Essays on Cerutti

There are many theories as to how a person may become who he or she is. Some people believe that they are directly shaped by the events that happen in a person’s past, while other thinkers state that people go through different dialectical stages that led up to one’s current state. In this sense, there are many elements that one must be aware of in order to adequately analyze one’s life development. Three of the most important development theorists are B. F. Skinner, John Watson and Erik Erikson; these three men founded Operant Conditioning, Behaviorism and ...

Abstract

Operant conditioning is a form of learning where behaviors for individuals are modified by their consequences. Different occupations are associated with different behaviors. It is extremely fundamental to understand the difference between various situations and how they may be resolved. Following the uniqueness of various occupations there are solutions that are outlined to solve issues as they arise in different situations. Depending on the problem either Positive or Negative Reinforcement, Positive and Negative Punishment, Shaping, Extinction, Generalization, or Discrimination may be undertaken as a solution.

In most cases, related behaviors will attract similar solutions. Since different problems may be intertwined, they ...

The theory of operant conditioning created by behaviorist B.F. Skinner explains that a behavior can be understood by looking at the external apparent causes of an action and the related consequences resulting from that action. Skinner's theory was inspired by the Law of Effect theory of Edward Thorndike, but he added one additional component to Thorndike's law of effect and that is Reinforcement (McLeod, 2007). Reinforcement is of four types - positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment and extinction. According to Skinner, behavior can be reinforced through rewards and punishment. Both positive and negative reinforcement strengthen a behavior and encourage it to ...