behaviourist approach comtemporary debate Flashcards
intro
Adults have always tried to control the behaviour of children, with rewards and punishments being a common way of reinforcing positive behaviour. Psychology has given us a greater understanding and control of behaviour, however a rise of ethical issues comes alongside this. Is it fair to overwrite free will and is it in a child’s best interest in the long term?
para 1: positives of conditioning at home
The first way conditioning techniques work to control the behaviour of children is the use of techniques at home. In many households, pocket money is used to increase positive behaviours, for example the child tidying their room or washing the dishes. Gill (1998) asked parents to encourage chore completion by the payment of pocket money, and found the method successful as children ended up performing 20% of the household chores. Furthermore, a study done for the DCSF on 1775 parents in England and Wales in 2007 found that 26% of those parents used the naughty step method in their household, however 100% of those that used it found it to be effective. This shows that both positive reinforcement (pocket money) and negative reinforcement (naughty step) is proven to be effective in controlling children’s behaviour in the home.
para 2: negatives of conditioning at home
On the other hand, conditioning techniques conducted at home may also produce some negative implications. Morris (2014) found that the naughty step can actually have long term emotional effects on a child. This is because, without empathy and help with feelings from the parent/caregiver, the child may not understand why they are being isolated on the naughty step which in turn will have a negative effect on development. Therefore, this results in social implications. Negative development causes worse social skills when the child grows into adolescence and adulthood which often leads to stress and loneliness, then negatively affecting physical as well as mental health so society may generally become unhappier. The naughty step also has ethical issues. This is because it can very easily cause psychological harm in a child due to its likelihood of making them feel rejected and defiant. This means that children will be less likely to cooperate with their parents, proving inefficiencies in conditioning techniques on the control of children’s behaviour at home.
para 3: positives of school
The second way that conditioning techniques work to control the behaviour of children is in school. Mcallister et al (1969) found that an increased use of ‘teacher praise’ and ‘teacher disapproval’ lead to a decrease in inappropriate talking in the classroom. To further prove the tests reliability, in a control condition there was no change. In addition, LeFrancois (2000) suggests that classical conditioning can be used to improve student performance. This is because associating positive feelings with the work environment can cause their behaviour and performance to improve. This can have positive economical implications, because if more children are working hard at school they are more likely to achieve better grades leading to more higher education which allows unemployment rates to overall decrease which helps boost the economy. Overall, this suggests the effectiveness of conditioning techniques in the control of children’s behaviour at school.
para 4: negatives of school
However, some educational approaches, such as Montessori education believe that rewards and punishments advocated by conditioning techniques, are harmful to a child’s behaviour. Lepper et al (1973) conducted a study on nursery children, who were asked to draw some nice pictures. They found that when children were promised a reward, they spent half as much time drawing as the children who were not promised a reward. This suggests that their own motivation had been destroyed. Furthermore, Gneezy et al (2011) claims that many schools have a limited budget, so they may not be able to afford a reward. There are also ethical implications following this, as it is seen as unethical to pay or reward students when the money could be better spent elsewhere. Negative social implications can also occur since society can become less cohesive and more selfish with the frequent use of rewards, leading to long term inefficiencies from the use of conditioning techniques in schools.
para 5: positives of vulnerable groups of children
The third way that conditioning techniques work to change the behaviour of children is with vulnerable groups of children. Psychologists will use conditioning techniques with different medical and psychological conditions. Lovaas (1987) developed applied behaviour analysis (ABA) to increase the frequency and quality of social interactions for children on the autism spectrum. During therapy, the children are rewarded for most behaviours and over time they are reduced to refine the desired behaviours. Furthermore, Chaney et al (2004) used the idea of a “funhaler” with children with asthma (basically just an inhaler that was fun to use). After a few weeks of its use, parents reported that their children responded better and had fewer behaviour problems. This has positive social implications, as these methods prove the effectiveness of conditioning techniques on the behaviour of vulnerable children so it may help them feel more included and accepted in society as they grow up since their behaviour was able to be helped at a younger age, overall leading to better social skills and other people in society acting kinder.
para 6: negatives of vulnerable groups
On the contrary, there are inconsistencies in the use of conditioning techniques on vulnerable children’s behaviour. This is because the Lovaas technique is mainly supported by Lovaas’ own research which means that the effectiveness may not be entirely valid. Also, it is indicated that the treatment needs to be very intensive and Anderson et al (1987) found that at least 20 hours of contact is needed to see significant improvement. Negative social implications come with this, since conditioning techniques only treat the symptoms so undesirable behaviour may re-emerge later in life which will cause issues of potentially more crime in society in the future. Furthermore, there may be ethical issues with ABA since children on the autism spectrum are more likely to experience stress and potentially psychological harm when having to do therapy. There also may be issues with informed consent, since they are children and are on the spectrum so they may have a hard time understanding why they are in therapy and are just going along with it because they may feel forced to
conclusion
In conclusion, while conditioning techniques such as positive and negative reinforcement can effectively control children’s behavior at home and in school, they are not without significant ethical and social implications. Techniques like the naughty step may allow short term compliance but risk causing long term emotional harm and developmental issues, raising questions about its effectiveness. Conversely, methods like teacher praise can enable positive associations with learning, benefiting both individuals and society by enhancing academic achievements and the economy. Ultimately, the use of conditioning must balance effectiveness with ethical considerations to ensure the long term well being of children whilst controlling their behaviour.
