Blog Post 1

Behaviorism is the theory of both learning and motivation. The big ideas of this chapter were classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and strategies for obtaining desired behavior. Classical conditioning discusses an unconditioned stimulus, and an unconditioned response for behavior. The unconditioned stimulus is the behavior or event that evokes an automatic response. The unconditioned response refers to the automatic behavior caused by the stimulus. Classical conditioning has to do with the the unconscious response and emotions that cannot be controlled. The example given that was talked about in class and in the book was "Little Albert" and his fear of the noise that was produced when he saw the white rabbit. Operant conditioning is about getting feedback or a consequence for a certain behavior. Antecedent--Behavior--Response. Behaviors associated with good consequences are likely to happen again and behaviors associated with bad consequences will most likely stop. Strategies for obtaining desired behavior are listed as positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. Positive reinforcement is giving something good to make the behavior increase. Negative reinforcement is taking away something bad to make the behavior increase. Positive punishment is giving something bad to make the punishment decrease. And negative punishment is giving something bad to make the behavior decrease.

One question that I had was about extinction of behavior that is associated with classical conditioning. I didn't understand how one would get to the point of having the behavior become extinct when the whole point was to ge a response to the stimulus. I know it explains it in the text that once you don't have the unconditioned stimulus anymore then the unconditioned response would no longer occur, I just don't understand how that's possible. Once you create the unconditioned response doesn't it stay with you?

“Change the environment, change the behavior” This sounds simple enough. When one is put into a new environment they become a new person. Their surroundings change so they would change as well. I both agree and disagree with this to an extent. I do believe that everyone is born with a certain set of talents. Certain people are genetically programmed to be great athletes or chemists or pianists or artists. The way that they reach their full potential is by practice. If great basketball players practice when they are younger and perfect their skills, they have a chance to become pro athletes. If someone who enjoys science and exceeds in their classes starts to challenge themselves and do more work and more experiments, they have the potential to win a nobel prize. However, if these people are put into different settings they would never reach their full potential. If someone who is meant to play basketball wants to paint instead, they may never learn how to use their natural talent. When you place children in different environments, their behavior changes. For instance, if you take a child who excels at reading and put them in a lower level reading group, you may see that their grades start to decrease or that they no longer enjoy reading. This is important to remember as a teacher because we have to cater to the needs of our students. If we create an environment that is not well suited for their learning needs we can potentially direct them to a different path. It is very important to find a way to create an environment that is comfortable for all of our students. This will create better behavior and less problems down the road. It will also help students find what they are passionate about.