Sei sulla pagina 1di 14

Behavior: An Insight

Behavior is something psychologists have been trying to define

for ages. Several theories have come up and each has been right in a

way. But we still don’t have an exact definition for human behavior. We

probably never will have one, because human beings change and each

individual is different from one another. It might be possible to have a

few generalizations but the truth is that each one of us does things

differently.

The operant conditioning model is one such model used to

explain human behavior. Conditioning is a “systematic procedure

through which associations and responses to specific stimuli are

learned” (Lefton 119). Operant conditioning is defined as “a type of

learning in which the desirable or undesirable consequences of a

behavior determine whether the behavior is repeated”(Uba 184). It is

also known as instrumental conditioning. The probability of an event

occurring depends on its consequences. Much of the research on the

operant model was done by B. F. Skinner and E.L. Thorndike (Jensen).

But the basic principle that governs operant conditioning is known as

the law of effect. The law states that behaviors followed by desirable

outcomes are more likely to recur than behaviors with unpleasant

outcomes and vice versa. Rewards and Punishments do affect our

behavior.
Before we enter the realms of operant conditioning, it is

necessary to know the basic concepts and terminology used in this

theory. Reinforcement is the “process by which a stimulus or event

strengthens or increases the probability of the response that it

follows”(Wade 273). Punishment, on the other hand, is “the process by

which a stimulus or event weakens or reduces the probability of the

response that it follows”(Wade 273). There are two types of

reinforcements and punishments. A positive reinforcement is the

“presentation of a stimulus after a particular response in order to

increase the likelihood that the response will recur”, while a negative

reinforcement is the “removal of a stimulus after a particular response

to increase the likelihood that the response will recur” (Lefton 128).

Positive punishment is the process in which a response is followed by a

negative stimulus. Negative punishment or omission training is the

process in which an “operant response removes a positive event and

thus becomes less probable” (Benjamin 228). What is important to

note is that both positive and negative reinforcements increase the

probability of a response, while both positive and negative

punishments decrease the probability of a response.

Operant conditioning is affected by many variables. The three

most important are strength, timing and frequency of consequences.


Studies have shown that the greater the reward, the harder, longer and

faster a person will work to complete a task (Lefton 132). Similarly, the

harsher the punishment the more quickly the behavior can be

suppressed and the longer it will remain suppressed. However, this is

does not mean that an extremely harsh and unjust punishment will

suppress behavior. Punishment is best delivered in moderation, too

much can be as ineffective as too little. In fact, too much of

punishment may result in a behavior contrary to the punisher’s goals.

Many events in history are witness to this fact. Events such as the

American and French revolutions started off because the rulers and

conditions of living were too unjust.

In addition to the strength, the timing is important too. The

shorter the interval, the greater the chances that the behavior will be

learned. The frequency of consequences is the third important factor.

The process of varying the frequency of reinforcements or punishments

is called manipulating the schedule of reinforcement. There are four

basic schedules of reinforcement:

 Interval Schedule: Based on time. A minimum amount of time

must pass between reinforcements.

1. Fixed Interval: “A reinforcer is given only when a correct

response is made after a set amount of time has passed


since the last reinforced response. Responses made during

the time interval are not reinforced” (Coon 255). It

produces a high rate of response just prior to

reinforcement

2. Variable Interval: “A reinforcer is given for the first

correct response made after a varied amount of time has

passed since the last reinforced response. Responses made

during the time interval are not reinforced” (Coon 255). It

results in a steady rate of response

 Ratio Schedule: Based on the number of responses.

1. Fixed Ratio: “A set number of correct responses must be

made to get a reinforcer”(Coon 255). High rate of response

until reinforcer is received after which is usually a pause

2. Variable Ratio: “A varied number of correct responses

must be made to get a reinforcer”(Coon 255). Results in a

high and steady rate of response.

If we give reinforcement at the right time, as a part of an

organized learning then it promotes learning. Shaping is an operant

conditioning procedure in which “closer and closer approximations of


the desired behaviors are reinforced, as a way of eventually

producing the desired behavior”(Uba 189). Extinction is the process

in which reinforcement is discontinued as a result of which there is a

decline in the previously reinforced response. An interesting process

called spontaneous recovery is one in which there is an occasional

reappearance of an extinct behavior. Two other major concepts are

generalization and discrimination. Generalization is “behaving in a

particular way because the behavior has been reinforced in similar

situations or because similar behavior has been reinforced”(Uba 192).

Discrimination is “distinguishing among, and responding differently to

stimuli that may be similar”(Uba 192).

The behaviorist model has tried to establish a cause and effect

relationship on our behavior and while this can be helpful to predict

human behavior, it is not always correct. We have gained the

behaviorist point of view; animals and humans are basically reactive

organisms whose actions are shaped in predictable ways by external

stimuli and reinforcers.

This is true to some extent. Besides the operant model discussed

above, the behaviorist model also believes in the theory of classical

or Pavlovian conditioning. It is defined as “a form of learning in which

a neutral stimulus that does not naturally cause an automatic


response becomes linked to another stimulus that does, resulting in

the neutral stimulus arousing the automatic response” (Uba 179).

There are two basic categories of stimuli and responses in this model:

 Unconditioned Stimulus(US): a stimulus that automatically

elicits a response. No learning involved.

 Unconditioned Response(UR): a response that occurs due to

the unconditioned stimulus. No learning involved.

 Conditioned Stimulus(CS): a neutral stimulus that is paired

with unconditioned stimulus. It is learned.

 Conditioned Response(CR): a response that follows the

conditioned stimulus. It is learned.

Both classical and operant conditioning theories help explain

human behavior and give us a better understanding of it. We

probably learn to like or dislike many foods and odors through a

process of classical conditioning. If a person likes a particular kind of

food, then the chances are that the same person will be attracted to

other food that smells similar to the first kind of food. The second

food as a CS and elicits a CR. Many people begin to dislike a food, if


they fall ill after it, even if the two events are unrelated. It also

explains how we begin to fear objects. For example, “cancer patients

develop a fear of places and objects that have been associated with

their chemotherapy treatments – the sound of the nurse’s voice, the

smell of rubbing alcohol, the waiting room of a clinic”(Jacobsen). It

also helps us to explain the human addiction to drugs. The drug’s

effect is considered to be the US, which produces a UR in the form of

a compensatory physiological response in the body, such as an

increased resistance to the drug. Cues in the environment act as a CS

which induce an increased body resistance and therefore more of the

drug is required to produce the usual effects.

Operant conditioning helps us understand why people don’t

always behave as they would like. When a person goes to a

motivation workshop or personal growth group, then the person is

given a lot of reinforcements, which tend to make the person believe

that their way of interacting with others has changed. But when they

return home, since their environment has the same old punishers and

reinforcers and since everyone acts the same, they feel that their

new responses have failed to generalize. An important use of the

behaviorist theory is that it helps us understand infants better. It

gives parents a greater sense of control over their young infants. It

also helps mentally challenged people to control inappropriate


behavior and focus their attention on constructive tasks. The operant

model has helped explain how much of punishment and reward are

necessary and that finds use not only within households but also

within corporations when managers try to increase the productivity of

their employees.

The constant battle between nature and nurture often makes us

wonder about our behavior. Is it based on nurture or nature or both?

The behaviorist model makes us believe that our behavior is based

entirely on what we learn. But that is not the truth. I think that our

behavior is a conglomeration of instincts we’ve learned and instincts

we’ve got from our genes. If I were asked to give a statistic, I’d

probably say that the division of our behavior between nature and

nurture is about fifty-fifty. That’s just because there is no evidence to

prove that there should be more of nature or more of nurture.

The main reason why I think that our behavior is a combination

of both and not just learning is because the behaviorist theory

doesn’t explain insight, creative thinking and similar processes. It

also doesn’t explain why some people behave and think differently

from others while performing the same tasks. That probably indicates

that there’s more to behavior than just learning. With the advances in

technology and medicine, psychologists have gone deeper into the


biology of human beings and it has helped to explain why we act the

way we do. At the same time, our DNA and genes don’t really

determine everything we do because our environment and the people

around us play an equally important role in our lives and our

behavior.

Our behavior is determined by several factors. If we try and trace

our stages of growth from birth to death we can see how the factors

affecting our behavior come in and to what extent they affect us. At

birth, all we have is our genes. But the moment we enter this world,

our interactions with our parents and the environment in general

begin to affect us and what we do. In every stage, our behavior is a

combination of the two. Although it might seem that learning is all

that affects our behavior that is not the case. Our behavior has a

preprogrammed and a learned part.

Human beings go through the process of learning all throughout

their lives. Even though people might say that they stop learning

once they become adults, the process goes on. The fate of the

behavior that we have learned over time depends on other’s

response to it. If we get praise or are encouraged whenever we

behave in that particular manner, then the praise acts as

reinforcement and we continue acting the way we do. If however, we


get a negative response, we think twice about repeating the same

behavior. The greater the frequency of the negative response and the

stronger its impact, greater are the chances that we will change our

behavior. This is true for both the preprogrammed and learned parts

of our behavior.

Our behavior can also be affected by our needs. According to

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, human beings have several needs

ranging from hunger and thirst to aesthetic and self-actualization

needs. He formed a pyramid as below:

(Heffner)

According to Maslow, human beings needed to satisfy their lower

needs to get to their higher needs. These needs could motivate the

individual to modify his or her behavior. For example, the primitive


man used to go out hunting to satisfy the need for food. He used to

stay in his cave at night to sleep and to feel secure. Rewards,

punishments and needs affect our behavior.

The concepts of shaping can be used to produce a desired

behavior. The steps involved are often called successive

approximations because they successively approximate or get closer

and closer to the desired behavior. Research has found that this

technique works well for phobias and anxiety related disorders. Take

arachnophobia for instance, the fear of spiders. To be diagnosed with a

phobia you must have both an irrational fear that is not justified by

current outcome and significant distress or negative consequences

because of this irrational fear. To modify this fear or the behavior of

avoiding or running away from spiders, behaviorists would apply the

concept of shaping.

Another method used to modify behavior is systematic

desensitization. In systematic desensitization, a hierarchy is created,

typically by the client alone or with the assistance of the behavioral

therapist. Often the hierarchy includes imagination such as imaging a

spider crawling toward you or imaging a spider on your hand as

intermediate steps. The goal of this treatment is the same as shaping

and reinforcement; to eliminate the fear associated with the object or


situation. As you can see, changing behavior is not too difficult. It is

simpler with animals than humans, because all animals care about are

their psychological needs.

If we go down to the basics of behavior and try to measure how

much of it is a part of our personality, we stumble upon an interesting

dilemma. It is not true that our personality is solely controlled by our

behavior. But our behavior does play a role. Personality can be defined

as “the relatively stable combination of beliefs, attitudes, values,

motives, temperament, and behavior patterns, arising from underlying,

internal inclinations that an individual exhibits in many situations” (Uba

479). Personality therefore is a mixture of several ingredients.

There are several theories about personalities and though each

one of them is not completely true, they offer the partial truth. Some of

our personality depends on our past childhood experiences and

present, unconscious motives inside of us. Some of it comes from our

past experience and our cognitive structure and values. Another major

contributor are our genes and their interaction with the environment.

Our personality also depends on the present, on the choices in front of

us and on our decisions. Learning does play an important part, but I’d

have to say that it contributes for about 20-30% of our personality.


The behavior theory sheds light on a lot of aspects about human

behavior and even though it is not absolutely correct, it provides a

unique perspective on the why we behave the way we do.

WORKS CITED

Benjamin, L.T., J. Roy Hopkins and Jack R. Nation. Psychology : Third

Edition. New York: Macmillan College Publishing Company, 1994.

Coon, Dennis. Essentials of Psychology: Ninth Edition. Toronto:

Thomson-Wadsworth, 2003.

Heffner, Christopher L. “Personality Synopsis.” AllPsych Online: The

Virtual Psychology Classroom. 15 Aug 2003. 8 Dec. 2003


<http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/behavior_modification.

html>.

Jacobsen, Paul B., Dana H. Bovbjerg, Marc D. Schwartz and Clifford A.

Hudis. “Conditioned emotional distress in women receiving

chemotherapy for breast cancer.” Journal of Consulting & Clinical

Psychology 63 (1995): 108-114.

Jensen, A.R. “Psychometric g as a focus on concerted research effort.”

Intelligence 11(1987): 193-198.

Lefton, Lester A. Interactive Psychology Online. Boston: Allyn and

Bacon, 2001.

Uba, Laura and Karen Huang. Psychology. New York: Addison Wesley

Longman, 1999.

Wade, Carole and Carol Tavris. Invitation to Psychology. New York:

Addison Wesley Longman, 1999.

Potrebbero piacerti anche