PART A- Operant Conditioning Theory
Operant conditioning is a theory on behaviorism that was formulated by behavioral psychologist, B.F. Skinner. It focuses on an individual's changes in observable behavior. According to B.F. Skinner, once a behavior is followed by reinforcement, it is more likely to be repeated; however, if it is followed by punishment then it is not likely to be repeated (Plotnik, R., & Kouyoumdjian, 2014).
Bobby is a seven-year old child who is used to getting gifts from his parents every now and then right from a tender age. Every time his mother decides to go to the mall, she takes him with her. However, whenever they walk past a toy store in the mall, Bobby tends to spot an item he wants and constantly nags his mother to purchase it for him. Of course with the mother being on a tight budget, most of the time she will say no. However, Bobby would always respond to the denial by screaming and crying, and he continues to be louder as they continue walking away from the where he spotted the toy. In order save herself from the embarrassment, his mother is sometimes forced to purchase the toy unwillingly. Bobby’s behavior has now become a habit such that every time he is with his mother and needs something all that he needs to do is cry. In this scenario, the act of Bobby’s mother purchasing the toys acts as a positive reinforcement to Bobby’s screaming and crying. She gives something desirable to stop the crying in return. However, it has in turn taught Bobby that all he needs to do is scream and cry in similar situations in the future and he will get whatever he wants. Therefore, the likelihood of his behavior of screaming and crying over things that he want seems to be increasing.
One of the reasons I want to change Bobby’s behavior is to teach him how to be responsible. Bobby has formed the notion that all he has to do is cry and whatever he does will be fulfilled. However, he must learn that screaming, crying and throwing tantrums are not always the solution to acquiring something he likes. Moreover, Bobby must learn that money is not something to be spent on everything we love. The benefit of Bobby’s change in behavior will be to his mother will not have to think twice of the places she visits when with her son or having to worry about being embarrassed. Through the crying Bobby has taught his mother that in similar occasions in future she has to give in to what he wants or else he will cry. More so, this behavior increases the probability of his mother’s relenting behavior in the future.
Secondly, whenever Bobby’s mother feels irritated by Bobby’s crying and throwing of tantrums she should only purchase the toy that is within her budget. According to B.F. Skinner, this is termed as extinction, in which case the mother will no longer be reinforcing a previously reinforced response resulting in the weakening of its frequency (Plotnik, R., & Kouyoumdjian, 2014). By doing so, Bobby will learn that through crying he cannot always get want he wants since his mother is the one in charge and not him. With time, Bobby will learn to keep calm and request politely for what his mother can afford to purchase him. It will act more like a punishment where Bobby will learn that he is not in control and that the final decision lays with his mother to get him what she deems right.
The third step is advising the mother to get Bobby other toys once in a while without waiting for him to ask for them as long as he acts right. According to B.F. Skinner, this is positive reinforcement. In positive reinforcement, a positive reinforce is added after a response to increase the occurrence of the response (Plotnik, R., & Kouyoumdjian, 2014). By doing so, Bobby will get confused and learn that he can always get want he wants even without asking for it as long as he behaves himself. It will act as a positive reinforcement to make Bobby be more responsible and avoid crying in public as this will get him presents even without him asking for it. The method will act as a trick where his mother rewards his good actions with a gift to encourage him to continue with the same routine.
PART B- Multiple Intelligences Theory
Howard Gardner questioned the definition of intelligence prompting him to carry out some tests to test what intelligence was. He worked with different talented adults and children who suffered from brain damage. Howard came to the conclusion that people had different talents and gifts and in turn different intelligence levels. Later, Howard Gardner formulated the Multiple Intelligences Theory that explained the different ways in which human intelligence exists and works. According to the Multiple Intelligence Theory, humans have eight different bits of intelligence (Plotnik & Kouyoumdjian,, 2014) These intelligence profiles, however, exist either to a larger or lesser extent depending on our genetics and experiences. This intelligence are what make people unique from others, and they include: Linguistic, Logical- Mathematics, Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Spatial, Natural, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Intelligence (Plotnik, & Kouyoumdjian, 2014).
Testing the eight different bits of intelligence according to Howard Gardner would vary depending on the type of the intelligence. To test the linguistic intelligence, I would hold a debate where I would different participants taking part. I would disclose the topic of the debate to all the participants until they come onstage. I would expect them to use ambiguous words and vocabularies based on the topics. For Logical-Mathematics Intelligence, I would put the same participants through a quiz exercise and allocate five minutes at most to each participant to solve the given problems. For Musical Intelligence, the same participants would have listened to certain songs then afterward rewrite the lyrics on their own. For Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, I would like the participants into a series of events such as dancing then have them remodel certain things to come up with complete tools. For Spatial Intelligence, the participants would have to use their creativity to design specific buildings that represent an event in history. For Natural Intelligence, I would take the participants out to an animal park and have them connect with them animals and nature and later have them perform experiments on different plants. For Interpersonal Intelligence, I would have the participants organize themselves in various groups then have them pick a team leader for themselves. I would analyze the means they would use to select their leaders and how effective the team leaders chose would be. For Intrapersonal intelligence, I would have each participant say their goals, aspirations and the time frame they would like to have their goals achieved. I would then conduct a follow-up to see how determined they are in pursuing their dreams.
References
Plotnik, R., & Kouyoumdjian, H. (2014). Introduction to Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub Co.
