The theory I chose to write about is BF Skinner's operant conditioning because it intrigues me and is the one I agree with the most. BF Skinner is an incredible American psychologist who developed one of the most influential theories there is. Skinner is a behaviorist and developed his theory by conducting extensive research on the formation of behavior. Operant conditioning is a behavior modification technique, which developed in contrast to the classical conditioning of Pavlov and Watson. His idea of ​​the behavior modification technique was to place the subject in a program with steps. The steps included setting goals that would help you determine how the topic would be changed by following the given steps. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which a person's actions are reinforced or punished. The principle of Skinner's theory reflects on how positively reinforced behavior will most likely recur. For responses to be strengthened, information should be presented in small amounts. Another key principle states that reinforcers will generalize even across similar stimuli, which, in turn, produces secondary conditioning. In summary, behavior is influenced by the consequences of actions and reinforcement is crucial to change or alter behavior. The term reinforcement itself is any characteristic of the environment that increases the likelihood that a person will repeat a behavior in the future. In contrast, punishment is any characteristic that decreases the likelihood that a person will repeat a behavior. According to BF Skinner, “children operate on their environment (hence the term operant conditioning), adapting their behaviors to attract more reinforcers and avoid punishment.” (12)This theory of Skinner demonstrates that children adapt behavior to obtain reinforcement and also avoid punishment. Operant conditioning and Skinner's theory have been applied in various forms of research and clinical settings. Teachers use this method of operant conditioning to control children in their classroom, and parents apply both positive and negative reinforcement to their children even during their daily lives. When it came to more complex types of behaviors, the idea of ​​modeling came into play. The modeling procedure selectively reinforces certain behaviors while ignoring or punishing others. Language development and how children come to produce speech are said to have to do with training. “Learning theorists believe that the specific language training a child receives governs language development and that biological predispositions do not play an important role.” (264) In conducting research, Skinner and his students had successful results in making simple animals do extremely difficult things using shaping. We, as humans, are essentially shaped by our environment to like or dislike certain things. This theory compares and contrasts with my childhood and how I was growing up in numerous ways. As far as modeling goes, I noticed that my parents reinforced positive behavior as much as possible when I was learning math because it was something I struggled with a little more as a child. I would be placed in an environment where all I could do is learn and there would be no distractions. My parents constantly told me how important it wasreceive good grades. I would be praised for the good grades I received and it made me want to work harder to continually receive that praise. I still experience a form of operant conditioning even during college. Credit cards offer more student loan options to students who do well in college, another form of reward that makes them work that much harder. However, sometimes operant conditioning doesn't work and if parents constantly punish their children for receiving bad grades, a child may develop a hatred towards school as he grows up. It is important to be understanding and note that sometimes children struggle and reinforcement will not always provide the desired outcome. I strongly believe in discipline and not giving in to your children when you have already told them no multiple times. For example, if a child wants to buy a candy or toy in a store and starts crying, a parent should be strict and continue to refuse the candy bar. If the parent ends up giving up and buying the child the candy or toy, the child can start to put two and two together and apply this method of operant conditioning in a negative reinforcement manner. Therefore, there needs to be a consistent pattern displayed through this method. According to Skinner it would be any time physical or mental abuse is imposed on a person. The punishment imposed on a person should never cause any physical harm, and the reinforcement should be healthy and not something that could be considered addiction. Much care and attention is needed in both correcting and teaching behavior. B.F. Skinner is also said to have “grossly underestimated the role of biology in shaping and regulating human behavior, ignoring the burgeoning fields of behavioral genetics, evolutionary psychology, and cognitive science. Skinner argued that human beings don't really think, but simply respond to environmental signals." Therefore, this theory cannot be applied to all cultures because there are some cultural factors that a person may experience compared to someone else. Parents may use more severe forms of operant conditioning in different countries because that is how they were raised, and a child may not have the same positive effect as Skinner hopes his theory demonstrates. My interactions with children are now influenced by this theory because I have grown more cautious in understanding that you can essentially try to train a child through birth and reinforcement, but ultimately it all depends on what the child is like. Operant conditioning does not necessarily always provide the desired outcome if the child refuses to accept it. I will try to apply the operant conditioning method when I babysit or when I have my own children one day to modify behaviors as best I can if a child is behaving unnecessarily. Some parenting advice I would give to parents would be to move away from the authoritarian approach as best you can and realize that there is a difference between discipline and harmful discipline. Using operant conditioning to keep children “on track” and exactly how you want them to behave can be harmful to them in the future. If a child is always punished in a harmful way for his wrong actions, a lot of mental damage will occur and this may hurt him instead of allowing him to grow and understand his wrongdoings. The best advice to understand and integrate into parenting is that there is a fine line between discipline and compassion/understanding. If a child does something wrong, talk to him patiently and calmly without reinforcement. Sometimes a child can understand and understand.