Situation # 2 A 13-year-old boy likes to steal cookies from a local convenience
ID: 3451565 • Letter: S
Question
Situation # 2 A 13-year-old boy likes to steal cookies from a local convenience store.
-Explain how the stealing behavior might have developed in terms of Operant Conditioning. In your answer specify: Operant behavior (Voluntary response), Consequence, Reinforcement (specify Positive or Negative).
Operant behavior
Consequence
Reinforcement (specify Positive or Negative)
- In this situation involving the theft of cookies, explain how the concepts of primary and secondary reinforcers might apply.
- Describe how the stealing behavior might have developed using a Social Cognitive (Observational) Learning model.
- Using the Operant model, how might the stealing behavior be extinguished?
- How might the impact of punishment differ from the extinction you described in Q. 10 (above)? In your answer provide an example of punishment that might be effective in this situation.
- Describe how Latent Learning might explain how the boy knows where to find the cookies in the store.
Explanation / Answer
Operant behvaiour conditioning theory is based on positive and negative reinforcement. Positive reeinforcers are the things due to which person repeats the action eg , praise, motivating. Hence in this situation if the boy is stealing but parents are ignoring the theft and are busy in ther own work or may be taking this behaviour lightly and not scolding enough. Whereas in negative reeinforceres are the things due to which a person doesn't repeat the action eg. punishment, beating etc all these things can act as negative reeinforcers whoch might stop the kid from doing that action.
Primary reeinforcement ot occurs naturally and does not require learning in order to work, primary reeinforcers include, sleep, food,air water etc. Secondary reeinforcement involves stimuli that have become rewarding by being paired with another reeinforcing stimulus, eg: praise, cookies, chocolates etc . Hence primary reeinforcers are the things which a boy is getting from parents whereas secondary reeinforcers may the taking this thing jokingly, lightly to laugh aronud etc.
Social Cognitive Learning model - It is a learning theory developed by Albert Bandura states that people learn by observig others behavior. Hence may be the boy is in group of gang who try to show themselves as cool by stealing things and he also wants to be cool or be part of that gang.
The stealing behvaiour can be extinguished be negative reeinforcers such as punishment, not talking with that boy, etc
The boy may have gone to store with his parents many a times and might have seen the colourful cookies several times. At the time boy is unaware of this action, later when he thoughts of stealing his knowledge helps him to find the exact place of cookies.