Scenario Analysis: Radical Behaviorist Approach
Scenario: Rad’s Behavioral Problems
Rad is repeatedly a behavioral problem in Mrs. Smith’s sixth-grade classroom. All through the school year, Mrs. Smith has tried to overlook his bad behavior in an attempt not to reinforce it while at the same time avoid to give him an audience for acting out. The teacher has previously given him hasty and instant consequences for his bad behavior, ranging from school detentions to suspensions in school. Rad’s grades are virtually failing, and he appears to have lost hope. He is moody and oppositional, and Mrs. Smith does not look forward to seeing him in class every day. The majority of the comments she has given Rad have not been positive. She has called Rad’s parents several times but cannot reach them. Last week, Rad came into class late with his hood up and earphones on, and he immediately put his head on his desk. Mrs. Smith pats him gently on the arm, firmly asking him to remove the hood and sit upright. Rad becomes extremely upset, swearing and throwing his bad onto the floor, and storms out.
Radical Behaviorist Approach
Humans are quite complex beings, and understanding the real causes of behavior is a daunting task, especially for laymen. Numerous psychological studies have been introduced in higher learning institutions to shed more light on the complexities surrounding human thoughts and understand the dynamics of one’s actions. In the 19th century, several psychologists presented theories in an attempt to explicate human psychology. One of the distinguished psychologists who attempted to understand behavior is Burrhus Frederic Skinner, who used the operant conditioning chamber to devise the radical behaviorism theory by demonstrating systematic relations between one’s behavior and one environment (Skinner, 2014). The theory holds that human behavior is greatly dependent on environmental factors, where one’s interactions with different environments could yield ground for acquiring new behavior. The key point of reasoning in the radical behaviorism psychology approach is the significance of behavior reinforcement. The theory recommends that there are negative and positive reinforcements of behavior, where Positive reinforcement denotes behavior fortification by injecting events such as praising somebody for tasks well done (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2016). In contrast, negative reinforcement refers to behavior fortification by circumvention of events. In this case, the radical behaviorist approach will be applied to the scenario to achieve the desired behavioral goals with Rad.
Rad’s Behavior Change Plan
Consistent with radical behaviorism, this section presents Rad’s behavior change plan which based on the steps defined in psychology of learning for instruction. The plan incorporates goals and procedures associated with reinforcement, implementation, and evaluation techniques.
Part One: Setting Behavioral Goals
Rad has been exhibiting unruly behavior in class throughout the year. Dealing with Rad’s behavior appropriately is important to learning and teaching successfully. Based on the scenario’s information, Rad should improve his behavior and take full responsibility for his education. The behavioral goals will include reporting to class on time, attending all classes, increasing his participation, submitting assignments on time, along with showing respect and support for classmates and teachers. In addition, Rad should focus on coming to class prepared to learn, avoiding disruptive behavior during class, adhering to the school dress code, and turning his mobile phone off during class. By achieving these goals, Rad will exhibit a considerable improvement in class behavior, which will ultimately lead to better grades and improved relationships with other students and teachers.
Part Two: Determining Appropriate Reinforcers
One of the most valued behavior management tools used by teachers is reinforcement. A reinforcer is an intangible action or tangible item which increases the probability that specific behaviors and responses will occur. Notably, reinforcers can be negative or positive. Positive reinforcement focuses on the delivery of reinforcers to increase desired behaviors, while negative reinforcement entails removing aversive events or conditions that increase appropriate behavior (Pierce & Cheney, 2017). In Rad’s case, several positive reinforcers have been selected for the desired behavioral outcomes. They include earning stickers for accomplishing each of the goals. If Rad has earned more than ten stickers at the end of the day, the class will earn a pizza party. Here, the incentives of sharing pizza with his classmates will motivate him to achieve the goals.
Besides, Mrs. Smith could use other rewards such as praise, toys, money, and hugs to reinforce learning. Contrastingly, the negative reinforcers will include eliminating take-home assignments if Rad achieves three of his desired goals. Another negative reinforcer is removing school suspensions when Rad has demonstrated she is responsible and exhibits the desired behavior. There are numerous reasons why these positive and negative reinforcers are suitable in Rad’s case for both the instructor and the learning environment. One of the primary reasons for using positive and negative reinforcers is increasing Rad’s desired behaviors. Reinforcement is used for teaching new skills, teaching replacement behavior for interfering behaviors, increasing appropriate behaviors, and increasing on-task behavior. These reinforcers will help build a trusting and strong relationships between the teachers, Rad, and his parents.
Part Three: Selecting Procedures for Changing Rad’s Behavior
In Rad’s case, the prompt and prompt fading procedures for changing behaviour will be implemented to accomplish the desired behavioural goals. Prompting and fading are used concurrently, wherein prompting will involve the usage of strategies that encourage a correct response, while fading will involve decreasing the prompt since the client will become accustomed to providing the right responses (Pierce & Cheney, 2017). The key goal of fading is ensuring that Rad does not become increasingly dependent on the selected prompts to finish the desired tasks. Moreover, the prompt procedures were selected as antecedents, which implies that they were given before the onset of behaviour. In other words, if Rad is already completing any of the skills or tasks needed to achieve the desired goals, then a prompt will not be needed. However, positive reinforcement could be used to encourage the desired behaviours in the future.
Part Four: Implementing Procedures and Recording Results
When the abovementioned prompt and prompt fading procedures are implemented correctly, they will perform the desired behaviours independently. The teacher should identify Rad’s target behaviour and identify appropriate prompts. The general order of the implementation is prompt, reinforce, and fade. These procedures may be implemented by using the least intrusive prompts possible that can produce the best results. Similarly, the types and frequency of prompts are dependent on several factors, including the learning environment and the best prompts for each client. In Rad’s case, Mrs Smith will use the prompt when the client reports to class late; in other instances, the prompt could be given for late submission of tasks.
References
- Olson, M. H., & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2016). An introduction to theories of learning. Psychology Press.
- Pierce, W. D., & Cheney, C. D. (2017). Behavior analysis and learning: A biobehavioral approach. Routledge, 2017.
- Skinner, B. F. (2014). Science and human behavior. Place of publication not identified: Free Press.