As you reviewed this week's goals and objectives it should have become clear that our focus this week is on reviewing the contribution of behaviorists to theories of learning and what implications they have when designing learning environments and developing instruction.

As we launch into several weeks on behaviorism it is sometimes common for students to regard animal research as being irrelevant to human learning and classroom practice (for valid reasons as well as invalid ones). As you read your text this week try to think about in what ways animals and human beings learn similarly and in what ways they learn differently. The similarities you think of will help you remember the utility of these early studies. In addition, I believe if you think hard enough you can identify more than one example of classical conditioning in your own life. In addition you will likely be able to identify skills you have learned through shaping and/or chaining.

As we continue to focus on application of theories I would like for you to contemplate your views related to punishment. Many confuse punishment and negative reinforcement so be sure to distinguish those with your readings this week. Views on the effectiveness of punishment have changed considerably over the past 60 years. Early research indicated that punishment was a very ineffective means of changing behavior but more recent studies indicate that punishment can be effective in many situations. And, it may be more effective than such techniques as extinction or the reinforcement of an incompatible behavior. There still exists many potential problems with punishment that must be considered before its application. There are also many examples of effective punishment in classroom settings. Common practices include, verbal reprimand, response cost, logical consequence, time-out, and in-school suspension. Using guidelines that maximize their effect is a must if your application is to be successful.

There are many more issues within behaviorism that are relevant to anyone who is a parent, a pet owner, or a teacher, among other things. I hope you consider many of them this week as we explore this theory.

I am going to forego a long textual expansion of Chapters 3 and 4 this week given I have provided supplemental lectures that contain the majority of my thoughts on both classical and operant conditioning. I am also confident that many of you have some background (either formal or informal) on behaviorism and its main tenets.

Please review the objectives for this week and read your text carefully with these in mind.

Session Activities

• Complete the Chapter Three Quiz for Ormrod. You will have 120 minutes for this quiz. You may go directly into the eLearning system or read the directions first.
• Complete the Chapter Four Quiz for Ormrod. You will have 120 minutes for this quiz. You may go directly into the eLearning system or read the directions first.
• Listen to the lectures and use the note pages if you choose.

Reading/Research

A large part of coming to a complete understanding of any theory is to read about that theory from a variety of perspectives (hopefully all respectable and knowledgeable). Reading others' descriptions and explanations of a theory and its principles often assists you in developing your own ability to summarize a theory in your own words. At times, reading many other perspectives can become frustrating because they are bound to conflict as each person interprets the theory and explains it in a somewhat unique way. However, I think you will find many similarities and that is where the core of a theory and its principles often lies. As we discussed last week, one goal in this course is for you to be able to completely summarize each theory in your own words. We discussed the elements that should be included in a description of a theory as well as how to adequately explain the application of that same theory in last week's sessions. The links provided to you here as part of the readings will allow you to see how others present classical and operant conditioning theory. It is not necessary for you to read all of them but try to skim through a few and maybe pick one or two that seem to have a writing style you enjoy or examples most relevant to you. The more you read about a theory the more likely you will be able to begin to think about writing a clear summary of your own.

Visit these links for more information on behavioral theories:

• The Behavioral Analysis Home Page at University of South Florida - checkout the behavioral resources for lots of online reading and the instructional resources for samples of programmed instruction.
• An Overview of Behavioral Psychology
• An Historical Outline of Operant Conditioning and Behaviorism
• Sit down with a cup of coffee at the Behaviorist's Diner or go to the Behaviorist School
• Find links to information about many of our new friends - Pavlov, Thorndike, Guthrie, Hull, Watson, and Tolman - at the Encyclopedia of Psychology - People and History site.

Writing

Review the content in last week's session related to the elements of a theory if needed and review and read the behaviorism resources above that seem appealing to you. As part of your writing practice this week, write a complete summary of operant conditioning being sure to cover all 5 elements. Next week you will share this with a partner who will review and make comments on it with regards to your coverage of the 5 elements and your application of APA.

APA Tidbits

Everyone is doing a great job on the APA tidbits this week. I will be sharing some this week and over the next weeks as well as contributing my own.

Collective nouns:
A collective noun is a noun that names a group of people or things. Examples of collective nouns are series, set, family, faculty, or pair. If you desire to convey that the group is acting as a unit, use a singular verb. However, if you want to convey that
the members of the group are acting on an individual basis, a plural verb is employed.

Singular in context:
The family is excited about the upcoming reunion.

Plural in context:
A pair of black dress shoes was on sale.

Case study information: p. 8-9
It is important to use actual people to prove the need for funding or time to complete a thorough investigation or report on a particular issue in Psych studies to improve conditions of society in various areas. This section states to use a person means that in the article you should use an incorrect name and variation on description as to protect the persons identify and issue or get the persons written permission to use the information as accurately as possible.

I personally believe the latter of the two would be the best to maintain accuracy of all information.

Do: either get permission or change information.
ex: A case study on student X reveals that boys in the age range of 11 through 30 are always attracted to females that have a mystical appeal. Whereas according to adult Y men in the age group of 28 through 50 seek women that are more apt to help around the house then women that seek anything else in life.

Student X and Adult male Y are referenced names and the age group is not 100% accurate to help change the information. I am aware that the study would be more in-depth and more information would be revealed or modified to increase the case study or should I say centralize.

If I got the names of all students and their information than I could use it for the study given the release signature, whereas without the signature I had to generalize the information to avoid revealing any particular person in the study.

Summary: Basically I learned that it is valuable and required to get signature of release from people being used for a case study before you publish the study.

Verbs

Verbs are vigorous, direct communicators. Use the active rather than the passive voice, and select tense or mood carefully.

Poor
The substitute had written down the names of the students who misbehaved

Better
The substitute wrote down the names of the students who misbehaved.

APA Tidbit-
When the subject is composed of a singular and a plural noun joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the noun that is closer (see page 46 of the APA Manual).

Example-
Incorrect:
Neither the three beautifully wrapped presents nor the chocolate cake were of interest to the birthday girl.

Correct:
Neither the three beautifully wrapped presents nor the chocolate cake was of interest to the birthday girl.

Guidelines to reduce bias in language

Avoid the generic use of “he,” “man,” “his,” “him,” and “himself.” Research shows that these are not gender-neutral terms. Instead, substitute plural nouns or other words that fit, such as: the, a, an, who, one, we, or you. You may often substitute “human” for “man”, e.g. use “humankind.”

Also, use titles where possible, e.g. “Ms.” (even when marital status is known), “Dr.”, and “Prof.”

Instead of a sentence like, “Man is a social animal,” write “Humans are social animals.”

Whether male or female, address those having earned their doctorate as “Dr.”, e.g. “Dr. Curda.”

From Me:

This week’s APA tidbit is illustrated by a quote from page vii of a textbook by Galvan.

This book was written for students who are required to “do library research” and write literature reviews as term papers in content-area classes in the social and behavioral sciences.

In this sentence the double quote marks set off three words (do library research) as having some special meaning the author wants to convey to the reader. Several other words and phrases are set off on page viii. If Galvan were strictly adhering to APA writing conventions, is he correctly using the double quote marks? If not, what should he do? Check out pages 82, 83, 100, and 101 of the APA Manual for guidelines to answer these two questions.

Session Activities

• Write a complete summary of Skinner's Operant Conditioning Theory - make sure to include all 5 elements discussed last week. Use at least two resources (your own or one of those listed above).
• Apply APA to your Summary document.
  Go back through the document you just wrote and complete the following tasks:
  • Include a title page following APA 5th edition format
  • Use appropriate margins
  • Use appropriate header with page number
  • In the body, be sure to use two levels of headings (using the APA 5th edition as your guide) and apply appropriate formatting to them in your document. [Hint: You will use one level as a title for your document and a second level to identify the logical subdivisions. It is up to you to use your manual to identify which levels of headings you should use.]
  • Apply with-in text referencing
  • Make sure to format any quotes appropriately
  • Include a reference page -make sure your end-of-text reference is in 5th edition APA format
• Read the following pages in your APA Manual to assist you with the above tasks.
  • Chapter 1
  • pages 113 - 122
  • pages 207-214
  • Chapter 4
  • pages 283-302
• Read the following APA tutorials COMPLETELY!! and be sure you can follow all of the formatting requirements
  • Lesson: Formatting a Title Page
  • Lesson: Formatting an Abstract
  • Lesson: Order of Pages
  • Lesson: Spacing and Indentation
  • Lesson: Formatting Headings
  • Lesson: Formatting Quoted Material
  • Lesson: Formatting Numbers
  • Lesson: Citing References
  • Lesson: Formatting Tables
• Find a partner within the course to switch papers with. You will not switch papers until next week so you have time this week to find a partner.
  
  

Applied Behavior Analysis is a term you will be introduced to next week in your text as well as with your first course project. Essentially it is the practice of applying behaviorist principles to change behavior. This is probably something you do all the time in a very informal way but we will be formalizing it as a specific application of behaviorism in the coming weeks. Option 2 below will get you started on your project that I will explain in detail next week (or that you may have already read about in our session last week).

Session Activities

Choose 1 of the following 3 options to complete:

1. Option 1: Analysis of Clockwork Orange
   Calling all movie buffs! View the movie, "A Clockwork Orange" by Stanley Kubrick (some of you may have already seen this and can answer from memory). Analyze the procedures used in terms of classical and operant conditioning. What image, or metaphor, of conditioning is presented in the movie? How do you think Skinner would have reacted to the procedures used in the movie? What alternative procedures might Skinner have proposed for altering Alex's violent behavior? What would you propose? What events were occurring in the 70s that might have influenced Kubrick's decision to portray conditioning in this light? [NOTE: This movie is quite violent and Adult Rated so please choose another activity if you are uncomfortable]
   
   Another good example of operant conditioning can be seen in the lighter and less violent film Sea Biscuit. Feel free to use this movie for an analysis also.
   
   Report your analysis in this threaded discussion
   
   
2. Option 2: Eliminating an Undesirable Behavior
   Describe a situation (bad habit, etc.) in which you had (or are currently having) difficulty achieving some desired performance. Analyze the event in terms of eliminating undesirable behaviors and develop and share a plan to overcome the difficulty. Describe what types of reinforcement and punishment you would employ and likely hurdles you will have to jump to succeed. Finally, describe how implementation of the plan should be monitored, including what you would do if it seemed to be ineffective.
   
   Share your description and plan in this threaded discussion.
   
   
3. Option 3: Usefulness of Behaviorism
   As you will see in the following chapters, many theorists have rejected the concepts of behaviorism, believing that an understanding of learning is better served by other concepts. Take an initial position on the usefulness of behavioral principles, both for practitioners and researchers. Explain why you think it is or is not useful, when it may be useful, etc.
   
   Participate in this threaded discussion.

• Email your Director;
• Email the Mentor;
• Email other interns.
• Refer to the Course FAQ.

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