Saturday, February 22, 2020

Psychology and operant conditioning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Psychology and operant conditioning - Essay Example These include variable ratio, fixed ratio, variable interval and fixed interval. For fixed ratio, reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of responses, while in variable ratio, the average number of responses may be pre-determined, but may not be followed on individual reinforcements. For fixed interval, reinforcement comes after a fixed period of time, while in variable interval, the average time is fixed but not necessarily followed on each individual reinforcement. Operant principles can be used to bring about more appropriate behavior. These principles can be used to define the development of behaviors that operate upon the environment in order to bring about behavioral consequences in such an environment. Operant principles lead to learning which occurs when an appropriate response is demonstrated following the occurrence of a particular behavior. Thus, learning more appropriate behavior is seen to occur when there has been a noticeable change in the behavior after the delivery of the relevant instructions to a learner. The principles of reinforcement and punishment involve positive punishment, positive reinforcement and operant conditioning. Punishment is usually applied in order to reduce the incidence of an undesirable behavior. In the concept of positive punishment, the term ‘positive’ might be confusing to some people, due to the fact that in common terms ‘positive’ means when something is good, or pleasant, or upbeat, or rewarding. The positive here is a technical terminology though, so it is meant as ‘started’ or ‘added’. It should be noted too that in this situation, it is not the individual that is being punished, but the behavior that is being tackled, in an attempt to be reduce or eliminate it. Positive Reinforcement is one of the easiest and most effective control tools. It involves the addition or starting of

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Cause & Effect ( poverty ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cause & Effect ( poverty ) - Essay Example The main reason for this writing is to discuss some of the causes and effects of poverty which is a major pandemic in the globally particularly in Africa and Asia. Population has really gone high in the world thus resulting into overpopulation which eventually exerts a lot of pressure on the available limited resources such as land that could have been used in food production and even few employment resources that cannot satisfy the excess population. Overpopulation has contributed to poor planning in many nations particularly in the Africa and Asia since the governments of these countries do not have enough resources such as proper education and adequate food to cater for the excess population. Overpopulation and human activities has also led to environmental degradation which has really deteriorated the natural resources such as soil and water hence hindering food production and cash crop farming which may be essential in acquiring wealth. According to White & Luttik (1994), â€Å"Poverty is a major cause and effect of global environmental problems† (p. 110). Lack of adequate education and employment is one of the major causes of poverty since most countries cannot sufficiently afford to provide good schools and colleges as well as enough employment to their population. Inadequate education may prevent an individual from acquiring nice job that may eventually lead to a better life. According to Combat Poverty Agency (2013), â€Å"Being unemployed or in a low-paid job makes people more likely to be poor† (Web).Some other causes of poverty are availability of many younger and old people, long term illness or disability, single parenting and living in a disadvantaged community. Some of the effects of poverty are social tensions that divide a nation because of poor distribution of wealth such that a few people have all the money. Poor people cannot afford good housing thus making them to