Evaluate The Usefulness Of Operant Conditioning

In this TMA I, will evaluate the usefulness of conditioning for our understanding of human behaviour. To begin with I look at what conditioning is and how the understanding of this phenomenon developed. Furthermore, I perceive how conditioning has been applied to human behaviour and what the benefits consist of when the principle of conditioning is applied to human behaviour. Finally, I identify some of the limits to the usefulness of conditioning for understanding human behaviour.
First, I would like address the question of, ‘What is conditioning and how the understanding of this phenomenon developed?’. Conditioning, is a behavioural procedure whereby a reaction turns out to be more continuous or more unsurprising in each situation subsequently of fortification, with reinforcement typically being a stimulus or reward for a desired reaction.
There are two key concepts in regards to conditioning, these are operant and classical. Operant conditioning is a process that attempts to control behaviour through the use of positive and negative behaviour. This type of conditioning is used in everyday life and we as humans are all subject to this. A typical example of operant conditioning is a parent who rewards their child with a star chart for going to sleep every night without any conflict or promising them a gift if they keep their …show more content…
A prime example of this was developed by Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), a Russian psychologist who carried out a series of tests today alluded to as 'Pavlov's Dogs'. His exploration would get to be distinctly prestigious for showing the route in traditional conditioning (additionally alluded to as Pavlovian conditioning) could be utilized to develop a specific relationship between the event of one occasion in the foresight of another, hence how the conditioning phenomenon developed. (Psychologist World,