Keiosha Cooper Psych/550 August 25, 2014 Kimberly Wisniewski INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING PAPER 2
Abstract
Instrumental conditioning is a method that permits an adjustment in behavior and the change of behavior is capable of be either being negative or positive, depending on their surroundings, and the individual. This paper will appraise the function of instrumental conditioning as it relates to teaching an individual how to drive a car. I will present a brief depiction of how the drive a car, included will included comparison and contrast of the concept of positive and negative reinforcements as it relates to driving a car. The role of reward and punishment in driving a car, as well as a clarification of which form of conditioning would be mainly successful in learning how drive a car.
INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING PAPER 3
Instrumental Conditioning Paper
Instrumental conditioning sometime stated as operant conditioning was developed by scientist B.F. Skinner. Instrumental conditioning one of the methods of learning were an individual adapts to the velocity and the manifestation of the individuals own behavior because of the relationship of the contact of a stimulus (Terry, 2009). Instrumental conditioning is different from the learning method of classical conditioning. Classical conditioning produces changes in a behavior by associating a transformation in behavior with a neutral stimulus being frequently matching with a stimulus that triggers a reflexive reaction until the previously neutral stimulus alone can induce a similar reaction (Bernstein, Clarke-Stewart, Penner, Roy, & Wickens, 2000). Where as in instrumental conditioning, behavior is deliberately modifies based on the surrounding and preserved by the significance of the behavior of the individual. There are four contexts of instrumental conditioning: positive and negative reinforcement. Selected learning situation The legal age that an individual can receive a drivers license is depends on what country the individual lives. Most individuals in the United States receive their license at the age of sixteen, which for me was my junior year in high school. An individual can learn how to drive under three situations: The first situation is a parent or a relative can teach the individual how the drive, the second scenario is for an individual to take a driver education course, and the third situation an individuals parent can hire a private drive to teach their child how to drive. In most of the apposed scenarios, an individual can have a positive or negative learning knowledge that can manipulate what type of driver the individual will turn out to be depending on the type of reinforcement and punishment that is used on the individual. INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING PAPER 4
Positive and negative reinforcement in learning how to drive Positive reinforcement is when an alluring stimulus is added to amplify an individuals behavior. When learning a new task like drive a car for the first time, reinforced criticism is very important to an individual because it manipulate the process of learning. If the individual that is taking the lesson receives positive reinforcement, like stated that they are going very well or someone stated good job, the individual is more likely to keep on doing the assignment well. When an individual first gets behind the wheel of a car they are often nervous because the idea of driving is foreign to them. If the person receives positive feedback some often relax (Krigolson, Pierce, & Holroyd, 2009). According to Bernstein, Clarke-Stewart, Penner, Roy, and Wickens (2000) learning is supplementary encouraging to an individual if it involves positive reinforcement. For example an individual is learning how to drive and the person teaching them gives them praise when they have just finished a task correctly. Negative reinforcement occurs when an item is taking away from an individual to increase behavior. When an individual is learning how to drive they may become weighed down by the quantity of responsibilities that is required to be accomplished. At some point while learning to drive on may develop a fear of doing a situation. Some instructors may use negative reinforcement in order to get the individual that is learning how to drives to focus on one assignment at a time (Bernstein, Clarke-Stewart, Penner, Roy, & Wickens, 2000). For example when I was learning how to drive my biggest fear was parallel parking because I was afraid that I would damage another person car. Since I had tried several times to parallel park with no success, my instructor turn the main focus of my driving lesson into learning how to turn tight corner. This helped me calm down and I was able to focus on learning how to turn the corner and it took my mind off of the undesired task of parallel parking. INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING PAPER 5
Reward and punishment in learning to drive A reward can be a positive or negative reinforcement since it uses stimuli to amplify a precise behavior. Positive punishment is the addition of an unpopular stimulus to reduce a certain behavior. A negative punishment is when a fond of stimuli is taking away to diminish a precise behavior (Nadler, Delgado, & Delamater, 2011). While an individual is learning how to drive, there are efficient ways of using reward and punishment. An individuals feelings have a great Because of the new knowledge that they are gaining. An individuals feelings can either motivate or discourage their ability to learn how to drive based on the type of reward or punishment the individual receives (Nadler, Delgado, & Delamater, 2011). Positive feedback just like positive reinforcement can increase the confidence of the individual in gaining knowledge to a new task. Punishment can be also beneficial to an individual learning how to drive a car just like rewards can. For example, even though I took drivers education my mother would still take me out to make sure my driving was improving. When I would make an error while driving my mother would either shout out commands or grab the wheel, this only made me very nervous and I never wanted to drive with her again. An example of a positive punishment is when I was driving with my instructor and I made a turned big onto a narrow road and another car honked their horn at me. From then on when my instructor would have me drive down that same street I was extra careful not to make such wide turns because I didnt want to go into the other lane. Rewards vs. Punishment In instrumental conditioning reinforcements can be helpful to learning a new skill because it is easier to promote good behavior. While punishment can generate a prevention of learning a certain behavior, reinforcement can help construct learning with self-confidence and the enthusiastic to learn (Krigolson, Pierce, & Holroyd, 2009). When using reinforcement to INSTRUMENTAL CONDITIONING PAPER 6
teach an individual who to drive an individual must remember that when using reinforcement extinction can happen at any time so it is important to change the style of the reinforcement from time to time. Also when trying to learn how to drive by using punishment one must also be cautious that you do not create driver that is nervous that cannot function on the road (Krigolson, Pierce, & Holroyd, 2009). Conclusion Instrumental conditioning modifies intentional behavior in order to learn a new task. Instrumental conditioning relies on the principles of rewards and punishments in order to maintain a certain behavior. In instrumental conditioning there are four contexts: they are positive and negative reinforcement and positive and negative punishment (Terry, 2009). These four contexts are helpful when individuals are learning new experiences. When an individual is learning a behavior like driving, reinforcements increases the opportunity for an individual to make mistakes. Punishment may produce an environment of fear and anxiety to a person that is learning how to drive. Although both reinforcements and punishments are functional in learning a new task like driving, it is apparent that a positive environment can be helping an individual learning a new task healthier through reinforcements.
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References Bernstein, D. A., Clarke-Stewart, A., Penner, L. A., Roy, E. J., & Wickens, C. D. (2000). Psychology (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Krigolson, O. E., Pierce, L. J., & Holroyd, C. B. (2009). Learning to become an expert: Reinforcement learning and the acquisition of perceptual expertise. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(9), 1834-1841. Nadler, N., Delgado, M. R., & Delamater, A. R. (2011). Pavlovian to instrumental transfer of control in a human learning task. Emotion, 11(5), 1112-1123. Terry, W. S. (2009). Learning and Memory: Basic principles and procedures (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.