Early Childhood Education

Early Childhood Education

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

Early Childhood Education

Part A

Question Number 1

The behavior modification is needed at any period of life, regardless of age. Operant conditioning not only strengthens or weakens the behavior of a child it also transforms the behavior an adult would want to be modified (Blackman, 2017). The problem I am having with my behavior is sudden decrease in the level of motivation while doing a task that I suddenly feel like not doing it anymore. This behavior of hastily quitting doing a job is needed to be eliminated and motivation is to be strengthened.

Question Number 2

This change will bring various benefits, but the top most one would be to accomplish all the tasks with high levels of motivation, which will in turn decrease the burnout or fatigue factor while performing the job.

Question Number 3

Behavior Modification Program consists of three distinct steps or phases as follows:

Baseline Phase

In this step behavior is assessed quantitatively by noting the duration, frequency, etiology severity, environmental controls, and quality of behavior. This step is important because it shows the level on which the treatment is to be determined (Lovaas & Bucher, 2017). The weakness of behavior which needs to be enhanced is measured through this assessment and screening, and the strength of the strong behavior which needs to be eliminated is measured. The core assessing tools are positive and negative reinforcements and punishment according to which behavior is shaped. The other tools include shaping, shaping, reinforcement schedules, modeling, extinction, stimulus discrimination or generalization, primary and secondary reinforcers.

Treatment phase

In this phase a proper design is formulated according to the tools of the program for the behavior modification. A person or an animal is provided following tools in order to weaken or strengthen the behavior.

Reinforcement

In this process negative and positive reinforcements are accordingly designed for the new behavior. The most effective one is positive reinforcer; in this a desirable stimulus will be added to enhance the behavior. The negative reinforcement removes the undesirable stimulus, thus it is used when the situation is adverse.

Punishment

The punishment decreases the behavior, such that an undesirable stimulus is added to decreases the occurrence of the behavior. Immediate punishments will decrease the unwanted behavior but it may not be advantageous in the long run.

Shaping

Shaping occurs when a successive approximation is also rewarded not only the targeted behavior. In this a behavior is broken down into tiny and achievable steps. It can be used in modifying complex behaviors. The stimulus is discriminated according to the behavior, such that a person or animal does not respond on every stimulus given (Watson, Maurer, & Hundziak, 2017). The step by step learning is important than other learning procedures.

Reinforcement Schedules

The reinforcement occurs in intervals, such that fixed interval or variable interval and fixed ratio or variable ratio. In fixed interval in set amount of time behavior is rewarded, although the variable interval uses varying amount of time which is unpredictable. The fixed ratio is the process of reinforcement in which there is set amount of numbers of responses, contrarily in variable ration this number of response is innumerous (Vandbakk, Olaff, & Holth, 2018).

Modeling

The modeling occurs where the behavior is learned by other either through observing or imitating them. If a reward s set on this behavior it will be strengthened, also to infuse a behavior in an animal or person they are attached with the stimulus of desired behavior.

Extinction

When the reinforcement or punishment stops, after some time this may lead to the extinction of the behavior and the speed of this process depends on the schedule of reinforcement. Variable ration slows down the extinction process, but others make it fast.

Primary and secondary reinforcers

The primary reinforcers are those which have innate qualities of reinforcement, and not learned through some external help. For instance food, water, shelter, sleep, touch and sex are all primary reinforcers. They provide pleasure and fulfill the internal need. Whereas, the secondary reinforcers are not inherent and they act as reinforcer only if linked to the primary reinforcers. For instance, if affection is not linked to praise there would be no use of it as a reinforcer. Every behavior is modified only if the internal being of the self is satisfied or happy.

Follow-up Phase

In follow-up phase, the maintenance of behavior is seen by adjusting the tools of behavior modification and the efficiency of treatment is determined and if needed more alterations the treatment is started again.

Part B

The theory of Multiple Intelligence by Howard Gardener distinguishes the human intelligence into eight particular modalities, and these modalities are; musical-rhythmic, visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic (Gardner, 2018). The following are test items of a four-point Likert scale varying from never to rarely, often, and always, used for measuring all of these eight intelligences:

I would love spending my evening at home rather on a social gathering

I vividly remember places I’ve been to

My mind operates like a computerized program

I love having pets or animals

I easily remember famous sayings and quotes

I love doing outdoor activities

I day-dream about many things

When I feel down I cheer myself with songs

I understand the feelings of friends by just looking at their faces

I like being the leading person in a group

These test items can be used for measuring the multiple intelligence of a person in one go, and these can be tested originally by using Multiple Intelligence inventories designed by various scientists. To test linguistic intelligence, I would use spelling tests and tests like SATs. For conducting visual-spatial test by letting the person draw a sketch manually or on computer and to test verbal-linguistic I’ll perform a verbal test in which the person will speak different words on the bases of their pronunciations. Whereas to test logical-mathematical intelligence, I would prefer using algorithmic test and algebraic test also the word problem tests as this will indicate the problem solving mathematic ability of a person. The bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is measured through physical testing, in which they are determined to perform a physical task and it will measure their physical ability. The interpersonal intelligence is measured through testing the empathetic and sympathetic nature of a person, whereas intrapersonal intelligence is tested by finding about the inner satisfaction and motivation of a person, and naturalistic intelligence is tested with contrast to the natural environment.

All tests are conducted under one test of multiple intelligence, whereas they can be tested separately as well. As this test reflects the diversity of intelligence, if measuring one construct, this test will also measure the other constructs along with the desired item to be measured. This gives a detailed testing for all type of intelligences stated by Gardener (Pearson, 2016). The eight intelligences are innate in a person so if one is present the other is also present but may be in lower amount. These test items can be used for measuring the multiple intelligence of a person in one go, and these can be tested originally by using Multiple Intelligence inventories designed by various scientists, but primarily Howard Gardener devised this inventory.

References

Blackman, D. E. (2017). Operant conditioning: an experimental analysis of behaviour. Routledge.

Gardner, H. (2018). Multiple approaches to understanding. In Contemporary Theories of Learning (pp. 129-138). Routledge.

Lovaas, O. I., & Bucher, B. (2017). Operant Procedures in Behavior Modification with Children. In Foundations of Behavioral Therapy (pp. 36-64). Routledge.

Pearson, M. (2016). Multiple intelligences training for counsellors: reflections on a pilot programme. Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 7(1-2), 50-68.

Vandbakk, M., Olaff, H. S., & Holth, P. (2018). Conditioned Reinforcement: the Effectiveness of Stimulus—Stimulus Pairing and Operant Discrimination Procedures. The Psychological Record, 1-15.

Watson, L. S., Maurer, R. A., & Hundziak, M. (2017). Operant Conditioning in Toilet Training of Severely Retarded Boys. In Behavior Therapy with Children (pp. 96-101). Routledge.