Psychology Contemporary Debate

Psychology Contemporary Debate: Using Conditioning Techniques to Control the Behaviour of Children Isobel Rees 12PE

‘Without the use of conditioning techniques, children in the UK would be out of control.’ Discuss the use of conditioning to control the behaviour of children.

There is evidence to support that using conditioning techniques to control the behaviour of children provides a means of ensuring that children achieve their full potential and are able to actively engage and participate in society. Skinner used operant conditioning through the use of positive and negative reinforcement, or rewards and punishments. Skinner claimed that presentation of something which is desired to an individual following a behaviour, makes it more likely for the behaviour to happen again. On the other hand, children may choose certain behaviours in order to avoid a repeat of negative reinforcement. Using conditioning techniques over a long period of time to control the behaviour of autistic children especially, provides them with the opportunity to live
He studied the effect of a token economy on the behaviour of an entire class. Each student was provided with a marker of some sort which can be moved up or down the chart. The students all began on the neutral level, and if they exhibit negative behaviour they move down a level. The positive levels on the other hand offer an award. Filcheck observed and recorded a significant reduction in inappropriate behaviour during the period in which token economy was in place. This implies that conditioning techniques are simple to apply by non specialists such as teaching assistants and parents, and are still readily applicable and effective in the controlling of children's