Course: Human Development and Learning (8610)

Submitted TO :

JAVED IQBAL

Submitted By:

Shehr Bano

ROLL NO:

CB643471

LEVEL.B.ED ½,Semester: Autumn, 2023

Allama Iqbal Open University

ASSIGNMENT No. 2
Q.No.1 What is emotional development? Why is it important?
emotional development, emergence of the experience, expression, understanding, and
regulation of emotions from birth and the growth and change in these capacities
throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The development of emotions occurs in
conjunction with neural, cognitive, and behavioral development and emerges within a particular
social and cultural
Emotional development refers to the process through which individuals learn to recognize,
understand, and express their feelings appropriately, as well as understand and respond to the
emotions of others. It is a critical aspect of human development, beginning in infancy and
continuing throughout the lifespan.
Emotional development is important for several reasons. First, it allows individuals to form
healthy relationships with others, including family members, friends, and romantic partners.
People who are emotionally developed are better able to communicate their feelings and
empathize with others, which can help them build stronger and more meaningful connections.
In addition, emotional development is crucial for mental health and well-being. People who are
unable to manage their emotions may be more prone to stress, anxiety, and depression. On the
other hand, those who have developed strong emotional intelligence are better equipped to cope
with challenges and bounce back from adversity.
Finally, emotional development plays a key role in cognitive development. Research has shown
that emotions and cognition are closely intertwined, and that emotional regulation is important
for learning and decision-making. Children who are emotionally developed are better able to
focus their attention, regulate their behavior, and learn new information.
Overall, emotional development is a crucial aspect of human growth and development, with
important implications for relationships, mental health, and cognitive functioning.
Why emotional development is important
There is a lot of emphasis within early years’ provisions for academic attainment, and for
activities that help children to learn and develop from an early age, all helping to build and shape
future academic success. However, emotional development is just as important, and can
sometimes be overlooked.
A child’s emotional state will build the person they grow into and strongly influence their
behaviour on a daily basis. Children learn through observations, and the people they spend the
most amount of time with will have the biggest impacts on their development. Apart from
families, children in early years’ provisions spend a lot of time with their key person and various
other practitioners, and these key adults should ensure they model appropriate behaviour for the
children to learn from. Children modelling this learnt behaviour should be praised, and will learn
from recognition that these desired behaviours will lead to praise, thus demonstrating them more
and more.
Just like us, children will feel a variety of emotions for different reasons. Sometimes, children
may not understand the emotion they are feeling or how to deal with it. This is where
practitioners can come in to help. Practitioners can help to teach children how to identify the
emotions they are feeling, why they are feeling this particular way and how to express and cope
with these emotions. Practitioners can use tools such as books, toys or puppets to help children
learn about emotions and help them to identify them.
Helping children to talk about their feelings
Children should be encouraged to talk about their feelings, but first, they need to be able to
recognise different emotions. Feelings boards can be a good way for children to identify how
they are feeling on a particular day, for example, choosing from a selection of faces; angry, sad,
happy, scared or confused. Practitioners can then explain that the child can come to them to talk
about this feeling if they wish to do so. Another way is through circle time, where there is a safe
place to discuss feelings amongst trusted adults and friends. This can lead onto discussions
where the children explain why they are feeling this way, and practitioners and other children
can help to suggest ways to deal with these feelings. This is a great starting place for children to
learn empathy.
Why empathy is important
Empathy is an essential part of emotional development, and encouraging empathy within
children will help them to not only build relationships with others, but also to understand and
manage their own feelings and emotions. Practitioners can tell stories of characters feeling
different emotions, and encourage the children to identify the emotion and suggest reasons as to
why they might be feeling this way. Practitioners can then relate this back to the children, “how
would you feel if this happened to you?”. This all helps children develop a sense of empathy, and
a situation they can reflect back upon when they feel this emotion for themselves.
There is a strong link between emotional development and social development, emotional
development will impact upon a child’s social relationships and vice versa. Other people, apart
from family who children build a relationship with, will play a part within the child’s emotional
development. Children who have a strong sense of empathy are aware of others feelings, and can
relate to them in a deeper way, forging relationships.
But why is emotional development so important? It’s already clear that emotional development
can help to shape the person a child will grow into, but it will also affect how the child feels
about themselves. Self-esteem and self-identity is key for emotional development. A child should
be in a caring and nurturing environment where they can build up a sense of self-esteem and a
positive emotional well-being. This environment will support the child’s emotional development,
helping them to have a strong sense of self-worth and build up trusting relationships, all essential
for later life.
Q.No.2 Discuss the factors which may affect moral development.
following five levels of moral development:
1. A-moral stage:
This stage lasts from birth to two years. The new born baby has no idea of good or bad, or right
and wrong. He is moved solely by his urges and wants. He is unaware of the effects his act has
on others.
2. Self-centered stage:
This stage usually goes up to six years. Some individuals may remain fixated at this stage even
much later. At this stage the person learns to distinguish between self-interest and group interest
but he is not prepared to sacrifice his own interest. A self-centred act is done more with a view to
satisfy one’s impulses or desires than to disregard a moral rule.
3. Conforming conventional stage:
During this stage motive or activity of the child is not self-approval but group approval. At this
stage a child may ignore his own impulses and act only in the manner which is normal in his
group. Conformity to norms of the social group is fairly common at the late childhood stage. By
doing so he learns many right things.
4. Irrational conscientious stage:
Conscience is a term which is used for internal self-criticism which makes a person reject an act
because it conflicts with his ideals even though it may attain his external goals. Behaviour is
irrational conscientious when an individual acts in the light of the values which are held
emotionally rather than rationally.
For example, always speak the truth even if it results in somebody being hanged or found out by
a mob and lynched. Almost all adolescents pass through this stage of holding on to social values
or emotional basis before they attain the highest level of moral development.
5. Rational altruistic stage:
That highest level is the rational altruistic stage. Here the values are not found in emotional
conditioning but in rational judgment. In other words the person acquires values and ideals at
rational and not at emotional basis. That is the values are put above or below in a hierarchy in
relation to their consequences for the welfare of others. At this level a person adheres neither to
the group norm nor to abstract ‘law’ or morality. But he acts and decides on the basis of
reasoning and the best consideration for others.
Stage of Moral Development by Kohlberg:
Like Piaget Kholberg believes that the child’s moral development proceeds from specificity to
generality. Kohlberg mentions six developmental stages that fall into three fundamentally
different levels (Pre-conventional Level, Conventional Level and Post-conventional Level) of
moral orientation.
(1) Pre-conventional level:
At this level the control of conduct is external. Required conforming standards of behaviour
consist of pressures or commands which come from sources outside the person. For example the
parents set the standards which are to be confirmed. The motive for the moral behaviour is also
external at this stage. The motive is to avoid external punishment, to secure awards or to have
favours.
This level is divided in two stages:
Stage 1: Punishment and obedience orientation:
Obedience is based on fear of punishment. Children have no real sense of morality or
conscience. They, however, show unquestioning deference to those who have power to punish.
There is no concept of the rights of others. Might is right. At this stage the child primarily pays
attention towards keeping himself away from difficulty and in this way saves himself from pain,
obstruction to his freedom and anxiety. This is similar to the stage described by Piaget as the
stage of objective responsibility.
ii. Stage 2: Instrumental-relativist orientation:
The child at this stage also remains attentive to his needs but he understands now that others too
have rights. Because of this sometimes he agrees to compromise on the efforts for fulfilling the
needs of other persons. ‘You scratch my back and I shall scratch yours.’ Rules are conformed for
the purpose of gaining favours and rewards from others.
(2) Conventional level:
At this level control of the individual’s conduct still remains external. Still rules adhered to are
those of others, but motivation to comply with this expectations is internal. Morality is measured
in terms of performing goods acts and maintaining the conventional social order or the
expectation of others.
iii. Stage 3: Nice-girl/good boy orientation:
Nice-girl/good boy orientation is predominant. Moral behaviour is that which pleases or helps
others and is approved by them. Right action is defined by general consensus and the motive
behind the right action is the desire to remain accepted by others. At this stage the child tries to
please others and obtain their approval. He moulds himself to the traditional patterns of social
norms and in arriving at judgments keeps himself and others intentions in mind. What Piaget
calls as personal responsibility that appears at this stage.
iv. Stage 4: Law and order orientation:
The child understands that the social system is dependent on the performance of their duties by
the individuals and on their willingness for respecting the laws. Thus moral ideals become more
generalized and motivation to live upto them shifts from concern about the reactions of
immediate others to a sense of duty to respect authority and maintain the social order. This stage
might be called the ‘law and order’ stage.
(3) Post-conventional level:
The control of conduct at this level becomes internal. The standards conformed to come from
within the individual and the decision to act is based on an inner process of thought and
judgment concerning moral matters. There is a thrust towards autonomous moral principles,
which have a valid basis and application.
v. Stage 5: Social contract orientation:
At this stage a sense of duty still prevails, but morality now is seen more as a responsibility to
honour contractual agreements and the rights of others. Right actions are defined according to
those norms, needs and rights which are accepted unanimously by the society. A sense of
fairness and legality becomes more important than the need to maintain the social order.
Laws can be changed when they no longer express the will of the majority, maximize social
welfare, or promote institutional functioning. There is recognition that all individuals have rights
irrespective of their race, sex or social status. Most of the adults are capable of functioning at this
stage
Six Factors that Affects Moral Development of a child
1. Family
Family plays an important role in a child’s moral development. His first initiation into the
mysteries of the good and the bad is through his parent’s acceptance or rejection of his
various actions.
The actions which are approved by the parents are regarded as good and those rejected by
them are regarded as bad. The truth remains that the foundations of a child’s moral
development are laid in the family.
2. School
School, too, plays an important role in forming moral concepts. The child is influenced by
the notions of the good and the bad as a result of his relationship with his classmates,
teachers and senior students.
The propriety of his moral behaviour depends to a great extent on his learning. Children
accept many things which they see their seniors doing in the school. Most of what has been
learnt at the mother’s knee is rejected. The teaching of moral science and a programme of
moral education go a long way in the moral development of children and adolescents.
3. Peer Group
Children are always in search of suitable companions for play. They are influenced by the
notions of good and bad that prevail among his chosen companions.
4. Society and Culture
The general social atmosphere also affects the moral development of the individual. It is this
reason why the moral behaviour of individuals belonging to cultured societies is markedly
different from that of individuals belonging to uncivilized societies.
5. Age
Age is an important factor in forming moral concepts and moral behaviors. As the
individual passes from infancy to adolescence, he becomes more tolerant towards certain
those ideals which sometimes do not tally with what he thinks to be good.
From unconditional obedience of his seniors in early and late childhood, the individual
becomes critical and defiant in early adolescence. But in later adolescence he comes to
accept many things which he had earlier rejected.
6. Sex
Sex also plays an important role in moral development Girls are more seized with the sense
of guilt and shame if their behaviour does not find propriety within the accepted moral code.
They try to be less critical of the moral tone set by their elders. Boys, on the other hand, are
more aggressive than the girls and in most cases, set their own standards of moral behaviour
and try to stick to them. 1
Hence moral development is a complex process in which the action and interaction of an
individual and those surrounding him is of greatly importance.
Q.No.3 Discuss language development at preschool and kindergarten level.
A child’s vocabulary expands between the ages of two to six from about 200 words to over
10,000 words through a process called fast-mapping. Words are easily learned by making
connections between new words and concepts already known. The parts of speech that are
learned depend on the language and what is emphasized. Children speaking verb-friendly
languages such as Chinese and Japanese tend to learn verbs more readily, but those learning less
verb-friendly languages such as English seem to need assistance in grammar to master the use of
verbs (Imai, et als, 2008). Children are also very creative in creating their own words to use as
labels such as a “take-care-of” when referring to John, the character on the cartoon Garfield, who
takes care of the cat.
Children can repeat words and phrases after having heard them only once or twice, but they do
not always understand the meaning of the words or phrases. This is especially true of expressions
or figures of speech which are taken literally. For example, two preschool-aged girls began to
laugh loudly while listening to a tape-recording of Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty” when the narrator
reports, “Prince Phillip lost his head!” They imagine his head popping off and rolling down the
hill as he runs and searches for it. Or a classroom full of preschoolers hears the teacher say,
“Wow! That was a piece of cake!” The children began asking “Cake? Where is my cake? I want
cake!”
Overregularization
Children learn the rules of grammar as they learn the language. Some of these rules are not
taught explicitly, and others are. Often when learning language intuitively children apply rules
inappropriately at first. But even after successfully navigating the rule for a while, at times,
explicitly teaching a child a grammar rule may cause them to make mistakes they had previously
not been making. For instance, two- to three-year-old children may say “I goed there” or “I doed
that” as they understand intuitively that adding “ed” to a word makes it mean “something I did in
the past.” As the child hears the correct grammar rule applied by the people around them, they
correctly begin to say “I went there” and “I did that.” It would seem that the child has solidly
learned the grammar rule, but it is actually common for the developing child to revert back to
their original mistake. This happens as they overregulate the rule. This can happen because they
intuitively discover the rule and overgeneralize it or because they are explicitly taught to add
“ed” to the end of a word to indicate past tense in school. A child who had previously produced
correct sentences may start to form incorrect sentences such as, “I goed there. I doed that.” These
children are able to quickly re-learn the correct exceptions to the -ed rule.
Vygotsky and Language Development
Lev Vygotsky hypothesized that children had a zone of proximal development (ZPD). The ZPD
is the range of material that a child is ready to learn if proper support and guidance are given
from either a peer who understands the material or by an adult. We can see the benefit of this sort
of guidance when we think about the acquisition of language. Children can be assisted in
learning language by others who listen attentively, model more accurate pronunciations and
encourage elaboration. For example, if the child exclaims, “I’m goed there!” then the adult
responds, “You went there?”
Children may be hard-wired for language development, as Noam Chomsky suggested in his
theory of universal grammar, but active participation is also important for language development.
The process of scaffolding is one in which the guide provides needed assistance to the child as a
new skill is learned. Repeating what a child has said, but in a grammatically correct way, is
scaffolding for a child who is struggling with the rules of language production.
Private Speech
Do you ever talk to yourself? Why? Chances are, this occurs when you are struggling with a
problem, trying to remember something or feel very emotional about a situation. Children talk to
themselves too. Piaget interpreted this as egocentric speech or a practice engaged in because of a
child’s inability to see things from other points of view. Vygotsky, however, believed that
children talk to themselves in order to solve problems or clarify thoughts. As children learn to
think in words, they do so aloud before eventually closing their lips and engaging in private
speech or inner speech. Thinking out loud eventually becomes thought accompanied by internal
speech, and talking to oneself becomes a practice only engaged in when we are trying to learn
something or remember something, etc. This inner speech is not as elaborate as the speech we
use when communicating with others.
Social Development in Preschoolers
During your child's preschool-age years, they'll discover a lot about themselves and interacting
with people around them.
Once they reach age three, your child will be much less selfish than they were before. They'll
also be less dependent on you, a sign that their own sense of identity is stronger and more secure.
Now they'll actually play with other children, interacting instead of just playing side by side. In
the process, they'll recognize that not everyone thinks exactly as they do and that each of their
playmates has many unique qualities, some attractive and some not. You'll also find your child
drifting toward certain kids and starting to develop friendships with them. As they create these
friendships, children discover that they, too, each have special qualities that make them likable—
a revelation that gives a vital boost to self-esteem.
There's some more good news about your child's development at this age: As they become more
aware of and sensitive to the feelings and actions of others, they'll gradually stop competing and
will learn to cooperate when playing with her friends. They take turns and share toys in small
groups, though sometimes they won't. But instead of grabbing, whining, or screaming for
something, they'll actually ask politely much of the time. You can look forward to less
aggressive behavior and calmer play sessions. Three-year-olds are able to work out solutions to
disputes by taking turns or trading toys.
Learning how to cooperate
However, particularly in the beginning, you'll need to encourage this cooperation. For instance,
you might suggest that they "use their words" to deal with problems instead of acting out. Also,
remind them that when two children are sharing a toy, each gets an equal turn. Suggest ways to
reach a simple solution when your child and another child want the same toy, such as drawing
for the first turn or finding another toy or activity. This doesn't work all the time, but it's worth a
try. Also, help children with the appropriate words to describe their feelings and desires so that
they don't feel frustrated. Above all, show by your own example how to cope peacefully with
conflicts. If you have an explosive temper, try to tone down your reactions in their presence.
Otherwise, they'll mimic your behavior whenever they're under stress.
When anger or frustration gets physical
No matter what you do, however, there probably will be times when your child's anger or
frustration becomes physical. When that happens, restrain them from hurting others, and if they
don't calm down quickly, move them away from the other children. Talk to them about her
feelings and try to determine why they're so upset. Let them know you understand and accept her
feelings, but make it clear that physically attacking another child is not a good way to express
these emotions.
Saying sorry
Help them see the situation from the other child's point of view by reminding them of a time
when someone hit or screamed at them, and then suggest more peaceful ways to resolve their
conflicts. Finally, once they understand what they've done wrong—but not before—ask them to
apologize to the other child. However, simply saying "I'm sorry" may not help your child correct
their behavior; they also needs to know why they're apologizing. They may not understand right
away, but give it time; by age four these explanations will begin to mean something.
Make-believe play
Fortunately, the normal interests of three-year-olds keep fights to a minimum. They spend much
of their playtime in fantasy activity, which tends to be more cooperative than play that's focused
on toys or games. As you've probably already seen, preschooler enjoy assigning different roles in
an elaborate game of make-believe using imaginary or household objects. This type of play helps
develop important social skills, such as taking turns, paying attention, communicating (through
actions and expressions as well as words), and responding to one another's actions. And there's
still another benefit: Because pretend play allows children to slip into any role they wish—
including superheroes or the fairy godmother—it also helps them explore more complex social
ideas. Plus it helps improve executive functioning such as problem-solving
By watching the role-playing in your child's make-believe games, you may see that they're
beginning to identify their own gender and gender identity. While playing house, boys naturally
will adopt the father's role and girls the mother's, reflecting whatever they've noticed in the hem
world around them.
Development of gender roles & identity
Research shows that a few of the developmental and behavioral differences that typically
distinguish boys from girls are biologically determined. Most gender-related characteristics at
this age are more likely to be shaped by culture and family. Your daughter, for example, may be
encouraged to play with dolls by advertisements, gifts from well-meaning relatives, and the
approving comments of adults and other children. Boys, meanwhile, may be guided away from
dolls in favor of more rough-and-tumble games and sports. Children sense the approval and
disapproval and adjust their behavior accordingly. Thus, by the time they enter kindergarten,
children's gender identities are often well established.
As children start to think in categories, they often understand the boundaries of these labels
without understanding that boundaries can be flexible; children this age often will take this
identification process to an extreme. Girls may insist on wearing dresses, nail polish, and
makeup to school or to the playground. Boys may swagger, be overly assertive, and carry their
favorite ball, bat, or truck everywhere.
On the other hand, some girls and boys reject these stereotypical expressions of gender identity,
preferring to choose toys, playmates, interests, mannerisms, and hairstyles that are more often
associated with the opposite sex. These children are sometimes called gender expansive, gender
variant, gender nonconforming, gender creative, or gender atypical. Among these gender
expansive children are some who may come to feel that their deep inner sense of being female or
male—their gender identity—is the opposite of their biologic sex, somewhere in between male
and female, or another gender; these children are sometimes called transgender.
Given that many three-year-old children are doubling down on gender stereotypes, this can be an
age in which a gender-expansive child stands out from the crowd. These children are normal and
healthy, but it can be difficult for parents to navigate their child's expression and identity if it is
different from their expectations or the expectations of those around them.
Experimenting with gender attitudes & behaviors
As children develop their own identity during these early years, they're bound to experiment with
attitudes and behaviors of both sexes. There's rarely reason to discourage such impulses, except
when the child is resisting or rejecting strongly established cultural standards. If your son wanted
to wear dresses every day or your daughter only wants to wear sport shorts like her big brother,
allow the phase to pass unless it is inappropriate for a specific event. If the child persists,
however, or seems unusually upset about their gender, discuss the issue with your pediatrician.
Your child also may imitate certain types of behavior that adults consider sexual, such as flirting.
Children this age have no mature sexual intentions, though; they mimic these mannerisms. If the
imitation of sexual behavior is explicit, though, they may have been personally exposed to sexual
acts. You should discuss this with your pediatrician, as it could be a sign of sexual abuse or the
influence of inappropriate media or videogames.
Play sessions: helping your child make friends
By age four, your child should have an active social life filled with friends, and they may even
have a "best friend." Ideally, they'll have neighborhood and preschool friends they see routinely.
But what if your child is not enrolled in preschool and doesn't live near other children the same
age? In these cases, you might arrange play sessions with other preschoolers. Parks, playgrounds,
and preschool activity programs all provide excellent opportunities to meet other children.
Once your preschooler has found playmates they seems to enjoy, you need to take initiative to
help build their relationships. Encourage them to invite these friends to your home. It's important
for your child to "show off" their home, family, and possessions to other children. This will
establish a sense of self-pride. Incidentally, to generate this pride, their home needn't be
luxurious or filled with expensive toys; it needs only be warm and welcoming.
It's also important to recognize that at this age your child's friends are not just playmates. They
also actively influence their thinking and behavior. They'll desperately want to be just like them,
even when they break rules and standards you've taught them rrm birth. They now realize there
are other values and opinions besides yours, and they may test this new discovery by demanding
things you've never allowed him—certain toys, foods, clothing, or permission to watch certain
TV programs.
Testing limits
Don't despair if your child's relationship with you changes dramatically in light of these new
friendships. They may be rude to you for the first time in their life.Hard as it may be to accept,
this sassiness actually is a positive sign that they're learning to challenge authority and test their
independence. Once again, deal with it by expressing disapproval, and possibly discussing with
them what they really mean or feel. If you react emotionally, you'll encourage continued bad
behavior. If the subdued approach doesn't work and they persist in talking back to you, a time-
out (or time-in) is the most effective form of punishment.
Bear in mind that even though your child is exploring the concepts of good and bad, they still
have an extremely simplified sense of morality. When they obey rules rigidly, it's not necessarily
because they understand them, but more likely because they wants to avoid punishment. In their
mind, consequences count but not intentions. When theybreaks something of value, they'll
probably assume they are bad, even if they didn't brea it on purpose. They need to be taught the
difference between accidents and misbehaving.
Separate the child from their behavior
To help them learn this difference, you need to separate them from their behavior. When they do
or say something that calls for punishment, make sure they understand they are being punished
for the act not because they're "bad." Describe specifically what they did wrong, clearly
separating person from behavior. If they are picking on a younger sibling, explain why it is
wrong rather than saying "You're bad." When they do something wrong without meaning to,
comfort them and say you understand it was unintentional. Try not to get upset, or they'll think
you're angry at them rather than about what they did.
It's also important to give your preschooler tasks that you know they can do and then praise them
when they do them well. They are ready for simple responsibilities, such as setting the table or
cleaning their room. On family outings, explain that you expect them to behave well, and
congratulate them when they do. Along with responsibilities, give them ample opportunities to
play with other children, and tell him how proud you are when they shares or is helpful to
another child.
Sibling relationships
Finally, it's important to recognize that the relationship with older siblings can be particularly
challenging, especially if the sibling is three to four years older. Often your four-year-old is
eager to do everything their older sibling is doing; just as often, your older child resents the
intrusion. They may resent the intrusion on their space, their friends, their more daring and busy
pace, and especially their room and things. You often become the mediator of these squabbles.
It's important to seek middle ground. Allow your older child their own time, independence, and
private activities and space; but also foster cooperative play appropriate. Family vacations are
great opportunities to enhance the positives of their relationship and at the same time give each
their own activity and special time.
Q.No.4 Elaborate 'learning as modification of behavior'
What Is Behavior Modification?
Do you remember being punished as a child? Why do you think your parents did that? Despite
what we thought back then, it wasn't because they hated us and enjoyed watching us suffer
through a week without television. They merely disapproved of our actions and were hoping to
prevent us from repeating them in the future. This is an excellent example of behavior
modification.
Behavior modification refers to the techniques used to try and decrease or increase a particular
type of behavior or reaction. This might sound very technical, but it's used very frequently by all
of us. Parents use this to teach their children right from wrong. Therapists use it to promote
healthy behaviors in their patients. Animal trainers use it to develop obedience between a pet and
its owner. We even use it in our relationships with friends and significant others. Our responses
to them teach them what we like and what we don't.
Origin of the Theory
Behavior modification relies on the concept of conditioning. Conditioning is a form of learning.
There are two major types of conditioning; classical conditioning and operant conditioning.
Classical conditioning relies on a particular stimulus or signal. An example of this would be if a
family member came to the kitchen every time you baked cookies because of the delicious smell.
The second type is known as operant conditioning, which involves using a system of rewards
and/or punishments. Dog trainers use this technique all the time when they reward a dog with a
special treat after they obey a command.
Behavior modification was developed from these theories because they supported the idea that
just as behaviors can be learned, they also can be unlearned. As a result, many different
techniques were developed to either assist in eliciting a behavior or stopping it. This is how
behavior modification was formed.
Techniques
The purpose behind behavior modification is not to understand why or how a particular behavior
started. Instead, it only focuses on changing the behavior, and there are various different methods
used to accomplish it. This includes:
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
Flooding
Systematic desensitization
Aversion therapy
Extinction
Positive reinforcement is pairing a positive stimulus to a behavior. A good example of this is
when teachers reward their students for getting a good grade with stickers. Positive
reinforcement is also often used in training dogs. Pairing a click with a good behavior, then
rewarding with a treat, is positive reinforcement.
Negative reinforcement is the opposite and is the pairing of a behavior to the removal of a
negative stimulus. A child that throws a tantrum because he or she doesn't want to eat vegetables
and has his or her vegetables taken away would be a good example.
Punishment is designed to weaken behaviors by pairing an unpleasant stimulus to a behavior.
Receiving a detention for bad behavior is a good example of a punishment.
Flooding involves exposing people to fear-invoking objects or situations intensely and rapidly.
Forcing someone with a fear of snakes to hold one for 10 minutes would be an example of
flooding.
Systematic desensitization is also used to treat phobias and involves teaching a client to remain
calm while focusing on these fears. For example, someone with an intense fear of bridges might
start by looking at a photo of a bridge, then thinking about standing on a bridge, and eventually
walking over a real bridge.
Aversion therapy is the pairing of an unpleasant stimulus to an unwanted behavior in order to
eliminate that behavior. Some people bite their finger nails, and in order to stop this behavior,
there's a clear substance you can paint on your finger nails that makes them taste awful. Painting
your nails with it helps stop the behavior of biting nails.
Extinction is the removal of all reinforcement that might be associated with a behavior. This is a
powerful tool and works well, especially with young children.
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Observation Journal
Instructions
Instruct your students to spend at least one week paying careful attention to people around them
as they go about their normal behaviors for a week. Tell them they should watch out for all of the
techniques learned in the lesson:
Positive reinforcement
Negative reinforcement
Punishment
Flooding
Systematic desensitization
Aversion therapy
Extinction
Encourage students to review these terms throughout the week to make sure they are watching
out for the correct behaviors.
Each time they witness one of these types of behavior modification techniques, they should make
a journal entry noting the:
Place.
Time.
General description of people involved (such as human with a pet or parent with a child).
Behaviors witnessed prior to the technique.
What technique was used to modify the behavior.
The result of the technique.
If the student has the ability to witness repeated behavior modification from the same
participants (such as a human with his/her animal or a parent with a child), then the student
should also include information about the perceived schedule of reinforcement being used to
modify the behavior.
For example: The woman always pats her dog when it returns the ball. This is positive
reinforcement given on a fixed ratio.
The most effective way to teach a person or animal a new behavior is with positive
reinforcement. In positive reinforcement, a stimulus is added to the situation to increase a
behavior. Parents and teachers use positive reinforcement all the time, from offering dessert after
dinner, praising children for cleaning their room or completing some work, offering a toy at the
end of a successful piano recital, or earning more time for recess. The goal of providing these
forms of positive reinforcement is to increase the likelihood of the same behavior occurring in
the future.
Positive reinforcement is an extremely effective learning tool, as evidenced by nearly 80 years
worth of research. That said, there are many ways to introduce positive reinforcement into a
situation. Many people believe that reinforces must be tangible, but research shows that verbal
praise and hugs are very effective reinforces for people of all ages. Further, research suggests
that constantly providing tangible reinforces may actually be counterproductive in certain
situations. For example, paying children for their grades may undermine their intrinsic
motivation to go to school and do well. While children who are paid for their grades may
maintain good grades, it is to receive the reinforcing pay, not because they have an intrinsic
desire to do well. The impact is especially detrimental to students who initially have a high level
of intrinsic motivation to do well in school. Therefore, we must provide appropriate
reinforcement, and be careful to ensure that the reinforcement does not undermine intrinsic
motivation.
In negative reinforcement, an aversive stimulus is removed to increase a behavior. For example,
car manufacturers use the principles of negative reinforcement in their seatbelt systems, which
go “beep, beep, beep” until you fasten your seatbelt. The annoying sound stops when you exhibit
the desired behavior, increasing the likelihood that you will buckle up in the future. Negative
reinforcement is also used frequently in horse training. Riders apply pressure—by pulling the
reins or squeezing their legs—and then remove the pressure when the horse performs the desired
behavior, such as turning or speeding up. The pressure is the negative stimulus that the horse
wants to remove.
Sometimes, adding something to the situation is reinforcing as in the cases we described above
with cookies, praise, and money. Positive reinforcement involves adding something to the
situation in order to encourage a behavior. Other times, taking something away from a situation
can be reinforcing. For example, the loud, annoying buzzer on your alarm clock encourages you
to get up so that you can turn it off and get rid of the noise. Children whine in order to get their
parents to do something and often, parents give in just to stop the whining. In these instances,
children have used negative reinforcement to get what they want.
Operant conditioning tends to work best if you focus on trying to encourage a behavior or move
a person into the direction you want them to go rather than telling them what not to do.
Reinforcers are used to encourage behavior; punishers are used to stop the behavior. A punisher
is anything that follows an act and decreases the chance it will reoccur. As with reinforcement,
there are also two types of punishment: positive punishment and negative punishment.
Positive punishment involves adding something in order to decrease the likelihood that a
behavior will occur again in the future. Spanking is an example of positive punishment.
Receiving a speeding ticket is also an example of positive punishment. Both of these punishers,
the spanking and the speeding ticket, are intended to decrease the reoccurrence of the related
behavior.
Negative punishment involves removing something that is desired in order to decrease the
likelihood that a behavior will occur again in the future. Putting a child in time out can serve as a
negative punishment if the child enjoys social interaction. Taking away a child’s technology
privileges can also be a negative punishment. Taking away something that is desired encourages
the child to refrain from engaging in that behavior again in order to not lose the desired object or
activity.
Often, punished behavior doesn’t really go away. It is just suppressed and may reoccur whenever
the threat of punishment is removed. For example, a child may not cuss around you because
you’ve washed his mouth out with soap, but he may cuss around his friends. A motorist may
only slow down when the trooper is on the side of the freeway. Another problem with
punishment is that when a person focuses on punishment, they may find it hard to see what the
other does right or well. Punishment is stigmatizing; when punished, some people start to see
themselves as bad and give up trying to change.
Reinforcement can occur in a predictable way, such as after every desired action is performed
(called continuous reinforcement), or intermittently, after the behavior is performed a number of
times or the first time it is performed after a certain amount of time (called partial reinforcement
whether based on the number of times or the passage of time). The schedule of reinforcement has
an impact on how long a behavior continues after reinforcement is discontinued. So a parent who
has rewarded a child’s actions each time may find that the child gives up very quickly if a reward
is not immediately forthcoming. Children will learn quickest under a continuous schedule of
reinforcement. Then the parent should switch to a schedule of partial reinforcement to maintain
the behavior.
Q.No.5 Explain different areas of individual differences
Dissimilarity is principle of nature. No two persons are alike. All the individuals differ from each
other in many a respects. Children born of the same parents and even the-twins are not alike.
This differential psychology is linked with the study of individual differences. Wundt, Cattel,
Kraepelin, Jastrow and Ebbing Haus are the exponents of differential psychology.
Difference in Interests:
Interest differs from individual, to individual, man to woman, adolescent to adult, society to
society and culture to culture. Every man has his own interest. Boys and girls greatly differ in
their interests in choosing courses, books, pictures, games and dresses.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 1.
Physical Difference:
Man differs in his physical developments structurally and functionally. These differences are
seen in height, weight size of the body, structure of different parts of the body, color of hair,
skin, physical strength and precision.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 2.
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Mental Differences:
Mental difference are noticed in the form of perception, concept formation, imagination,
formation of imaging, memory and attention.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 3.
Difference in Intelligence:
Difference in intelligence level is seen in individuals into different categories such as genius,
gifted, superior, bright, averages, imbeciles and idiots on the basis of their intelligence level.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 4.
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Difference in Interests:
Interest differs from individual, to individual, man to woman, adolescent to adult, society to
society and culture to culture. Every man has his own interest. Boys and girls greatly differ in
their interests in choosing courses, books, pictures, games and dresses.

Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 5.

Difference in Attitudes:
As far as attitudes are concerned man differs from other. A person has different attitude towards
people, institution, customers and traditions, religions, and social phenomena. A man tells/ thinks
the laws of society as good and bad depending on his attitude. Attitude forms in environment.
Different persons have different attitudes towards casteism, religion, regionalism, linguism,
political parties and administration.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 6.
Difference in Aptitude:
An aptitude is any special ability that is possessed by an individual. Men differ their aptitude
related to musical, poetic, mechanical, artistic, games and sports etc.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 7.
Difference in Achievement:
Individual differs from others due to his achievement in various fields of life related to academic,
social, mental, emotional, moral, spiritual and intellectual. This depends on previous
experiences. Sometimes it is seen that one can achieve much more than what is expected from
them on the basis of their intelligence level.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 8.
Personality Difference:
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Person differs from other person due to his personality traits, temperaments, qualities and
behaviour. It is exhibited that some persons are extroverts and some are introverts which are
manifested by their activities.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 9.
Emotional Differences:
In case of emotions one differs from other. Some persons loose their emotions and some persons
do not loose their emotions. It is observed that someone controls his emotions and others get
irritate very quickly. On the other hand one has the ability to control the emotions with patience
and tolerance. In some cases listening the serious facts one may start shading tears.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 10.
Social Differences:
Some social factors like co-operation, sacrifices, leadership, marriage ceremony, any social
function one individual differs from others in performing the social functions. Someone feel
hesitate to mix with others where as some are shy and fail to mix with strangers.
Individual Difference in Psychology: Area # 11.
Racial and Cultural Differences:
It is seen that race and culture also bring about differences among the individuals. It depends in
geophysical and geo-hydrological influences. So German people are brave and Russian people
are tall. Besides this one differs from others in case of food habits, dress habits, speech and in
other social traditions.