Lack of parental supervision and too much freedom exposes children to harmful environmental factors in their process of exploration. They could fall prey to violence, sexual promiscuity, or substance abuse, as is the case with Bob, who now identifies with gang activities. According to Skinner, to save Bob from the situation would require the creation of a new environment and exposure to factors that help in his rehabilitation process. There is the need to introduce positive reinforcement measure to promote the development of positive behaviors. One such action would be a mentorship program. Because he strayed due to lack of guidance, the introduction of a guidance mechanism would help reshape his perspective while making me aware of the consequences of his action. But for him to adequately recover there is the need to holistically shift his environment by combining this approach with a negative approach. Such would include cutting him off from the gang. There is the need to cut the link between him and the gang for him to be free of their influence (Ferster & Skinner, 1957).
In situations like Bob's, the most effective intervention is probation. Governments and organizations work closely in rolling out rehabilitation programs to gang members, both in prisons or in the community who wish to transform. Probation entails the addition of positive reinforcements like education on the effects of their actions, and other programs that help keep them busy and productive. They also involve the use of negative reinforcements, which mostly means cutting links with the harmful factors, like substance abuse. The end goal of incorporating these two approaches at the end of the day is not only to eliminate the adverse factors that are way detrimental physically, emotionally, and psychologically; but to also introduce a positive productive environment through the exploitation of personal strengths and abilities, like in the case of programs that seek to empower the victims economically (Robinson, Lowenkamp, Lowenkamp, & Lowenkamp, 2015).
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References
Ferster, C. B., & Skinner, B. F. (1957). Schedules of reinforcement .
Robinson, C., Lowenkamp, M. S., Lowenkamp, C. T., & Lowenkamp, M. N. (2015). Towards an empirical and theoretical understanding of offender reinforcement and punishment. Fed. Probation , 79 , 3.
