Instruction is not just about gaining knowledge as it is also about conditioning behavior to create the required character. In the 2003 animated film finding memo, various characters in the films undergo behavior changes leading to behavioral conditioning. Most of these changes are a result of the events that happen around the characters which either encourage their behavior or discourages it. From the perspective of psychology, much of the behavior changes that take place in the film fall under the ambit of behavioral conditioning (Mcleod, 2018). In this context, behavioral conditioning means the alteration of behavior due to external reinforcement or punishment. However, the definition of reward and punishment varies exponentially from individual to individual. Two individuals of the same species may react differently to the same situation depending on their specific circumstances. For example, a hungry dog will react to food while a fully fed but parched dog will react to water. In a formal setting, experts such as teachers and psychologists can use operant conditioning to adjust the behavior of their subjects carefully. Similarly, as is evident in the Film Finding Nemo, operant conditioning also happens in the natural world as individuals and groups react to situations in their lives.
Overview of the Film
It would be easy to assume that scriptwriters designed the film Finding Nemo as a tool for the study of psychology in general, including operant conditioning. The film’s main narrative centers on several aquatic animals, beginning with Marlin, a single father, and his son Nemo. Nemo has a slight physical disability. After the death of Nemo’s mother, Marlin focuses on modifying the behavior of Nemo, his only offspring in an effort to give him a bright future. However, Marlin pushes too far and Nemo escapes. Unfortunately, Nemo’s escape leads to his capture and domestication in an aquarium (Stanton, 2003). The film’s title, Finding Nemo, refers to Marlin’s efforts in tracing his son while contemporaneously, Nemo struggles to escape from captivity and rejoin his father in the wild. Other important characters in the film that may be of interest to a psychologist include Bruce, a great white shark who is vegetarian by choice, and Dory, a small bluefish that has memory problems.
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Overview of Operant Conditioning
The conditioning of behavior means getting to the point of predictability in acts and omissions. The concept of operant conditioning refers to the process of conditioning behavior through the use of reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement is the reaction that encourages behavior while punishment is the kind of reaction that discourages behavior (Mcleod, 2018). After several incidences that result in either reinforcement or punishment, the subject will gradually undergo behavior change. This change will specifically be a consequence of either gaining reinforcement or avoiding punishment. For example, if the subject faces negative reinforcement that seeks to ensure adhering to the right behavior, the subject will either escape by doing the right thing to eliminate the negative reinforcement or exercise the active avoidance of the negative reinforcement. Escape and active avoidance may seem mechanical but gradually, they become behavioral attributes. However, as the new behavior takes root, it will continue to prevail even when the reinforcement or punishment no longer exists (Mcleod, 2018). It is important to note that operant conditioning is a learning process, meaning the learned behavioral modification can be unlearned. For example, if the reinforcement or punishment is missing for an elongated duration of time, the adopted behavior will peter away.
Application of Operant Conditioning to the Film
The primary role of operant conditioning is behavioral shaping . In the film, Marlin plays the role of a concerned father who worries about the fate of a disabled son (Stanton, 2003). Marling wants his son to have a bright future and eventually reproduce despite his disability. Under operant conditioning, behavioral shaping is a broad term that combines the elimination of adverse behavioral traits and the encouragement of positive behavioral traits. To enable behavioral shaping, the individual undertaking the changing need to have some form of control over the subject. For example, in mice samples, researchers create a control by keeping the mice hungry which enables food to play the role of positive reinforcement or negative punishment .
Nemo, Marlin’s son, has a lot to learn and many forms of modifications to make in order to attain his father’s set behavioral patterns. Therefore, his father commences a form of continuous reinforcement through a series of rewards and punishments . However, Marlin’s overbearing nature is an embarrassment to his rapidly growing and intelligent son (Stanton, 2003). In reaction to a particularly embarrassing situation in school, Nemo escapes from the watchful eye of his father and runs away. His freedom from the perceived prison of paternal control is short-lived as Nemo soon falls into the net of the dentist. As opposed to Marlin who seeks to regulate Nemo’s behavior carefully, the dentist plays the role of a neutral operant as he does not care about Nemo’s behavior. To the dentist, Nemo is just a prop, something cute for looking at and whose behavior does not matter (Stanton, 2003). Indeed, when Nemo courageously blocks the cleaning system for the aquarium, the Dentist assumes it a technical malfunction and invests in a better cleaning system. The behavior of the fish is of no consequence to the Dentist.
Nemo’s father Marlin, makes a spirited effort to find his son and enlists the help of Dory, a beautiful fish with a short-term memory issue. Marlin and Dory, two minuscule fishes, make a long and perilous journey in search of Nemo (Stanton, 2003). On their way, they encounter Bruce, an important character as far as operant conditioning is concerned. Bruce is a great white shark, one of the most dangerous predators in the world. However, unlike most predators, Bruce has a conscience. His conscience acts as a source of positive punishment as it gnaws at him whenever he eats fish. To avoid the gnawing, Bruce becomes a vegetarian and attempts to train his friends (Stanton, 2003). The act of declining to eat fish that was readily available in the sea and opt for vegetarian meals amounted to an escape on the part of Bruce and his friends. In operant conditioning, escape is a form of avoiding negative reinforcements (Mcleod, 2018). In the instant case, sharks cannot avoid eating but they can eat right, hence the designation of guilt as both positive punishment and negative reinforcement. They also undergo Behavioral Suppression as they try to transform the normal learned trait of eating fish. Unfortunately, it is difficult for Brice and his friend to overcome their character as sharks fully and they have to exercise active avoidance for triggers that might lead to negative behavior. Blood is a common trigger for sharks to attack as happens when Marlin injures Dory in a silly fight over a diver’s mask (Stanton, 2003). The presence of blood in the water is an incentive that overcomes the fear of positive punishment in the sharks who proceed to attempt an attack on Dory and Marlin. Fortunately, the two fishes can escape unharmed.
Another example of operant conditioning in the film happens when Marlin and Dory run into a group of stinging jellyfish. The danger posed by the dangerous stings of the jellyfish cause Marlin and Dory to stay away from the fish. However, Dory inadvertently discovers that they can remain safe by bouncing on top of the jellyfish, thus avoiding their stings (Stanton, 2003). Dory and Marlin overcome the conditioning that makes them naturally fear jellyfish as they find a way to overcome the role of stings as positive punishment. Marlin can pass through the school of jellyfish but since Dory has a short memory, she stops bouncing and is almost stung to death. Dory brings to the fore another important component of operant conditioning, memory. For operant conditioning to work, the subject needs to have a good memory. From a professional perspective, if the subject has a short memory, the reinforcements or punishment should be frequent to enable development and retention of correct behavior (Mcleod, 2018).
Summary and Conclusion
It is evident from the above that different characters from the film exhibit different manifestations of operant conditioning. Some of the characters even exhibit the full cycle of operant conditioning. For example, Brice, the great white shark, begins as a normal predator who preys on other fish. His conscience gradually harries him into becoming a vegetarian. However, he encounters a more powerful stimulant, blood in the water that causes him to overcome his learned behavior and attempt to attack and eat fish again. Fortunately, Bruce and his friends do not end up eating Marlin and Dory. The film Finding Nemo is thus an important reference for studying the various concepts in the psychological theory of operant conditioning. Within the films, an observant person can detect the various reinforcements and punishments that altar the behavior of characters.
Further, there is evidence that operant conditioning is not always successful as some and even when it is successful, the success may be temporary. Special lessons about operant conditioning include secondary issues such as the impact of short memory on the process of operant conditioning from the case of Dory. Finally, the general theme of the play is that the conditioning of the behavior is not always a positive thing, an issue that delves into the ethics of psychology. For example, Nemo proved to his father that he could still thrive without behavioral modification. Some people who seem like they need to change may only need to be looked at from a different perspective.
References
Mcleod, S. (2018). Skinner - Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
Stanton, A. (Director) (2003). Finding nemo. Walt Disney Picture .
