but the desired end to be achieved is the same to maximize the learning potential and more importantly to mold the students behavior for the better. References Skinner B. F. , 1969, Contingencies of Reinforcement A Theoretical Analysis, New York Appleton-Century-Crofts. Retrieved 04/03/09 from http//www. freeonlineresearchpapers. com/ Macopa Center for knowledge and Instruction Retriev ed 04/03/09 from http//www. mcli. dist. maricopa. edu/proj/nru/opcond. html Skinner B. F. , 1953, Science and Human Behaviour, New York Macmillan. Retrieved 04/03/09 from http//www. freeonlineresearchpapers. com/