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Real Life Applications of Psychological Conditioning There are two main nmethods on how to modify the behavior of some living thing. The first way to modity a behavior is called operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is simply the process of increasing/decreasing or reinforcing/punishing a certain behavior through positive or negative acts or objects, the other way is called classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is the process of changing a behavior by linking a stimulus that causes a certain response and then substituting that stimulus for some other unconditioned stimulus.
This process is repeated until the stimulus that was previously neutral also causes the same response.
Classical and operant conditioning share many similarities and differences. An example of a similarity between the two is how the goal of both of them is to change a certain behavior. Classical conditioning aims to change a behavior by teaching a new association that can cause a particular behavior to decrease or increase based on whether the new association links something negative with something previously thought positive or vice-versa.
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On the other hand, operant conditioning aims to change a behavior by adding or taking away something that either reinforces/increases a behavior or punishes/decreases a behavior. However, as previously mentioned, the actual steps by which a behavior is changed differs depending on which method is Used.
Classical aims to create a new association, while operant aims to reinforce/punish the subject for the behavior. Another similarity between the two methods is how both of them take a lot of time before results are achieved.
Yet another difference is how classical conditioning requires the subject to have a natural retlex towards something and then simply change that something" to a different stimulus. However, operant conditioning doesn't require that the Subject has some kind of retlex as this method simply revolves around reintorcing punisihing a behavior in order to increase/decrease that behavior or habit. Similar to how operant and classical conditioning have similarities and differences, vicarious conditioning can be compared and contrasted with operant conditioning. Vicarious conditioning is simply the process by which someone sees the consequences of some action on someone else and this causes a change in a habit or behavior of the person or thing that observed the consequences.
Vicarious conditioning can in fact be seen as passive operant conditioning. What I mean by passive operant conditioning is that the subject sees the consequences of doing something on someone else and so that may reinforce or "punish them into wanting to also do whatever action caused the consequences. However, like previously stated, operant conditioning involves the subject experiencing the positive/negative reinforcement/punishment. This differs from vicarious conditioning where someone sees the consequences of doing something on someone else. My two friends, Billy and Joe, have two habits thatI find either annoying or unhealthy. Billy has been drinking soda and pretty much only soda for as long as I have known him each and every day. In particular, he has been drinking essentially only drinking soda for two years now. Oniy about once every two or, sometimes even, three days does he nave an eignt tuid ounce cup of some other liquid such as pure water, milk, etc.. I intend to decrease Billy's soda consumption and substitute that liquid intake with other liquids, such as milk or pure water.
LIkewise, Joe s habit ot almost always eatng with his mouth open is another habitl want to change. 1 Simply plan on stopping or at least decreasimg the frequency ot Joe eating with his mouth open. These are the two annoying habits I plan on influencing through operant conditioning I plan on changing Billy's soda drinking through positive reintorcement. More specifically, I could give Billy a piece of candy whenever he chooses to drink something other than soda,. In terms of a schedule for this reinforcement, I would utilize the fixed ratio schedule and give him the piece of candy whenever I saw him drink something other than soda. I could then decrease this ratio by giving Billy a piece of candy for every two non-soda drinks he has, if progress in diminishing his soda drinking habit is made. Alternatively, I could also change Billy's bad habit through vicarious conditioning. I could drink a soda myself and act as if I always get sick or just don't feel well. This may cause Billy to think that if he also drinks soda, he too will feel bad like I did.
Thus I can change Billy's belhavior simply by him observing the consequences of drinking soda on mysel. Similarly to my plan for Billy, I plan on changing Joe's habit of eating with his mouth open through positive punishment. More specifically, I could lightly hit Joe on the head whenever 1 see him eat with his mouth open. In terms of a schedule for this punishment, I could utilize the tixed interval schedule and tap his head whenever he eats with his mouth open for longer than five minutes in a row. If Joe decreases the time he eats with his mouth open, I could slightly decrease the interval to four minutes, for example, until he essentially ceases to eat with his mouth open at all.
Modifying Behavior: Operant & Psychological Conditioning. (2023, Apr 06). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/understanding-operant-conditioning-and-psychological-conditioning-in-modifying-the-behavior-of-living-things-essay
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