Behavioral Therapy: Operant Conditioning

Behavioral therapy is an action-based therapy that helps changing a negative or possibly self-damaging behavior into a more positive one through series of treatments. One of the most effective treatment is operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a learning process that occurs by consequences of a behavior. The behavior of an organism is strengthened or weakened by the type of consequences it receives: a reward (reinforcement) or a punishment. The consequences lead to the general techniques of operant conditioning that will branch out to two main points, those being positive or negative. Positive reinforcement is an act of adding a stimulus in a situation to increase the strength of a behavior whereas negative reinforcement is an act of removing a stimulus in a situation to increase the strength of a behavior. It is the same principle when it comes to punishment only that the act of adding or removing a stimulus in a situation is in hopes of decreasing the strength of a …show more content…
This is a good behavior that Ms. Diana should encourage by using positive reinforcement. It is understood that Ms. Diana lack of enthusiasm in hearing what the participating students have to say and that will cause a decrease in this good behavior and that is not favorable. She can use simple non verbal reinforcements such as encouraging the student who is in the discussion with eye contact, encouraging smile, and a body language such as turning her body towards the student completely that will send a signal to the student that Ms. Diana is indeed interested in whatever they have to say. If it is both comfortable for her and her students, she can level it up by using a verbal expression as a respond for the answers given by the students. It should not matter first if the students got the question right or wrong, the first step is to encourage them to get more involved and share their thinking on the subject