Operant Conditioning Essay Example for Free

Operant Conditioning Essay The term operant conditioning is heard all over the psychology world. It is one of the first theories that one is introduced to during their psychology learning years. So, what exactly is this theory? While learning about operant conditioning we must pay attention to two necessities, positive and negative reinforcements. These two play a key role in operant conditioning and behaviors. But which reinforcement method works better? Positive or negative? There are a few aspects to look into when determining which method works the best. Once operant conditioning, positive reinforcement, and negative reinforcement are learned, then it becomes easy for an individual to take the information and shape a behavior. Along with shaping behaviors, the creation of a reinforcement schedule can also be applied to the selected behavior. The Theory of Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning was created by behaviorist BF Skinner. Operant conditioning occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviors. This creates a link between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. Skinner had believed that it was not really necessary to look at internal thoughts and motivation in order to explain behavior. Instead we should look only at the external observable causes of human behavior (Cherry, 2005). When we have actions that are followed by reinforcement, they will be strengthened and then more likely to occur again in the future. However, actions that result in punishments or non-desirable consequences will be the opposite. These actions will be weakened and less likely to occur again (Cherry, 2005). An example of operant conditioning would be a young child during potty training. The young boy would receive a cookie along with praise right after he goes potty in the toilet but receives nothing when he goes in his diaper. As a result of this, he learns to go in the toilet and  avoids going in the diaper. Positive and Negative Reinforcement Let us first begin with what a reinforcement is. A reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows (Cherry, 2005). Now, there are two types of reinforcements and they are negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement. With positive reinforcement, favorable events or outcomes are presented after the behavior. This is where the behavior is strengthened (Cherry, 2005). This occurs because there is the addition of something new such as praise or an instantaneous reward. An example of this would be little Johnny receiving a dollar right after he cleans his room. On the other hand, with negative reinforcement there is removal of an unfavorable event or outcome after the display of a behavior. This in turn will strengthen the response when something that is looked at as unpleasant is removed (Cherry, 2005). An example for this would be the professor offering to cancel the quiz for week two if everyone turns in their homework for week one. Now as one can see negative reinforcement is different from punishment because in the cases of punishment the behavior decreases. In either one of these cases the behavior of the individual increases. To look at both positive and negative reinforcement, can we decide which one is more favorable or which one will produce a better outcome? It seems as if that would depend on the individual themselves. Not everyone responds or reacts to stimuli in the same way. In an opinion, reaction can be based on personality. For example, a young child could consistently be given the option of money after cleaning their room on their own and still not do it because it is not favorable to them. However, the same child could jump for the opportunity of not having to attend church if all their homework is turned in the week prior. On an individual level, a household can contain one child that responds to positive reinforcement while the other responds to negative reinforcement. The Scenario and Schedule There are two reinforcement schedules, continuous and partial. Continuous reinforcement is reinforcing the behavior every single time it occurs (Cherry, 2005). With partial reinforcement, responses are only reinforced part of the time (Cherry, 2005). There are four schedules with partial  reinforcement, fixed ratio, fixed interval, variable ratio, and variable interval. Fixed ration is reinforcing a behavior after a specific number of responses have occurred. With fixed interval, a behavior is reinforced after a specific period of time has elapsed. Variable ratio involves reinforcing the behavior after an unpredictable number of responses and variable interval is reinforcing the behavior after the unpredictable period of time has elapsed. To better understand these schedules, it would be helpful to apply a selected behavior and first learn how operant conditioning can be applied. As a single parent of two daughters, ages 14 and 11, learning how to apply operant conditioning to shape their behavior, has been very helpful. It was set up for the children to bring home weekly progress reports after a few incidents of missing assignments. If the progress reports were positive with no missing assignments the children were praised on site and each given a dollar per class. If there were any missing assignments in any of their classes, then the children would not receive any money or praise. This is a positive reinforcement choice. The completion of assignments and grades from the children in school increased in order for them to receive a reward. Now, it is time to choose the reinforcement schedule for the scenario just talked about. It is understood that positive reinforcement was used by giving praise and a reward once the desired assignments and grades were met every week. This would be an example of a continuous reinforcement schedule. The desired behavior is reinforced every single time that it happens. With the scenario, every week that goes by with good grades and no missing assignments, the children are rewarded with praise and money. This creates a strong association between the behavior and the response (Cherry, 2005). Conclusion Operant conditioning relies on a fairly simple premise; actions that are followed by reinforcement will be strengthened and more likely to occur again in the future (Cherry, 2005). This can be good or bad behavior. Good behavior was reinforced with the above scenario. However, if you give into the child that kicks and screams every time he wants a candy bar in the store, you are strengthening that negative behavior. Learning occurs with positive and negative reinforcements being key parts to operant conditioning. Both of these help to increase or decrease the likelihood of  the desired behavior. Determining which reinforcement is better, depends on the individual at hand and what their personality will respond to better. With the above scenario the children responded better to positive reinforcement and with the reinforcement schedule, the likelihood that no missing assignments and good grades occur, increases. Operant conditioning is used every day and plays a vital role in the world. By learning about the fundamentals of operant conditioning, shaping behaviors can be easier than ever! Well, not really but hey, Rome was not built in a day. REFERENCE Cherry, K. A. (2005). Operant conditioning. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/introopcond.htm Cherry, K. A. (2005). Schedules of reinforcement. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/schedules.htm

Special Needs in the Classroom :: Education Disabilities Essays

Special Needs in the Classroom Virginia teachers face many challenges when trying to meet the needs of special needs students in their science classrooms. The most difficult task at hand for Virginia teachers is making sure that all students (general education and special education) learn the content outlined by the Virginia Standards of Learning. These standards "set reasonable targets and expectations for what teachers need to teach and students need to learn" (Virginia Standards of Learning, 1995, foreward). These targets and expectations are in the four core subjects, including science, however, no accommodations have been made in the SOLs for special needs students. All students, regardless of ability will need to know the same material in order to pass and graduate. One way that Virginia teachers meet the challenging needs of students is through the use of special strategies. Much research has been conducted which supports the use of special strategies to teach science content to students with special needs. Research has shown that some strategies to help special needs students in science are to prioritize materials in order of importance, pre-teach vocabulary that may be difficult for students, paraphrase passages, provide study guides, graphics, and organizers, or provide audio-taped texts (Munk, Bruckert, & Call). Other research suggests that teachers should, "employ strategies that emulate the principles of inclusive education (for example, outcome-based education, multiple intelligence theory, constructivist learning, cooperative learning, use of technology in the classroom, and peer-mediated instruction)." (Norman, Caseau, and Stegfanich, 1998) Gallas (1995) writes that it is important to build on students’ prior knowledge, so that they can use that knowledge to explore theories and construct other ideas and explanations. Methods of evaluation are also a concern and challenge for educators of special needs students today. Finson & Ormsbee (1998) argue that, "rubrics are effective methods for objectively and individually assessing the achievement of students with learning and behavior problems in inclusive science classrooms†¦." Rubrics are especially useful because they are written as a specific outline of the skills or knowledge that the students are to master after the lesson and points are awarded in a systematic and objective manner. To further explore the realm of special needs students and their education in science classrooms in Virginia today, we interviewed two educators from Central Virginia. "There simply is never enough time in the day to meet the needs of all students. And, when you think about it, they all have special needs†¦" Anne, a fourth grade teacher remarked when asked how she finds time to attend to both her general education students and special education students.

Christian Philosophy Reflection Essay

†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Life is like a blackboard. It’s empty in the first place, so we need to fill it whatever we want but with a virtue. We are not born a purpose, we live for a purpose. So go ahead and write something on your blackboard†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Human is like a crown? Why? Same as a crown, human also have gems that representing, reflecting, radiating him with many splendored aspects and facets of being human – the physical, intellectual, moral, religious, social, political, economic, emotional, sentient, esthetic, sensual and sexual. Those splendored personalities are gifts given by our creator that we should to cherish and nurture. At the same time, those aspects were bestowed on man for the purpose to serve for the betterment and perfection not only for an individual man but for all humanity. For on the day of final reckoning, God will judge man not according to his gifts, possessions, positions but according to his works. As we strive for our existence and destiny which is HAPPINESS, we are also striving for our dignity to be dignified to make it worthy, because dignification without dignity is baseless. These existence of ours acquiring knowledge in the first place is called Essentialism that we could used to act and to develop His gifts for the betterment or add anything to it. This chapter really taught me: Why we are here? What is the purpose of our existence? That gives a clear view and a guide in what to do in my daily lives. I could move with a greater focus and clarity everyday of my life. My objectives, plans, and goals will be easy for me now to accomplish through applying this purpose to one of us. While striving for it, we’ll just need to ask some guidance and help from Him that He will always there in our daily struggling. In addition, we need also to act upon His accordance, doing good deeds and right actions with a virtue. We need to love His other creation same to how we love ourselves such as plants, animals and our mother Earth. We’ll just need to show care and kindness such as not throwing trash anywhere, by planting trees and by prohibiting people to strictly avoid hunting any kinds of animals. It helps me also to be more faithful to  God, to be thankful to Him that He gives us a very beautiful life and splendored body. To give Him thanks, I just need to nurture and develops His gifts to us by helping other creation of God and not to abuse it. These topics really reflect to me that should also read by all students to enlighten them and may use this as their guidance in life. We just keep on love, trust and faithful to HIM- our creator, GOD.

Commentary on Transcendentalism Throughout Moby Dick Essay

It is quite possible that nothing runs deeper through the veins of Herman Melville than his disdain for anything transcendental. Melville’s belittling of the entire transcendentalist movement is far from sparsely demonstrated throughout the pages of Moby-Dick, in which he strategically points out the intrinsic existence of evil, the asperity of nature and the wrath of the almighty God. To Melville, transcendentalists became a â€Å"guild of self-impostors, with a preposterous rabble of Muggletonian Scots and Yankees, whose vile brogue still the more bestreaks the stripedness of their Greek or German Neoplatonic originals† (â€Å"Herman Melville† 2350). Transcendentalists went beyond denying the doleful possibilities of human error and suffering, and it is this ignorant altruism of transcendentalism in its looser grasps which prompted Melville’s scorn. Within the Emersonian school of thought lies the belief that â€Å"[the] ruin or the blank that we see when we look at nature, is in our own eye† (Emerson et al. 81) and that â€Å"the evils of the world are such only to the evil eye† (Emerson et al. 174). Melville, however, believes that on our planet lies an inherent evil, going as far as to say, â€Å"A perfectly good being†¦would see no evil. –But what did Christ see? — He saw what made him weep† (Thompson 2350), pointing out that not only does evil exist, but it exists within Christ, the ultimate symbol of good. Moby Dick, the white whale itself, is the prosopopeia of evil and malevolence in the universe. All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. (Melville 154) Moby Dick is also a depiction of Leviathan, Job’s whale created by God as a malicious symbol of God; Ahab â€Å"†¦ sees in Him outrageous strength, with an inscrutable malice sinewing it† (Melville 138), and if God is a representation of the spirit of the world, then within the world must exist â€Å"an inscrutable malice. † Transcendentalists made nature out to be this wondrous, awe-inspiring creation of God which–seeing as he believed God to be more evil than good–is an idea Melville blatantly rejects as a fallacy. Where Emerson says, â€Å"†¦ Nature satisfies by its loveliness, and without any mixture of corporeal benefit† (Emerson et al. 107), Melville says, †¦ all other earthly hues–every stately or lovely emblazoning–the sweet tinges of sunset skies and woods; yea, and the gilded velvets of butterflies, and the butterfly cheeks of young girls; all these are but the subtle deceits, not actually inherent in substances, but laid on from without; so that all deified Nature absolutely paints like the harlot, whose allurements cover nothing but the charnel-house within. (Melville 164) When sent out to sea, the Pequod and its crew were faced by the nature of which Melville speaks–a nature that, at times, seems to â€Å"gild the surface of the water with enchantment, and causes even the wary hunter to have a land-like feeling toward the sea† (â€Å"Herman Melville† 2351), but is actually veils behind which God hides and constantly threatens to unleash his ambiguous animosity. It is the whale, a product of God and nature, that has reaped the leg of Ahab, that lashes out with the force of a thousand men. It is the beguiling call of nature that lulls the absent minded youth into an opium-like reverie by the blending cadence of waves with thoughts until he loses his identity and takes it upon himself to take the ocean at his feet for the deep, blue bottom that pervades mankind (Melville 134-135); calms are crossed by storms, a storm for every calm. Furthermore, Melville ridicules the transcendentalists for their blindness to the rest of the world. The transcendentalists saw only the world through the â€Å"dimensions of a sturdy window in Concord† (â€Å"Herman Melville† 2394). Melville could depict the true attributes of nature in a more scrupulous manner, for he had left his home in New England and sailed around the world. When Emerson claimed that the poet â€Å"disposes very easily of the most disagreeable facts,† it prompted Melville to respond, â€Å"So it would seem. In this sense, Mr. E is a great poet† (Thompson 443). Though a seemingly of a seemingly different nature, passions, desires, appetites, and senses of the flesh are a part of nature nonetheless: they are instincts, a natural part behind the drive of man. â€Å"†¦ [All] deep, earnest thinking [that] is but the intrepid effort of the soul to keep the open independence of her sea; while the wildest winds of heaven and earth conspire to cast her upon the slavish shore† (Melville 95). It is this natural drive that keeps man from falling under the spiritual drive, this tyrannous and brutal enslavement of this wrathful God, for â€Å"natural or carnal men are without God in the world† (Alma 41:11). It seems as though Melville has an everlasting quarrel with God. Throughout Ahab’s quest for the white whale, Melville has shown his own personal independence from the authoritarianism of Christian dogma. It is apparent that religious conventionalism was Melville’s favourite target for satire, but largely because he saw himself in competition with it. His own genius was deeply religious and the Bible seemed to serve the deepest purpose in Moby-Dick. Melville was caught in a vicious battle that he created and could not win. He started by loving God, then moved to hating God, progressed into a complete detachment from God–feeling neither love nor hate. He grew to hate his detachment and decided that God might indeed be lovable, and so the vicious cycle repeats (Thompson 148-149). Thompson concludes, â€Å"The underlying theme in Moby-Dick correlates the notions that–God in his infinite malice asserts a sovereign tyranny over man and that most men are seduced into the mistaken view that this divine tyranny is benevolent and therefore acceptable† (242). Melville agreed with the transcendentalists that the spirit is substance, but he began to diverge from the transcendental conclusion that its effect on man was benevolent. Moby-Dick tells not only the story of the ventures of the Pequod and its crew, but also of Melville himself. It captures all of Melville’s personal contempt toward the entire transcendentalist movement, and demonstrates his realistic recognition of evil through the symbolism of the whale, his struggle with religion through the use of ontological heroics, and his less-than-altruistic ideas of nature through the use of sheer logic. It is the perfect emblem for his gratitude for rationalism and respect for realism. â€Å"Oh, the rare old Whale, mid storm and gale In his ocean home will be A giant in might, where might is right, And King of the Boundless sea. † WHALE SONG Works Cited. Emerson, Ralph Waldo, Atkinson Brojoks, Edward Waldo Emerson. The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. New York: Random House Digital, Inc. , 2000. Print. â€Å"Herman Melville. † World Literature Criticism. 1st ed. 1992. Print. Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick. Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc. , 2003. Print. Myerson, Joel, Sandra Harbert Petrulionis, and Laura Dassow Walls. The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print. The King James Bible. Susan Jones. New York: Doubleday, 1985. Print. Thompson, Lawrence. Melville’s Quarrel With God. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1952. Print.

Volcano essays

Volcano essays There are different perspectives and opinions about volcanoes, but the two major expressions on volcanoes that come into mind are its beauty and its terror. Though many people may not agree, there is one side of volcanoes that do have an expression of beauty. Before it erupts, a volcano sits quietly with the mountains, and everything looks peaceful and beautiful as they are one with nature, but when this peace is interrupted by the eruption of the volcano, all that once looked peaceful and beautiful suddenly becomes surrounded with the overwhelming fear of nature. Volcanoes can cause a great amount of property damage as well as the loss of many lives, including both people and animals. In ancient times, people thought of volcanoes as mysterious, and they were very superstitious about them. Today, even with the tremendous advances in all the sciences, people still ask many questions about volcanoes that continue to be unanswered. However, it is believed that when we have learned more about volcanoes and their terrific power we may be able to find it to be a benefit of humanity. The great clouds of gases, vapor, and ash particles are the most noticable features of the explosive eruption of a volcano. The eruption cloud may be luminous or dark, depending on whether it is incandescent and whether it contains a small or large amount of ash particles. From a distance, the fiery and smoky appearances with the red glow of the lava escaping from the crater beneath can give an image of a burning mountain. There are two extremes of volcanic eruptions, one extreme being that the lava rises quietly to the surface and overflows the lip of the crater. The gases bubble through the lava and escape calmly, but there are instances when the gases rush out with so much force that they form lava fountains that shoot hundreds of feet into the air. On the other extreme, a giant explosion occurs in the chimney of the volcano, and when ...

3 Sentences with Hyphenation Problems

3 Sentences with Hyphenation Problems 3 Sentences with Hyphenation Problems 3 Sentences with Hyphenation Problems By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, one or more hyphens is missing from a phrasal adjective, but another solution is available: A relaxation of the syntax is recommended, as explained following each example and demonstrated in a subsequent revision. 1. We can expect to see lighter touch regulation in the banking sector. The hyphenation problem here is a lack of a hyphen- â€Å"lighter touch,† as a phrasal adjective modifying regulation, should be hyphenated: â€Å"We can expect to see lighter-touch regulation in the banking sector.† Better yet, however, because of the somewhat obscure expression, it might be better to introduce the phrasal adjective as a modifying phrase following the noun: â€Å"We can expect to see regulation with a lighter touch in the banking sector.† 2. It is not unreasonable to question whether a Republican majority backed replacement plan is possible going forward.   The three words preceding the phrase â€Å"replacement plan† unite to provide more detail about the plan and should therefore be styled as a phrasal adjective, with hyphens connecting the words: â€Å"It is not unreasonable to question whether a Republican-majority-backed replacement plan is possible going forward.† However, this treatment is somewhat cumbersome, so a solution equivalent to the one in the previous example is merited: â€Å"It is not unreasonable to question whether a replacement plan backed by a Republican majority is possible going forward.† 3. The risks may not manifest themselves over an annual period or a three to five-year planning horizon. The phrasal adjective preceding â€Å"planning horizon, with an implied instance of year after the first number as well (and similarly hyphenated if year explicitly appears), requires suspensive hyphenation: â€Å"The risks may not manifest themselves over an annual period or a three- to five-year planning horizon.† However, to mitigate the complexity of the sentence, consider placing the modifying phrase after the noun, with hyphen(s) omitted: â€Å"The risks may not manifest themselves over an annual period or a planning horizon of three to five years.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words50 Idioms About Fruits and VegetablesIs Your Novel "Mystery," "Thriller," or "Suspense"?

Creating Added Value for the Customer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Creating Added Value for the Customer - Essay Example However the industry was at its nascent stage until the 1980s. Currently the video game console market is dominated by 3 main players – Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. According to recent data, the gaming market peaked in the year 2008 with a net sales of $21.23 billion (hardware sales $7.81 billion and software sales $10.96 billion). The market is mainly dominated by software sales which comprises of 62% of the total expenditure. 1.2 Your Brand Info/Data Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) was founded in the year 1994 as a division of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PlayStation was launched by the in USA in 1995. It was a huge success with more than a million sales volumes in just 6 months. In November 2000, PlayStation 2 was introduced. And in August 2002, the company launched new network adapter that allowed online gaming. Next the company launched PlayStation Portable (PSP) 1.3 The Consumer/Customer, structures, guide, intro The target customers are hardcore and casu al gamers around the globe. Also the latest model targets movie buffs and PSP particularly targets teenagers. PlayStation has been upgraded from 1 to 3 and skimming price has been practised, thus targeting early adopters. PlayStation 2 is the part of Sony PlayStation series and is a sixth generation video game console launched in the year 2000. By 2011 the sales volume crossed 150 million mark. The software is distributed on CD-ROM and DVD-ROM, supports online multiplayer gaming with a Linux based operating system. 1.4 Competition Data/Info Sony PlayStation has two direct competitors- Nintendo and Microsoft. Nintendo is in the gaming console business for last 20 years and Microsoft for last 10 years. Till 2010, the lifetime... The paper presents the video game console as part of the video game industry, which is again part of the consumer electronics industry. The video game console industry was born in 1972 with Odyssey produced by Magnavox. However the industry was at its nascent stage until the 1980s. Currently the video game console market is dominated by 3 main players – Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. According to recent data, the gaming market peaked in the year 2008 with a net sales of $21.23 billion (hardware sales $7.81 billion and software sales $10.96 billion). The market is mainly dominated by software sales which comprises of 62% of the total expenditure. The target customers are hardcore and casual gamers around the globe. Also the latest model targets movie buffs and PSP particularly targets teenagers. PlayStation has been upgraded from 1 to 3 and skimming price has been practised, thus targeting early adopters. PlayStation 2 is the part of Sony PlayStation series and is a sixth genera tion video game console launched in the year 2000. By 2011 the sales volume crossed 150 million mark. The software is distributed on CD-ROM and DVD-ROM, supports online multiplayer gaming with a Linux based operating system. Sony’s â€Å"It only does everything† tag line in the PlayStation ads was a hit with its teen customer base. A study has found that teens on an average utilise only 49% of their time playing games in PS3, whereas it is 62% and 69% for Xbox 360 and Wii.