Shaping Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Shaping Behavior - Essay Example Skinner whose work with behavior modification earned him the moniker of Father of Behaviorism develop the theory of operant conditioning. The theory postulates that all behavior is essentially governed by the constant application of punishing and reinforcing stimuli. Behavior modification is designed to use a scheduled approach that consistently punishes undesirable behavior while rewarding desired behavior (Snowman, McCown & Biehler, 2012). . This concept as developed by Skinner is seen to be widely used in not only therapy, but also in a number of psychological settings. It can effectively be used in the treatment of a number of disorders including oppositional defiant disorder, autism and attention deficit disorder. In addition to this, the fundamentals of behavior modification can essentially be used to try and increase desired behavior in a given individual regardless of the person’s functional level. Reinforcement and punishment as based on the operant conditioning theory have been demonstrated to be effective in shaping behavior. In classical conditioning, organisms are trained to learn to associate a given new stimuli with biological and natural responses such as fear or salivation. The organism does not essentially learn something new, but instead is seen to being performing in what is an existing behavior in the presence of a given new signal. Operant conditioning takes a different approach as learning is based on the consequences of behavior and can at times involve the learning of new actions (Miltenberger, 2011). Punishment can be used to stop negative behavior among children. In operant conditioning, positive is seen to refer to the addition of a consequence that will serve to deter a child from repeating what is deemed to be negative behavior. Although positive punishment is essential in healthy discipline it