Kaplan University: Psychology / Applied Behavior Analysis
PS499: Bachelors Capstone Course in Psychology
One original discussion post and two replies.
TUTOR INSTRUCTIONS:
The student is required to answer the questions below to make a new discussion post, then make a reply comment to two other student's posts. So, one new original post, and two reply comments (one comment about Student 1's post, and one comment about Student 2's post).
Requirements:
Original post 300-400 words. 2 references. APA format.
Reply comments 150-200 words
Discussion Question:
Considering all of the psychological theorists you have learned about, discuss which is your favorite and why (I suggest B. F. Skinner). Describe which components of that individual's theory you think are most relevant to your concentration: Applied Behavior Analysis.
Student 1's Post (Thomas):
Hello Professor and class
When I first started in psychology I was fascinated and interested in the field of behaviorism, mainly because I looked up to John Watson but as time went on and I started to learn about all the different kinds of psychological theorists I found myself looking up to a humanistic psychologist named Carl Rogers. I would say that the self-actualization and self-worth theories are two of my favorites and are relevant to my concentration. Carl Rogers understood that everybody has one basic motive, which is to prosper and reach their full potential but at the same time everybody is unique causing them to develop differently. "Carl Rogers believed that for a person to achieve self-actualization they must be in a state of congruence." (Simply Psychology).
This can only happen when one is able to project who they think they are into who they actually are. Once that has happened they would be a fully functioning person. The self-worth theory is very important because it's really the stepping stone when it comes to how we perceive our-self. This theory revolves around one's childhood. " Rogers believed feelings of self-worth developed in early childhood and were formed from the interaction of the child with the mother and father."(Simply Psychology).
Carl Rogers broke it down into two different categories being unconditional positive regard which means that the child is loved by their parent/s unconditionally even if they do make mistakes or get into trouble from time to time; parents who use conditional positive regard on the other hand leave their child feeling like they aren't loved for who they truly are but instead loved for demonstrating behaviors and actions that are approved upon by their parents. Children who are raised in a conditional positive home tend to have low self-worth and often seems to always be seeking approval from others. Children who are raised in an unconditional positive regard home tend to develop high self-worth and have a better opportunity of achieving self-actualization.
Reference
McLeod. S (2007) Simply Psychology
Retrieved From http://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-rogers.html Retrieved On 11/16/2016
Student 2's Post (Tiffany):
Over the course of my education, I have learned about many theorists. Although there are many to choose from, my favorite by far is B.F Skinner. With so many theorist out there, why is Skinner my favorite? I am very interested in why human behavior is so moldable. This is why my concentration is in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Skinner has taken behaviorism to a new level with his operant conditioning theory. This theory states that behavior can be controlled by consequence or rather what happens directly after the behavior. Skinner went on to design schedules of reinforcement which are used in ABA therapy. This tells us when to give reinforcement after a behavior and why we do it this way. ABA therapy would not exist in the manner it does without the influences of Skinner and his operant conditioning theory.
Reference
Staddon, J. E. R., & Cerutti, D. T. (2003). Operant Conditioning. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 115-144. http://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145124