Conditioning Theories

Write a 5–6-page examination of how conditioning changes some of your own behaviors.

While modern research in psychology is not explicitly behaviorist in its approach, behaviorism is still relevant in certain areas today. For example, it is often taken for granted today that objective, quantitative measures will be used in psychological studies, as opposed to the introspective reports that were used in many types of research in the early 1900s.

Suggested Resources

The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.

Capella Resources

Click the links provided to view the following resources:

• Assessment 2 Context.
• APA Paper Template.
• APA Style and Format.

SHOW LESS

Capella Multimedia

Click the links provided below to view the following multimedia pieces:

• Stimulus Learning |  Transcript.
• Timeline: Classical Conditioning  |  Transcript.
• Classical Conditioning  |  Transcript.
• Instrumental Conditioning |  Transcript.
• Instrumental Conditioning Case Studies |  Transcript.

FMG Video

Click the link provided below to view the following video:

• Constant Craving: The Science of Addiction.
  • This is a video from Films on Demand. Any distribution of video content or associated links is prohibited.
  • To view an accessible version of this presentation, click Transcript.

Library Resources

The following e-books or articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course:

• Jaycox, L. H., Foa, E. B., & Morral, A. R. (1998). Influence of emotional engagement and habituation on exposure therapy for PTSD. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66(1), 185–192.
• Epstein, L. H., Temple, J. L., Rhombic, J. N., & Button, M. E. (2009). Habituation as a determinant of human food intake. Psychological Review, 116(2), 384–407.
• Mitchell, C., Kodiak, R., Nash, S., Lavas, Y., & Hall, G. (2008). Analysis of the role of associative inhibition in perceptual learning by means of the same-different task. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 34(4), 475–485.
• Beck, H. P., Levinson, S., & Irons, G. (2009). Finding Little Albert: A journey to John B. Watson's infant laboratory. American Psychologist, 64(7), 605–614.
• Galef, B. G. (1998). Edward Thorndike: Revolutionary psychologist, ambiguous biologist. American Psychologist, 53(10), 1128–1134.
• Pavlov, I. P. Excerpts from The work of the digestive glands. American Psychologist, 52(9), 936–940.
• Woods, P. J. (1974). A taxonomy of instrumental conditioning. American Psychologist, 29(8), 584–597.
• Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20, 158–177.
• Skinner, B. F. (1989). The origins of cognitive thought. American Psychologist, 44(1), 13–18.

Course Library Guide

A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the PSYC-FP3500 – Learning and Cognition Library Guide to help direct your research.

Bookstore Resources

The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the Capella University Bookstore. When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific –FP (FlexPath) course designation.

• Terry, W. S. (2009). Learning and memory: Basic principles, processes, and procedures (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
  • You may find Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 particularly relevant to the topics in this assessment.

Assessment Instructions

Think about examples of how your own behavior can change due to conditioning effects—how rewards and punishments have shaped your own behavior over the years. What role have rewards and punishments 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 punishments to improve employee performance.

In preparation for this assessment, research behaviorism and some of the classic studies conducted by John Watson and B. F. Skinner. 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 8 years.

Directions

For this assessment, complete the following:

1. Conditioning treatment of phobias. Find a peer-reviewed research study that addresses the theory or treatment of phobias that was published within the last 8 years. Summarize the methods used and the conclusions made, and 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, either 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 assessment to 5–6 pages, in addition to a title page and a references page. Support your statements and analyses with references and citations from at least three resources.

Additional Requirements

• Include a title page and a references page.
• Use at least three resources.
• Follow APA format.
• Note: You may use the APA Paper Template linked in the Resources..
• Use 12-point, Times New Roman font.
•  Double-space your paper.

Conditioning Theories Scoring Guide

CRITERIANON-PERFORMANCEBASICPROFICIENTDISTINGUISHEDSummarize a scholarly research article regarding treatment.Does not summarize a scholarly research article regarding the treatment of phobias.Partially summarizes a scholarly research article regarding the treatment of phobias, but the summary is incomplete.Summarizes a scholarly research article regarding the treatment of phobias.Summarizes the key points of a scholarly research article regarding the treatment of phobias in a clear and concise manner.Describe aspects of a scholarly research article that reflects conditioning principles.Does not identify aspects of a scholarly research article that reflects conditioning principles.Identifies aspects of a scholarly research article that reflects conditioning principles, but provides little or no description.Describes aspects of a scholarly research article that reflects conditioning principles.Describes aspects of a scholarly research article that reflects conditioning principles and supports conclusions with a strong rationale.Analyze how conditioning is relevant today.Does not describe how conditioning is relevant today.Describes how conditioning is relevant today, but provides little or no analysis.Analyzes how conditioning is relevant today.Evaluates how conditioning is relevant today and supports conclusions with examples.Apply conditioning theory and research to personal learning experiences.Does not apply conditioning theory and research to personal learning experiences.Attempts to apply conditioning theory and research to personal learning experiences but the application is incomplete or inappropriate to the situation.Applies conditioning theory and research to personal learning experiences.Applies conditioning theory and research to personal learning experiences and supports conclusions with a strong rationale. Write coherently to support a central idea with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics as expected of a psychology professional.Writing does not support a central idea. Does not use correct grammar, usage, and mechanics as expected of a psychology professional.Writes to support an idea but is inconsistent and contains numerous errors of grammar, usage, and mechanics.Writes to coherently support a central idea with few errors of grammar, usage, and mechanics.Writes coherently, using evidence to support a central idea with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics, as expected of a psychology professional.Successfully implement APA style.Does not apply proper APA formatting and style.Written communication is adequate but has some APA errors and inconsistencies.Successfully implements APA style with only minor errors in format.Applies scholarly writing skills, and uses proper APA formatting and style in the body of the paper and references list.