Behaviorism

1. Behaviorism By: Breanna Pitts, Kara Begy, Hillary Caswell, Aaron Fernander

2. Operant Conditioning • Also called instrumental conditioning • Voluntary response strengthened or weakened by consequences • Ex: Skinner Box • Teaching the hungry rat different approaches and show the rewards when doing something like pulling the lever

3. Two Types of Learning Principles • Reinforcement • Punishment 2 Types of Reinforcement Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement 2 Types of Punishment Presentation Punishment (Type One) Removal Punishment (Type Two)

4. Reinforcement • Positive Reinforcement • Increasing a behavior by presenting a positive stimulus immediately after the behavior has occurred • Ex: Praise or Reward for completing an activity • Negative Reinforcement • Increasing a behavior by removing a negative stimulus immediately after the behavior has occurred • Ex: A child picks up his toys to quit hearing his parents yell at him for doing the chore

5. Punishment • Presentation Punishment (Type One) • Decreasing the behavior by presenting an aversive stimulus immediately after the behavior has occurred • Ex: Saying you will take away their toys from being too loud during playtime • Removal Punishment (Type Two) • Decreasing a behavior by removing a positive stimulus immediately after the behavior has occurred • Ex: Taking away a child’s playtime or toy when being disruptive

6. Schedules of Reinforcement • Fixed Interval Schedule • Variable Interval Schedule • Fixed Ratio Schedule • Variable Ratio Schedule

7. Schedules of Reinforcement Interval: Ratio: • Fixed Interval Schedule • Reinforcement occurs after a specific amount of time • Ex: Raise after two years • Variable Interval Schedule • Reinforcement occurs after a random amount of time • Ex: Candy at any given moment • Fixed Ratio Schedule • Reinforcement occurs after a specific number of responses • Ex: After 5 responses, stickers are given out • Variable Ratio Schedule • Reinforcement occurs after a random number of responses • Ex: Give stickers after a random number of answers

8. Articles • Teaching the Distinction Between Positive and Negative Reinforcement • Teaching Recess: Low-Cost Efforts Producing Effective Results • Effects of Class-wide Positive Peer ‘‘Tootling’’ to Reduce the Disruptive Classroom Behaviors of Elementary Students with and without Disabilities • Relation Between Teachers’ Early Expectations and Students’ Later Perceived Competence in Physical Education Classes: Autonomy-Supportive Climate as a Moderator

9. “Teaching the Distinction Between Positive and Negative Reinforcement” (Article 1) • In this article, Philip Chase states that he believes that there is no difference in between positive and negative reinforcements. Most behavior analysis choose to distinguish between the two types of reinforcements involving whether a stimulus is added or taken away. • Negative reinforcement is often confused as punishment because they both refer to stimulus termination • He rejected the use of distinguishing a difference on 3 grounds. • 1st- Pointed out that if the distinction is difficult to make, then it also must be the base that such advice cannot easily be heeded. • 2nd- he observed that it’s an empirical question whether negative reinforcement procedures indeed are undesirable • 3rd- he questioned the wisdom of maintaining “a distinction at the level of basic science because of its possible social implications.” • Example- a. A child turns on the TV to watch cartoons. And b. You take an aspirin to get rid of a headache. • a. Is intended to show positive reinforcement while b. is intended to show negative reinforcement. Really, both instances of operant behavior involve adding a behavior.

10. Cont’d… • Reinforcement works to strengthen a particular behavior, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. • “Cold and hot and opposite, it makes very little difference whether we talk about making the room hotter or eliminating the cold.” They both have the same outcome. • Chase makes a logical point, saying, “All examples of positive reinforcement involve examples of negative reinforcement.” • In his view the distinction between consequences that strengthen a behavior (reinforcement) and consequences that weaken a behavior (punishment) is quite sufficient to encompass that principles of behavior analysis.

11. “Teaching Recess: Low-Cost Efforts Producing Effective Results” (Article 2) • This article explains how a class fixed behavior problems on their playground. • Guy Lee Elementary School in Springfield, Oregon had implemented a school-wide behavior management plan. • The rules required students to be safe, be respectful, and follow directions of all school adults. • If I child broken one of the school rules, they would first be punished by the teacher. • If the behavior continued, the conflict would be settled in the main office. • If the whole class was good, they would receive rewards, such as extra recess time or pizza parties. • All teachers, faculty, and staff were aware of the management plan, and knew which procedures to follow. • These rules were to be followed in such area as the cafeteria, the hallways, and arrival and dismissal areas. • The area with the most frequent reports of conduct problems was the playground.

12. Cont’d… • The school committee in charge of the behavior management plan came up with an idea to help raise student morale and create a safer climate for students. • Teachers were sent to meetings to discuss playground safety and conduct. • Guidelines were given on how to effectively monitor activity on the playground. • Workshops were held to show children how to safely play on the playground. • Students were provided a demonstration of how to use each piece of equipment. • Playground Behavior Improved office discipline referrals decreased by 80% the year after the plan was implemented the next year, it decreased by 76%.

13. “Effects of Class-wide Positive Peer ‘‘Tootling’’ to Reduce the Disruptive Classroom Behaviors of Elementary Students with and without Disabilities” (Article 3) • This article is entitled Effects of Classwide Positive Peer ‘‘Tootling’’ to Reduce the Disruptive Classroom Behaviors of Elementary • Students with and without Disabilities. It’s about how promoting pro-social behaviors in the classroom can affect student’s behaviors. Tootling is used in a study to show how it affects student’s behavior. Tootling was created by Skinner to increase interactions between diverse students. Tootling came from the word tattling and the phrase “toot your own horn”. Tootling is when a student tells the teacher a good behavior that they have saw another student exhibit instead of a bad one. • The teacher saves all the tootles and when they reach whatever the goals the teacher sets for the amount of tootles the class need to have they receive a reinforcement for the desired behaviors like extra recess time. The students in this study were with and without disabilities and they were positively affected by tootling. Students quickly became less disruptive with days of tootles being use. • Tootling can work well with some students but it has to be studied more. Skinner studied whether or not having tootles will increase the reporting of good behavior. It work well with students in lower grades but students in higher grades are less likely to like to be acknowledged for pro-social behavior.

14. “Relation Between Teachers’ Early Expectations and Students’ Later Perceived Competence in Physical Education Classes: Autonomy-Supportive Climate as a Moderator” (Article 4) • This article mainly talks about and explains the different types of teacher expectation effects, or reinforcements used within the classroom. The article states that • Student’s perceived competence is the evaluative and supportive feedback received from teachers • The teachers’ expectation of a student determines how teachers will interact with the students accordingly and may be one environmental factor leading to the development of high or low perceived competence among students. • Teacher expectations can affect student’s self-perceptions, motivation, and achievement. If the teacher has great expectations of the student, it will lead the student to want to fulfill the expectations of the teacher. • Some students are more sensitive than others to teachers’ reinforcement , such as voice tones, that they may interpret the teachers’ communications more accurately. However, not all teachers fully demonstrate the effects. • Motivational climate affects students and their progress. In this article, the researchers tested out the students behaviors depending on the motivational climate.

15. Cont’d… • An autonomy-supportive climate can be characterized as a climate with a motivational style including behaviors such as offering choices, encouraging independent problem solving, involving students in the decision making process, and minimizing the use of pressure. • If students are given this motivational climate, they are more likely to be more relaxed and behave better rather being punished for their mistakes. Several studies show that the autonomy supportive climate enhances students’ internal locus of causality, self-determination, and intrinsic motivation. However, if reinforcement is used, this undermines these dimensions. If used, it will give the students more of a supportive climate, but if used with reinforcement, it takes away the child’s motivation and makes the child question the teachers’ expectations.

16. Compare & Contrast • Articles 2 & 4 • Article 2 states that the discipline referall went down because of this new management plan. However, article 4 states that it should be more free and open for the children rather than have guidelines. • Articles 3 & 4 • Although in article 3, tootling is some what of a form of reinforcement, it still allows the students to be creative and have freedom, just as it mentions to do in article 4.

17. Quiz • Who developed tootling? • Why was tooling developed? • What is an autonomy-supportive climate and how can it be affected? • What is the difference between positive and negative reinforcement? • Why is it important to allow students to have their freedom rather than always have reinforcement? • If a parent were to only say they were going to take away their child’s toy if they do not behave, rather than not actually taking the toy, what type of punishment is this?

18. Quiz Continued.. 7. In the article "Teaching Recess", where was the area with the most reports of misconduct by students? 8. What was done to ensure playground safety? 9.What is variable ratio schedule and what is an example of it? 10. True or False. Positive Reinforcement allows students to receive a reward or treat when doing something right by the teacher.