Sidman (1989) Classify Negative Reinforcement

1. When one designs a program from a behavioral standpoint, what is the first thing that should be addressed? Within the behavioral model, the first thing that should be focused upon is a person’s interaction with his or her environment, including the physical setting and social surroundings. As we do this, we are able to take the inner behaviors (thoughts and feelings) into consideration, while assuming that they were caused by what is occurring in the student’s world. Along with that, a focus is placed on the antecedents and the consequences. These factors help us determine what is causing the unwanted behavior.

3. Explain why Sidman (1989) classifies negative reinforcement as coercive but does not see positive reinforcement as coercive. Sidman concluded that both positive and negative reinforcers control our behavior, but only the negative reinforcements are deemed coercive. When we produce things or events that we tend to consider useful, informative, or enjoyable for ourselves, we are under the control of positive consequences. When we get rid of, escape, or avoid specific events, negative reinforcers are in control. This negative reinforcement often endangers unintended side effects that unfavorably impact our everyday social and
If teachers aren’t careful, they may be unintentionally reinforcing the negative behavior, causing the behavior to worsen. A great example of this is providing attention for misbehavior. If we continuously provide attention when the student misbehaves and the student is yearning for that, the unwanted behavior is reinforced, causing it to increase. It is easy to see that when we begin to dig a little deeper and see what is truly reinforcing the behavior, teachers will be able to plan and react to situations more appropriately, helping the student behavior to