Operant Conditioning and Superstition free essay sample

There are several types of reinforcement’s positive and negative, which both t reinforcement are strengthen or weaken to shape behavior although the reinforcement is unknown and unlikely to happen. Moreover, a behavior that comes from a stimulus that behavior is than repeated in the future based on the strength of the reinforcement. However, if the behavior is not reinforced by a stimulus than that behavior is likely removed or less likely to occur also due to the strength and weakness of the reinforcement. What else do the historical antecedent says about operant conditioning, basically is states that behavioral psychology was taught for many years but sky rocketed in the 20th-century with a new theoretical perspective, known as behaviorism also bought new insight to psychologist and how certain environmental stimulus can shape behavior and illicit responses in human and non human development, through direct or indirect reinforcements. In the mean time leaving behind the conscious and unconscious mind perspective and how it functions now hardly have any room in the behavioral science department. We will write a custom essay sample on Operant Conditioning and Superstition or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Another interesting fact, psychology had once lost its grip at one point and time but came back with a new twist, yet still using the basic principles of behavioral psychology that focusing only on the observable behaviors for the most part. Furthermore, behaviorism is an enormous subject that has covered a lot of behavioral perspectives through experiments conducted by earlier psychologists such as, Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson and continued for many decades after Skinners theoretical perspective of operant conditioning also recognizes that complex behaviors are not always completely formed but rather form out of simpler responses joined to mold behaviors (Cherry, 2013). Not to mention factors that led to the rise of operant conditioning and that is behavioral therapy, and behavioral change, starting with the social needs of people and implementation of behavioral laws to control abnormal behaviors along with ways to offer interventions for those ho need help to over come behaviors that are inappropriate and maladaptive is also why operant conditioning is highly recognized for its treatment. There are also factors to describe the principles and concepts that explain the process of operant conditioning that lead to the development and maintenance of superstitions. First superstitious is a behavior that is coincidentally combine or paired with the process of reinforcements such as, rewards or punishmen ts. These coincident that takes place unknowingly are coincident that rarely happens. In February, 2008, a friend and I visited a swim club, upon entering the club, my friend and I were walking across the parking and a penny was on ground faced up on tails so I picked it up and put it in my pocket. Immediately, my friend says to me youre going to have bad luck because I picked the penny up on tails and that is a sign of bad luck to occur. However, the following day my sister dies, I was totally astonished because all I could think of was that penny I picked up and how I put the penny inside my pocket and the very words of my girlfriend about how the penny was bad luck. I was totally torn apart. This irrational belief (superstitious) works by pairing the negative reinforcement (penny) with the negative behavior, which is the death of my sister. Because this was so unlikely to occur the superstitious (penny on tails) was paired with the negative outcome (sister death). Along the same lines, when the intervals time delays are distance apart it leave room for extinction to take effect immediately, therefore when coupling with the negative reinforcement including time delay (distance) of never like to happen then the negative behavior superstitious is more likely to occur (Staddon Simmelhag, 1971). The reasons why superstitious beliefs are so deeply ingrained and long-standing in nature because the strength of the reinforcements that supersedes over time delay outcomes, regardless of never happening before is superstitious. Basically if we are reinforced randomly for rewards or punishment unknowingly and the reinforcement is strong than automatically something is very suspicious about the reward or punishment in its very own nature and becomes a superstitious belief. Finally, after interviewing my aunt on superstitious beliefs she informs me that there are many superstitious folks lore she was aware of when she was growing up. One superstitious beliefs she recalls is to never walk under a ladder because it is the devils playground; such as, when she were a little girl her and her best friend were making mud pies, while visiting her grandmother. At her grandmothers house she and her best friend played on the front porch with a ladder hanging overtop of their head and she said her grandmother came outside on the porch and said to them child you and your friend should come up from under that ladder hanging over your heads you both will find yourself in a lot of mischief before the day is out and bring you nothing but bad luck. Later on during that day she recalls both her and her best friend getting in all sorts of trouble resulting in both getting yelled at and even worse receiving a spanking. Wow! What a coincident. Interestingly, the information fit exactly how operant conditioning process occurs because of the pairing of the reinforcement along with time delay of intervals of the unlikely outcome is exactly how Skinner describe in his classic pigeon experiments about superstitious and the extinction process (McLeod, 2007). Therefore, reinforcement compared with any behavior resulting in unfortunate circumstances or good fortune, although there is a negative non contingency upon the response made was unknown from the environment. One method that will perhaps resolve someone to overcome superstitious behavior is to extinguish it by not allowing the superstitious behavior to be paired with a positive or negative reinforcement whenever unlikely events take place good or bad and if you continue with this method until the association is gone than you can put and end to the superstitious belief theory (Staddon Simmelhag 1997). In conclusion, behaviorism is well-known for explaining how we best learn because we are always learning new behaviors.