Wednesday, February 26, 2020

B.F. Skinners Positive Reinforcement theory Research Paper

B.F. Skinners Positive Reinforcement theory - Research Paper Example This paper provides a detailed exploration of the theory of reinforcement while highlighting the facets of the theory as well as its organizational application. B.F. Skinner’s Positive Reinforcement Theory Background and Development of the Theory Many behavioral theories of motivation and learning have their main emphasis on the consequence of previous behavior on future behavior. In contrast, classical conditioning emphasizes on the responses automatically elicited by stimuli. The reinforcement theory argues that individuals will choose the response they exhibit to a given stimulus, and based on the outcome they will repeat the same choice in cases of similar stimulus in the future (Skinner, 1970). To further develop the theory’s suggestion, Thorndike (1911) developed what is now known as the Law of Effect which states that, with other factors remaining constant, positive responses to stimuli will be strengthened as opposed to the weakening of the responses to stimuli associated with discomfort (Michael, 2005). ... Positive reinforcement is as a result of the occurrence of a behavioral consequence of immense value that has a strengthening effect on the probability of the repeated occurrence of the behavior. This behavioral consequence is referred to as a reinforcer (Michael, 2005). A suitable example of this case is where a sales person trying a sales quota (behavior) exerts additional effort towards this goal, and the end result is a bonus reward (positive reinforcer). Administering the positive reinforcer makes it more likely that the salesperson will not stop exerting the required effort in the future (Montana and Charnov, 2008). Negative Reinforcement Negative reinforcement is as a result of undesirable behavioral consequences being withheld while at the same time strengthening the effect on the probability of a repeat of the behavior. Few people mistake negative reinforcement for punishment, but the two are different (Montana and Charnov, 2008). While negative reinforcement attempts to inc rease the desired behavior punishment strives to reduce the probability of occurrence of the behavior. Thus, Montana and Charnov (2008) believe that both negative and positive reinforcement have a trend of increasing the probability of the learning and repeated occurrence of a particular behavior. A suitable example in this case comes with the salesperson too. This time, the sales person exerts an effort with an aim of increasing the sales in their point of sale (behavior). Consequently, the decision that follows is not to reassign the successful salesperson to another sales point that is undesirable (negative reinforcer). Administration of this type of reinforcement ensures that the salesperson is able to exert more effort in the

Sunday, February 9, 2020

Action Assignment#3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Action #3 - Assignment Example They energize their goals, missions and visions to doing the best always. Leaders become more determined than ever in changing the society for the better. My name is Majed. I worked for eight years as a high school teacher of Arabic. The Ministry of Education provided me with a scholarship to study leadership at the University in the United States in order to gain the experience necessary to further my career. To be honest, the course has helped me a lot in growing as a leader. I learnt different values of leadership from the course which were lacking in my life. One of these values I learnt is the significance of responsiveness. I have applied responsiveness in different fields of leadership and the end result has been pleasing. Currently, I am the president of the American Youths for Change whereby I have enabled many young people abandon drug abuse. As a leader, I have motivated thousands of youths to pressurize their political leaders to become responsible. I have also staged numerous leadership seminars in both locally and internationally. In these seminars, I have been able to preach the importance of accountability to young leaders. This is due to economic stagnation which has affected many countries. Ideally, my dream is to see a corruption free world where leaders uphold the responsibility bestowed to them by their people. As a leader, I also dream to see a world where the rule of law is respected and a society where the opinion of every citizen counts. I also want to see a society where leaders have moral values and integrity. This will allow we the citizen have trust and hope in our government. As a leader, I want to leave a good legacy as someone who changed the society in a positive manner. I want to create a change in the society for the growth of my people. This is because I strongly believe that any standing society today has a possibility of dying. I want death to be alien to my society. My efforts to inspire the society have been rewarded.