Describe the principles/concepts which can be applied to explain the process by which operant conditioning can lead to the development and maintenance of superstitions.

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Operant Conditioning and Superstitions

Many people believe that superstitions are absolutely true. This often causes them to believe and act in ways that are out of the norm either to avoid a negative outcome or to bring about a positive outcome. However, the origins of all superstitions lie in operant conditioning (for example, wearing the same shirt worn during a victory game to all future games in order to ensure victory).

In this assignment, you will examine the process by which operant conditioning can lead to the formation of a superstition.

Using the module readings, the Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, research the development of operant conditioning and its basic principles. Then, address the following:

  • Describe the historical antecedents of operant conditioning. What factors led to the rise of operant conditioning?
  • Describe the principles/concepts which can be applied to explain the process by which operant conditioning can lead to the development and maintenance of superstitions.
  • Brainstorm to come up with a number of superstitions you may have heard or read about. Using your knowledge and vocabulary of operant conditioning, choose one of these superstitions. Then, describe in detail, the thinking processes involved that resulted in the acquisition and perpetuation of this irrational belief.
  • Describe a specific aspect of the operant conditioning process that leads to these beliefs becoming so deeply ingrained and long standing in nature.
  • Explain whether a person can ever be rid of superstitions. What methods can be used to help such a person?
  • Interview a family member or friend to discover a superstition that he or she believes in. Explain the nature of the event that led to the formation of this superstition. Does this information fit with your understanding of how the operant conditioning process results in the development of superstitions? Why or why not?

Write a 3–4-page paper in Word format. The paper should be double-spaced and in 12 point, Times New Roman font with regular one-inch margins and free of typographical and grammatical errors. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Be sure to include a title page and a reference page. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.doc.

Each of your responses to your peers should include a summary of the thoughts presented by your colleague as well as your evaluation of your colleague’s comments in a manner that contributes to the further understanding of the various phenomena under consideration.

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Rethinking Psychopathology

Prior to beginning work on this interactive assignment, review your instructor’s initial forum post, and watch The Nature of the Mind–Part One: The Roots of Psychological Disorder. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. It is recommended that you read Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, and 10 in Positive Psychology: Theory, Research and Applications, Please note that the video selected for this week is dense and may be difficult to understand upon first viewing. You are encouraged to watch the video more than once over the course of several days to better understand the conversation in more depth.

As a scholarly member of the psychological community, you will be expected to engage in philosophical conversations on the nature of psychopathology and changes in the mind. This interactive assignment is an opportunity to have a philosophical conversation with your instructor and classmates on positive psychology and the nature of psychological suffering.

For your posts in this forum, you will follow the instructions provided to you in the instructor guidance for this week. As a class, you will judge and comment on the use of diagnostic manuals and handbooks including how they may limit our understanding of psychopathology.

Guided Response: The goal of this discussion is to have a single, dynamic, and respectful conversation about positive psychology and the nature of psychological suffering, not a series of 20 to 30 separate conversations. This means that every post should be in response to another student’s post, creating one long thread. Only start a new discussion thread if you want to address an entirely different theme or question(s) within the discussion subject area. Additionally, only post after first carefully reviewing your colleagues’ posts within the thread.

Each of your responses to your peers should include a summary of the thoughts presented by your colleague as well as your evaluation of your colleague’s comments in a manner that contributes to the further understanding of the various phenomena under consideration.

Simple agree and/or disagree statements are insufficient to be counted as a response. When presenting your opinion, be certain to cite relevant references which support your claims. Do not repeat what your classmates have already stated, and do not ignore them if they ask you questions. Any questions asked of you must be answered, including questions from your instructor. Try to keep the conversation moving forward by presenting options, insights, alternative ideas on and/or interpretations of the topics and research.

What benefits come from our children blindly following the authority figures in their life?

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********ALSO KEEP IN MIND WHEN DOING THIS ASSIGNMENT I ALLOW MY CHILDREN TO RESPECTFUL QUESTION THOSE IN AUTHORITY AS NOT ALL AUTHORITY FIGURES ARE PERFECT AND ROOM FOR ERROR SO I ALLOW MY CHILDREN TO ASK WHY OR QUESTION AS I OR OTHERS WILL THEN EXPLAIN WHY THEY NEED TO DO WHAT THEY ARE BEING ASKED AS I FEEL I  GET A BETTER RESULT AS A PARENT AND IT SHOWS MY CHILDREN THAT I DO UNDERSTAND WHY THEY QUESTION AND THEY SEE WHY THEY NEED TO DO RATHER THEN JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE SAYS. AFTER ALL IF A COP SAYS JUMP OFF THE BRIDGE…WOULD YOU WITH OUT QUESTION? HE IS AFTER ALL AN AUTHORITY FIGURE!

 

Obedience

Because I said so . . .

In our culture it is fairly normal to see a parent socialize their children to obey authority figures without question. We teach them that because they are a child if they question the authority figures in their life that they are being disrespectful and often punish them for this kind of questioning.

Now consider the outcome of Milgram’s research into obedience in which many participants followed the request of a perceived authority figure and administering shocks up to 450 volts to a person who simply got the answers wrong. Read the following article by Thomas Blass about Milgram and his research:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200203/the-man-who-shocked-the-world

Additionally read the article at http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=1297922 about the prank call at McDonalds that lead to the false imprisonment and sexual assault of a young employee all because the assistant manager blindly followed the instructions of a man on the phone.

    • Discuss, in general, why children are socialized to obey authority figures.

 

    • Does the way we socialize our children set them on a possible path toward this kind of obedience?

 

    • What benefits come from our children blindly following the authority figures in their life?

 

    • What negative consequences can come from this kind of socialization?

 

    • Is there a better option in the way we socialize our children? If so, what would be a better strategy?

 

  • Should this strategy change as the child ages? If so, how would it be different for older children versus younger children?

Summarize the methods used in the research and the conclusions made by the researchers. Describe the key aspects of the research that reflect behaviorist principles.

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Think of how your behavior can change due to conditioning effects—how rewards and punishment have shaped your own behavior over the years. What role have rewards and punishment played in your life? For example, how did your parents encourage you to learn multiplication tables or drive a car? Even job incentives can be framed in terms of rewards and punishment to improve employee performance.

In preparation for this assignment, research behaviorism and some of the classic John Watson and B. F. Skinner studies. It is important to understand the basic principles of behaviorism and how behaviorism fits into psychology research today. Find a peer-reviewed research study that addresses the theory or treatment of phobias that was published within the last eight years.

Directions

Complete the following:

1. Conditioning treatment of phobias. Find a peer-reviewed research study published within the last eight years that addresses the theory or treatment of phobias. Summarize the methods used in the research and the conclusions made by the researchers. Describe the key aspects of the research that reflect behaviorist principles.

2. Conditioning related to personal behavior. Describe how conditioning explains changes in your own behavior that you have observed at work or at home. Provide three examples. (If your examples are from personal experience, your descriptions may be in first person.) Be sure to relate theory and research to your examples. For example, you might describe how behavioral theory would explain your learning process in that situation. Cite scholarly articles to support your conclusions.

3. Relevance of conditioning today. Analyze how behaviorism is still relevant today. What are the limits of behaviorism? Are there processes that it does not explain well? For example, behaviorists believed that babies and children learned language through rewards and punishments, but today we know that language learning is a much more complex process. The behaviorist approach was not sufficient to explain the totality of language learning.

Strive to be as concise as possible and limit the length of your completed assignment to 5–6 pages of content.

Additional Requirements

· Include a title page and a references page.

· Use at least three resources.

· Follow APA style and format.

· Use 12-point, Times New Roman type, double spaced