B. F. Skinner

1. B. F. Skinner

2. Key Vocabulary • Reinforcement- To give more force or effectiveness to; strengthen • Positive Reinforcement- Positive Reinforcement is “catching” a student doing something you want them to do and rewarding it. • Negative Reinforcement- the reinforcing of a response by giving an aversive stimulus when the response is not made and omitting the aversive stimulus when the response is made • Punishment- suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution resulting from undesired behavior s

3. Key Vocabulary Behavior Modification: Using operant conditioning techniques to change behavior Operant Conditioning- Theory developed by B.F. Skinner that based on the idea that organisms will respond to their environments in certain ways in order to either gain or avoid particular consequences Reinforcers- classroom privileges such as feeding the class pet , receiving a sticker or verbal praise that are awarded to reinforce positive behavior in the classroom

4. Basic Tenets • Reinforcement vs. Punishment • Reinforcement determines the path a behavior takes. Behaviour is shaped by its consequences, by what happens to the individual immediately afterward. Behaviour becomes weaker if not followed by reinforcement. • Punishment makes behavior weaker. • Behavior Modification shapes behavior through • Ignoring undesired behavior /responses • Reinforcing the desired behavior /responses

5. Basic Tenets Continued • Reinforcement (Positive and Negative) • Positive Reinforcement- when you give the student something positive to get them to repeat the desired behavior • Negative Reinforcement- removal of something the student does not like to get them to do a desired behavior • Punishment- opposite of reinforcement. • Designed to eliminate a certain behavior rather than increasing it.

6. Behavior Modification • Generally performed by making students’ rewards dependant on certain actions • Contingent = dependent • Operant conditioning is otherwise known as “contingency management techniques”

7. Behavior Modification Techniques • Techniques to strengthening behavior • Shaping- selecting target behaviors and conditioning the classroom into achieving those behaviors • Token economies- accumulation of tokens to redeem reinforces (ie: treasure chest) • Contingency Contracts- written or verbal contracts that detail reinforcement after students completes the mutually agreed upon assignment (i.e candy rewards) • Techniques to weakening behavior -Extinction- ignoring the undesired behavior -Time Out- Temporarily removing a positive reinforcer -Response cost- removal of a stimulus –”Give me a dollar” -Punishment - reprimand

9. Teacher and Student Responsibilities • Teachers must decided whether or not behavior modification is or will be useful in their classroom • If teachers choose to use behavior modification or operant conditioning they must also follow up with reinforcement • Teachers must try out various forms of reinforcement and observe and respond to that which works best for each particular student • Students must fulfill the need of what is being asked of them to receive the reward that they want and uphold positive behaviors and contingency contracts

10. Teacher’s Responsibilities • Shape classroom behaviors through this process: 1 ) Select the target behavior 2.) Determine how often the target behavior occurs 3.)Select potential reinforcers 4.)Reinforce persistent estimations of the target behavior 5.)Reinforce the new target behavior each time it occurs 6.) Reinforce the target behavior on a variable reinforcement schedule

11. The Pros and Cons • Pros • Many teacher find success in these theories • The positive reinforcement aspect helps the students see that there are rewards for following the rules. • Classroom runs more smoothly due to regulated behaviors • Cons • Some teachers feel that they are manipulating the students. • Less intrinsic motivation (primarily extrinsically motivated)