Behaviorist perspective of psychology

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John Watson founded the behaviorist perspective of psychology, which evolved during the first half of the 20th century. As Watson’s quote suggests, the goal of behaviorism was to understand and be able to predict behavior under certain environmental conditions. Early studies in behaviorism included the use of animals. For example, Pavlov studied the effect of the sound of a bell, previously paired with food, on dogs’ salivary production. Thorndike and Skinner conducted studies using cats, pigeons, and rats. How might behaviorist theories be applied to humans, whose behaviors are based on more than instincts? One of your readings about Watson and Little Albert will give you some insights into how powerful classical conditioning can be.

This week, you will become familiar with various behaviorist theories and re-visit the phenomenon of bullying, this time from a behaviorist perspective. You will also submit your Final Project theory and topic selections. Finally, you will continue work on your Psychology Theories Template by adding behaviorist theories to your document.

Describe the conditioning approach you selected. Explain how you used this approach to identify a strategy to mitigate bullying. Following your mitigation strategy, operationalize the characteristics of your strategy according to the conditioning method you chose, such as UCS, UCR, NS, CS, CR for classical conditioning; and positive reinforcers, negative reinforcers, punishers for operant conditioning.

Reference:
Valentine, M. E. (1980). The attenuating influence of gaze upon the bystander intervention effect. Journal of Social Psychology, 111(2), 197–203.

Learning Objectives

Students will:
  • Apply behaviorist theories to explain real life situations and behaviors
  • Analyze theories of psychology related to topics of study
  • Evaluate key concepts of behaviorist theories

Philosophical skills of articulation and argument

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Guidelines: For each of the Topics 1-5 listed in the syllabus there will be a Reflection with a Reply. The Reflection addresses several questions. The Reply is your response to another student.

To complete a reflection post your answers as a “new thread” in the forum.  Please do not post links or attachments–it is better to cut and paste so that others can readily access the material.  After posting you will be able to read the posts of others. Submit your reflection two days before the discussion closes. If the discussion thread locks on the 10th you need to submit the Reflection by the 8th and the Reply by the 10th.  

Scoring:  4 points total: 3 for the reflection and 1 for a reply. Grading focuses on the following:

1) length: at least a single-spaced half page (restating the questions does not count) for the reflection itself, not the reply. 

2) content: original contribution that demonstrates knowledge of course readings–not a copy and paste from the Internet

3) justification: what you think but also why you think it, using evidence or reasons especially for the Argue section. 

4) reply: respond to at least one classmate with at least five sentences that focus on course material or argumentation. Points will not be given for replies that simply offer affirmations such as “I agree” or “I disagree.” See below for an explanation. 

Due Date : Again, submit the Reflection at least two days before the discussion locks so that others have time to reply. Once the discussion locks, no additional comments can be submitted. If a topic locks at 11:59pm on the 10th, post the Reflection no later than the 8th at 11:59pm; submit the reply before the thread closes on the 10th.

How to do a Reflection:  This activity works on the philosophical skills of articulation and argument.

Articulation strives to understand and to present clearly and precisely the concepts or ideas from the topic material.

Argumentation relies on articulation, but goes further. It does more that state a view, and certainly does more than simply pick a side or offer an opinion. The skill of argumentation for establishing and defending a philosophical position is not unlike a construction project that requires building materials, assembly, and an architectural plan. The building blocks are the course concepts and your own thinking; assembly requires the cement of evidence and the design of reason in order to become a well constructed whole.  Simply stating what we “think” or “believe” is not enough–no more than throwing down a pile of wood in front of a tree is sufficient for making a treehouse.

There are no participation trophies in philosophy. Some ideas are better than others; some arguments are better than others. A philosophical position requires justification, not unlike a construction project requires design and assembly. Consider the argue section as a place to practice using the tools of philosophy for building moral foundations and frameworks, as Boss suggests in her introduction. If we don’t build a moral framework then even our strongest opinions are probably no better than simply following the crowd or believing whatever we are told.

Argue: what I think and  why  I think it. Here’s an example of the what  without  the why.  There is no justification, just an opinion:

“I totally agree with animal rights supporters. We should never do scientific experiments on rats. This is just terrible! These little creatures should not be used for medical research under any circumstance.”

Justification offers evidence and/or reasons that another person can understand and consider plausible. For example, here’s a better position with the what and  the why :

“I totally agree with animal rights supporters [agreement doesn’t justify]. We should never do scientific experiments on rats. This is just terrible![feelings don’t justify] These little creatures should not be used for medical research under any circumstance  because  rats are animals that experience pleasure and pain. Rats are sentient, just like humans. Therefore rats have the same rights and protections as do humans. If we can’t experiment on children then we cannot experiment on rats.”

The second statement offers justification. Whether we are convinced by the justification is a matter for the next stage of the philosophical process. Nevertheless, the second statement offers  the why–the argument and justification– for doing philosophy.

After you post your reflection as a new thread you will be able to read and respond to classmates.

How to do a Reply: Focus on whether your classmate articulates and/or argues well. Avoid the the ceremonious but unnecessary “I agree” or “I disagree.” Agreement does no philosophical work. Millions of people can agree that the earth is flat, but that doesn’t make it the case. For example, rather than beginning with “I agree” start with something such as “The point about X and the example of Y are very persuasive. I had not considered these” or “Ellin seems to be saying that objectivism is not necessarily absolutism. There can be exceptions built into universal principles.” Again, philosophy goes beyond the sharing of an opinion. 

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Everyone has an opinion; few have an argument; fewer have a good argument. 

 

 

 

 

Articulate:

Martin Luther King Jr.’s  Letter from Birmingham Jail    Letter from Birmingham Jail (also try  https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html ) states that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  From this statement and the first few pages articulate what makes him either a moral relativist or moral objectivist/universalist. Identify which normative theory he employs to advocate for justice as a means to overturn local laws.

Argue:

Divine Command Theory and Natural Law/Rights Theory are often said to be two of the oldest and longstanding ethical theories.  Argue for which of the two is more compelling. Offers reasons along with evidence or examples.

You must start a thread before you can read and reply to other threads

Model of practice for social workers

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workers now use to promote social and economic justice, and human rights. For example, the minority stress theory and model has been presented to explain why individuals of stigmatized minority groups may experience extremely high levels of stress. It points to several factors, including socioeconomic status, limited social support, prejudice, and discrimination as contributing to this stress. Public awareness in the past decade related to suicide ideation and other risky behaviors has led to the refinement of crisis intervention models and theories that can help clients at risk. Another more recent model of practice for social workers is the Independent Living Model, fundamental to professional practice with individuals with disabilities. In this model, based on case management, clients/constituents manage their own cases and their own lives. This model is derived from the minority perspective and is a promising approach in which social and environmental issues are the primary focus of intervention and change, which is in contrast to more traditional models where the individual’s issues are the primary focus (Mackelprang & Salsgiver, 2016). The readings for this week bring more detail to this conversation around traditional and contemporary theories. Schriver situates this as a difference between dominant and alternative paradigms. This week, you will read about dominant or traditional theories for social work practice with individuals. The two additional readings present theories or models that bring a social justice focus, as well as strategies to promote social and economic justice, and human rights. Be sure to review this week’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments. 1- Reference: Mackelprang, R. W., & Salsgiver, R. O. (2016). Disability a diversity model approach in human service practice

Psychological Contract and Workplace

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Literature Review: Psychological Contract and the Workplace

Meet Tim.

Tim recently started a position in the marketing department of a large, corporate bank. He was with a marketing firm for a little over two years, but the company went out of business due to lack of sustainable clientele. Prior to that position, he worked in the marketing department for a manufacturing company for a year and a half before the company closed its doors. His father has complained that he is always ‘job-hopping’ and not able to keep a ‘stable’ job. His father graduated from high school and got a job at the local automobile assembly plant. He quickly worked his way up from the assembly line to foreman, in which he was able to support his family of four. He remained with the company for over 20 years until his retirement at age 65.

When hiring an individual, employers expect the employee to perform prescribed tasks adequately, and the employee expects to be compensated for those tasks. This expectation is explicit and made clear through employee contracts or agreements prior to the employee reporting for her first day of work.

In work relationships, however, there are additional expectations. When an employee joins an organization, they have beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes that shape expectations for their coworkers, immediate supervisor or manager, and CEO. These unwritten expectations form the basis for an informal agreement regarding the relationship the employee has with the organization and is referred to as a psychological contract. A psychological contract encompasses implicit, unwritten expectations, and perceived obligations, between an employee and their employer.

Consider the following question in relation to the scenario above:

How has the psychological contract between an employer and an employee changed since the days Tim’s father worked in the automobile plant? What is different between Tim’s employment situation and his father’s?

Locate three scholarly, peer-reviewed articles in the Purdue Global Library regarding psychological contract. Identify some of the key points, strengths, and weaknesses of the articles. Respond to the questions posed above in a 4- to 6-page literature review.

Be sure to complete the following tasks:

· Include an introduction, a body of paragraphs, and a conclusion.

· Define and provide a brief background regarding the concept of psychological contract.

· Identify and briefly summarize the main ideas of the articles.

· Analyze the strengths and weaknesses found in the main argument of each article.

· Synthesize any themes that you identified in the articles.

· Describe the importance of the psychological contract for organizations and the employee, and discuss how psychological contract has changed for employees like Tim and his father.

· Finally, discuss implications for the future of work, as it relates to psychological contract

Diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia

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Rose, is 59 years old, female, Caucasian, divorced, Catholic. She has a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. She lives alone and the only member of her family who will contact Rose, is her mother,  Brenda. Brenda does not believe the diagnosis and tells her daughter to pull herself together as there is no history of mental health problems in her family. Although, Rose lives independently in the community, she experiences difficulty at times completing everyday tasks, one of which is shopping. You work in a Community Mental Health Services as a Therapist.  Rose is your client. Today, Rose has contacted you by telephone from a local supermarket in a very distressed state. She states that she cannot complete her shopping as she thinks everyone is watching her, and the shop assistant is talking about her. She contacted her mother, but she put the phone down.

According to the crisis intervention model, explain the following stages:

1-Take a psychosocial and lethality assessment.

2-Rapidly establish rapport.

3-Identify the major crisis cause(s).

4-Enable the client to express their feelings and emotions.

5-Generate and explore safe alternatives for coping.

6-Create an action plan.

7-Follow up after the intervention.

Language-based learning disorder

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Danielle is an eight-year-old female who lives with her mother and five-year-old brother.  She fights with her peers and doesn’t have any friends. She has a very difficult time interacting with other children and has displayed significant aggressive and assaultive behaviors at school and home. It has been reported that on a few occasions this behavior has resulted in injury to others. These behaviors prevent her from being able to participate in any recreational activities.  She attends a school for youth with emotional and behavioral challenges.  She struggles academically and has an individual education plan (IEP) that addresses learning and behavioral needs. She has language delays characterized by limited receptive abilities and she is impulsive. Danielle has been diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, and a language-based learning disorder.  The school professionals have offered multiple services to help Danielle function better at school.

Danielle’s mother describes her daughter as a “terror,” with behavior that is verbally and physically aggressive toward her displayed on a regular basis. She says she has a hard time understanding Danielle’s emotions and feelings.  She also notes that Danielle’s brother is afraid of her. Frequently, Danielle doesn’t follow her mother’s directions and is defiant. When she is asked to do something, she refuses and her behavior escalates, becoming aggressive and including the throwing of objects. Danielle’s mother has expressed her concerns about being able to keep Danielle safe at home and has asked about alternative placements. She doesn’t understand why Danielle acts like she does and her discipline is not effective.

Her parents are divorced and have a difficult relationship that at times escalates to hostile arguments.  When her parents were living together, arguments were constant and there were several incidents of domestic violence during which the police needed to intervene. Prior to the divorce, Danielle’s father was arrested for hitting her mother during an argument in which both children were present. Since then, whenever there are any arguments with lots of yelling, Danielle appears to go into a trance which her mother describes as ‘daydreaming’.   During these times, Danielle doesn’t seem to hear or see anything that is happening around her.

Danielle’s mother has a history of alcohol abuse and is in recovery, attending meetings.  She has been treated for depression for many years and is currently managing her depression with medication. Given her own struggles with her depression and the stress of dealing with Danielle’s behaviors, she has not advocated for additional services at Danielle’s school. For example, even though she attends all meetings, she never challenges the IEP team even when she believes the services in place are not working.

Both parents are employed and share physical and financial responsible for child care needs. Danielle’s relationship with her father is strong; they appear very connected.  At this time, he is not able to care for her full-time because of his job as a long distance truck driver.  Danielle’s father reports that when she is with him, Danielle does well. He acknowledges that his daughter is challenging due to her delays, but reports being able to manage her behaviors.  He frequently goes to therapy with Danielle but is not always sure how to participate.  Her therapist reports that Danielle has offered some ideas for her treatment plan and that her father is supportive but needs support himself.  She like spending time with her father because they do various art projects together.  She reports that doing art makes her feel better and relaxed.  She hopes to be a professional artist when she grows up.

Development kinds of social play

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As children grow older, play becomes more social, influenced by brain maturation, playmate availability, and the physical setting. In 1932, the American sociologist Mildred Parten described the development of five kinds of social play, each more advanced than the previous one. Parten thought that progress in social play was age-related in that younger children engaged in the less advanced social play and older children engaged in more advanced social play. However, contemporary research finds much more age variation. See if you can recognize the five patterns of social play in these scenarios.

1) Jill and Hannah are playing in a sandbox at the par Jill is building sandcastles, and Hannah is making a lake. Jill asks Hannah if she can use the shovel, and Hannah gives Jill the shovel. What type of social play is represented?

2) In a child-care classroom, a group of children play a board game on the floor Evan stands across the room and watches the group of children. What type of social play is represented?

3) A group of children from the neighborhood gathers in Nico’s front yard. They decide to play a game of kickball They determine where the bases will be and pick teams. The children begin playing kickball. What type of social play is represented?

4) Gemma and Camilla are riding bikes in the pa Holly rides in one direction, and Libby rides in the other direction. What type of social play is represented?

5) André is building a block tow He is so absorbed in what he is doing that he does not notice the group of boys behind him who are building a fort out of blocks. What type of social play is represented?

PART TWO

Many developmentalists believe that play is the most productive as well as the most enjoyable activity that children can undertake. Whether play is essential for normal growth or is merely fun is a point of debate. The controversy underlies many of the disputes regarding preschool education, which increasingly stresses academic skills. Consider the following hypothetical situation.

You learn that a preschool program for children ages 3 to 5 wants to eliminate all free-play time so that children can spend more time working on spelling, reading, and math. The program currently allows 2 hours of free-play time, both inside and outside, throughout the 6-hour day, but if the programming changes, children will no longer have this opportunity. You are currently in a developmental psychology class and have just learned about the importance of play for children.

To educate the public on this topic, you decide to write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper. (Note: You will not actually be sending the letter to the editor.) Write a one paragraph letter to the editor (half a page or so) identifying at LEAST SIX main points about the importance of play in the letter. Note- Points will be taken off if you do not follow instructions on format.

Terms of developing critical thinking

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Remember – these journal questions require more thinking than writing. Think about exactly what you are asked to do, and then write as economically as possible.

For this journal assignment, answer each of the following prompts:

  • Important Idea
    • Considering only the Introduction to Chapter 5, in terms of developing critical thinking and reasoning, what do you consider is the most valuable and important idea in that section? You can either summarize or directly quote the text; then, briefly explain why you find this idea important and valuable.
  • Critical Thinking
    • In Chapter 5, the section “Making Arguments” states: “In some ways applying our core critical thinking skills to analysis can be more difficult than offering an evaluative opinion. Analysis, like interpretation, is understanding at a deep level (p. 89)”
      • What concepts discussed in Chapter 4 might make analysis of a statement difficult – and why?
  • Beliefs
    • Why do you believe what you believe?
    • What is your “evidence”?
    • Test one of your beliefs by asking yourself, “Why?” As you answer each “why,” go down another layer – four layers will probably give you a good idea of why you believe what you believe.
    • Your product should show a well-reasoned and logical basis for your belief. Stay away from the big stuff, like believing in God, or who to vote for in the next election, and don’t look for sources – this is about what you believe and why you believe it. After all, this is only an 8-week course, and we can’t settle everything!
    • Click on the following link for an example of layers of why:

Empirical studies from primary sources

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Overview: Annotated bibliographies provide you with the opportunity to cite, summarize, and compare and contrast resources you will use in a paper. You will cite each resource in APA style, write a description that summarizes the central theme and scope of the resource, and compare and contrast it with other resources.

Note: Selected resources must be scholarly articles that reflect the topics outlined in the assignment. Course resources and Wikipedia may not be used. The articles do not need to be empirical studies but must be from primary sources.

Question: Select two scholarly articles on the concepts of stress, resilience, and prevention.

Summarize, evaluate, and analyze each article, adding your critique and insights. Be sure to use proper APA citation format for each article.

· If you select an article on bullying, you may consider the following:

Do individuals as well as the community have a stress tipping point for school safety from bullying. Is zero-tolerance one such tipping point, and does it work?

· If you select an article on drugs, you may consider the following:

How do we build resilience in children for saying no to drugs? What support systems, such as DARE, can we develop?

Instructions: Each article should be added as a separate submission. For each article, include the following:

· A brief summary of the resource

· An evaluation of the resource, including the author’s background, document source, and intended audience

· An analysis of the article, including its relevance to the topic

· Proper citation in APA format

· Correct spelling, grammar, and professional vocabulary

Families with mental health issues

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Alex is a 15-year-old male, recently discharged after a thirty-day stay in an in-patient psychiatric hospital. He was hospitalized because he heard voices telling him “terrible things about himself” and telling him to kill himself. He reported this to the school social worker who notified his parents. He was taken from school to the hospital. Alex presents as depressed and withdrawn, but will engage in one-on-one interaction with an adult. Alex has been telling people that he has been hearing voices since he was 5 years old. The parents have expressed their gratitude to the school personnel for believing Alex and responding quickly because when he has said similar things at home, they didn’t know what to do. Now they are worried that they might not be able to keep him safe at home.

Alex lives with his mother, father, and two older sisters. It is a loving family with close emotional ties. All of the children are kind, obedient, and care about other people. Alex’s mother has severe mental illness and is often overwhelmed by Alex’s needs which causes a lot of stress in their family. She says she feels a special connection to Alex because she can relate to his feelings of being unable to escape the ‘voices in his head’. Alex’s older sisters have also struggled with mental health issues in the past. Alex has no relatives in the area and the family has no child care resources.

Although his family has moved many times over the past few years, Alex has remained enrolled in the same school district. He exhibits no behavioral problems at school but he often responds verbally to his auditory hallucinations. In addition, these hallucinations make it difficult for him to concentrate which has impacted his grades. While he has educational goals appropriate for a tenth-grader, he is currently struggling to complete his requirements. He also often comes to school in the same clothes, which appear unwashed, several days a week. The teacher has expressed concern because he is regularly teased by other children. The teacher and the school social worker have met with Alex’s parents who have a hard time understanding the immediate risk that Alex’s hallucinations pose for him. Alex has no friends at school but is interacts well with all staff. He attends school regularly.

Alex and his family have been seen at the same clinic for the past four years. His mother was recently referred to a treatment program that she attends Monday through Friday during the day and is doing well. In an effort to get good housing in a safe neighborhood, the family has moved six times in the past 18 months. The family receives financial assistance through programs such as Section 8 benefits, SSI, and food stamps and is able to provide for the basic needs of their family.

When Alex was six years old, he witnessed the shooting of his uncle in front of their house. His uncle died on the sidewalk. The police questioned Alex a number of times about the incident. He experienced sleeplessness consistently for months after the incident and still does periodically. He will randomly ask his parents if they remember “when Uncle Sammy got killed.” He sometimes refers to the ‘voices in his head’ as Uncle Sammy’s killers who tell him he is to blame for Sammy being killed.