Increased complexity in human behavior captured the interest of psychologists who wanted to establish facts about the whole concept of human behavior. A perspective refers to an approach or a view that in most cases involve certain assumptions regarding human behavior particularly in the manner in which they function. Perspectives over a particular subject may differ, but that does not mean that differences make some or both of them wrong in any way as each aspect generates new knowledge that enhances the understanding of behavior. In general, this paper presents a study on Behavioral perspective and its impact on understanding human conduct.
Background to the Study
Psychology underwent drastic changes in the early 20th century giving rise to behaviorism a new school of thought within the field. Ideally, behaviorism sought to establish psychology as a purely scientific discipline that emphasized observable behavior. Behaviorism differs from other perspectives as it views individuals as well as animals falling under the control of the environment. The approach contends that individuals are the result of the things they learn from the situation. The perspective focuses on how environmental factors, better known as stimuli, impact on observable behavior referred to as a response (Spengler, Damian & Roberts, 2018). Behaviorist perspective suggests two main processes by which individuals learn from the surrounding environment namely: operant conditioning and classical condition. Broadly, operant conditioning refers to a process through which individuals learn from the consequences associated with a previous behavior whereas classical conditioning refers to the form of learning that occurs through association.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Classical Conditioning (CC)
Classical conditioning was discovered by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist. In brief, the study suggests that when two stimuli are linked together, they result in the learning of anew response in an animal or person. Supporting the findings of the study, John Watson indicated that the process of CC was capable of explaining all the features of human psychology. Pavlov further noted that everything was beginning with speech all the way to emotional responses were a demonstration of the patterns that represent stimulus and response ( Zuckerman, 2014). Moreover, he postulated that learning new behavior had nothing to do with the existence of consciousness or the mind and that the differences that manifested individual’s behaviors were primarily due to the varying experiences that people went through during the learning process.
CC has three stages and in Stage 1: Before conditioning, the unconditioned stimulus abbreviated as (UCS) triggers an unconditioned response (UCR) in any organism. The stage indicates that a particular stimulus in the environment has elicited an unlearned behavior or unconditioned, which implies that the response stands as natural since it has not been taught and, therefore, the organism does not learn any new behavior ( Zuckerman, 2014). A good example of the situation is when a particular perfume elicits a response of happiness. The stage also brings into focus another stimulus that does not affect an individual, place or object. Ideally, the neutral stimulus does not elicit any response in CC until the stimulus is paired or joined with an unconditioned stimulus.
Experiment on a dog
Pavlov used the dog experiment to prove his assertion. In the first instance, a bell rang before food was given to the dog. Every time food was brought to the dog, it salivated and ate the food. The process was repeated several times a day for several days, and with time, the dog learned to associate the bell ringing with food. After a while, the bell the rang and the food was, not brought, but the dog continued to salivate indicating that the dog had been conditioned and was now responding to a neutral stimulus that at first did not elicit any reaction from the dog. The bell that at first was an unconditional stimulus had now become a conditioned stimulus that made the dog respond to it through the salivation ( Zuckerman, 2014).
During Conditioning
This stage involves the pairing of the neutral stimulus to an unconditional stimulus, which automatically becomes the conditioned stimulus (Cs). For instance, stomach upset could be related to eating chocolates or related to a particular perfume given to the person. In CC, the conditioned stimulus occurs before the introduction of unconditioned stimulus and not during the same time or after it ( Zuckerman, 2014). In that regard, the conditioned stimulus work as a kind of signal for the unconditioned stimulus. Importantly, during this stage, the CS must be associated with the UCS several times to ensure that learning occurs.
Notably, one-trial learning can happen at times when the person does not care about strengthening the association over time, for instance, falling sick as a result of excessive drinking or food poisoning. Stage 3 presents the After Condition phase where the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus have shared an association resulting in the production of a new conditioned response ( Zuckerman, 2014). For instance, if a person associated with a nice perfume passes as attractive. The person will represent (CS), and the nice perfume will represent (UCS), and attractiveness will represent (CR).
Application of Classical Conditioning
Treatment at Various Rehabilitation Centers
Classical conditioning can help rehabilitate addicts in that they should be made in a manner that they provide the worst possible condition for a human living ( Zuckerman, 2014). When addicts go through bad experiences at the rehab, they will develop a phobia for the place, and that will trigger their mind to recall the original cause for their being taken to the rehab and if its alcohol or drugs, they will naturally develop a negative attitude towards the substances. Overall, CC focuses on developing a phobia towards particular things or behavior especially those that harm the individual in question. The phobia then acts as a natural deterrent measure against the harmful situation and by so doing; the individuals learn to stay away from behaviors that have negative implications on them.
Strengthening Schools Counseling Techniques
CC can also help in schools counseling problems. Using the CC knowledge, the counselor can identify the cause of a particular behavior in students and advise accordingly ( Zuckerman, 2014). For instance, when a counselor notices that a student performs poorly in a specific subject, the person ought to realize that the problem could have occurred a while back and the poor performance represents the aftermath of the bad experience. A student might have suffered humiliation under the hands of a particular subject teacher and hated the instructor for the act. Then, by extension, the student extends the same hate to the subject resulting in poor performance in the same discipline. Such a student would require proper counseling to ensure he or she disassociates the hatred from the subject and also from the teacher. The moment the link between the two is broken, then performance in that particular subject will improve without much struggle. Overall, CC has helped the world regarding rehabilitating bad behaviors to ensure that individuals live by the expectations of the society at all times.
Operant Conditioning
B.F Skinner, on the other hand, investigated behaviorism known as operant conditioning that focused on involuntary and voluntary behavior. According to Skinner, a person’s motive could explain one’s behavior implying that every behavior occurred because of a particular reason (Truscott et al., 2012). He also identified negative reinforcement, positive reinforcement, and punishment as a behavior shaping technique. Reward and punishment formed the basis for learning new behavior where an individual relates a particular behavior to a given consequence. Skinner believed that human behavior was far too complex to be explained through CC and that looking at the causes as well as the consequences of a particular action provided the best way to understanding human behavior. Skinner’s work borrowed a lot from Thorndike’s law of effect that stipulated a behavior that is accompanied by a pleasant consequent stand a high chance of being repeated whereas behavior that is accompanied by an unpleasant consequent has less chance of repetition. Skinner introduced the term reinforcement. Behavior that is reinforced tends to be repeated whereas behavior that fails to get support dies out or weakens.
Skinner placed animals in a box and observed three kinds of responses namely Neutral operant: presented responses that arose from the environment that did not affect behavior. Reinforcers, on the other hand, represented responses that resulted from the environment, which increased the chances of a particular behavior being repeated ( Zuckerman, 2014). He categorized reinforcers as positive and negative. Punishers, on the other hand, represented responses from the environment that tend to decrease the chance of a behavior being repeated. In brief, they weaken behavior.
Application of Operant Conditioning
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning applies best in a school environment where the teacher can use to improve the learners’ performance. A teacher can use approval, a compliment, an affirmation, and encouragement in providing feedback to a given learner’s performance (Truscott et al., 2012). Notably, if teachers want to make the class lively and motivate learners to answer questions, they can praise the students from answering the questions whether they get them right or wrong. The teacher will then begin praising only those who got the answer right creating a situation where only exceptional answers get praise. The teacher can also get rid of unwanted behaviors in class such as dominating class discussions and tardiness by ignoring learners who exhibit the characters.
In the quest by the ignored learners to get the teacher’s attention, they will learn to behave as the provided expectations. Importantly, the criminal and justice department can also make use of operant conditioning to stem deviant behavior in the society (Truscott et al., 2012). For instance, first offenders ought to receive severe punishment while serving their terms to make them develop a negative attitude for the prisons, upon their release; such fellows will abide by the provisions of the law to ensure that they do not return to the facility again for fear of the previous ordeal. Overall, operant conditioning can help in shaping behavior particularly by punishing deviant conduct and encouraging positive or acceptable behavior.
Future Research
Even though most extensive research work has been conducted on the field of behavioral psychology, a lot of questions remain unanswered. Mainly, some individuals do not respond to stimuli whether conditioned or unconditioned. Research in this area will help explain the unique phenomenon and put to rest the ongoing speculations over the subject matter. Emerging researchers have attempted to conduct studies on the matter, but the findings have not revealed much.
Conclusion
Behavioral conditioning changed the field of psychology and helped individuals to understand human behavior and the motive behind certain behaviors. Operant conditioning and Classical conditioning have helped counselors and the criminal justice system in reforming deviant behavior. The two have also helped in establishing positive behavior among individuals through the use of reinforcers. Parents have used the two perspectives to encourage children to work hard or to develop desired behaviors with much success. Overall, as much as the discoveries have impacted society, much still await regarding research to enhance the understanding of human behavior.
References
Spengler, M., Damian, R. I., & Roberts, B. W. (2018). How You Behave in School Predicts Life Success Above and Beyond Family Background, Broad Traits, and Cognitive Ability . Journal of Personality & Social Psychology , 114(4), 620–636. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000185.supp
Truscott, S. D., Kreskey, D., Bolling, M., Psimas, L., Graybill, E., Albritton, K., & Schwartz, A. (2012). Creating Consultee Change: A Theory-Based Approach to Learning and Behavioral Change Processes in School-Based Consultation. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice & Research , 64(1), 63–82. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027997
Zuckerman, M. (2014). Sensation seeking (psychology revivals): beyond the optimal level of arousal . Psychology Press.
