Section1

JustinLyman,RachelRowley

DateofObservation:June13,2017

TimeofObservation:3:00PM-4:30PM

Location:Chick-Fil-A@TheDistrict

Description:Fairlylargerestaurantwithaplayarea.Lotsofchildren,butjuststartingoutIcan

seepotentialproblemsingatheringinformationthroughtheplayareaenclosurethathasno

tablestositatandalargeglassbarrierseparatingusfromthechildren.

Section2

Inthefirstobservation,positivereinforcementwasshown.Positivereinforcementis

characterizedbypresentingamotivatingitemtothepersonafterthedesiredbehavioris

exhibited,makingthebehaviormorelikelytohappeninthefuture.Subjectsareasfollows:a

caucasianmother,estimatedearlythirtieswithbrownhairandblueeyeswearingagreytop

andbluejeans.Herdaughterwithblondepigtailhair,estimatedtobetwoorthreeyearsold

wearingapurpleshirtandlightjeanswithpinkshoes.Themothertellsherdaughterthatifshe

eatsherfoodthenshellbeabletoplayattheplayland.Onceherdaughterfinishedherfood,

shewasabletoplayontheplayland.Thistypeofreinforcementinthefuturewillmostlikely

compelthedaughtertoeatherfoodinthefuturebecausesheassociatesthatactionwitha

positiveconsequence(i.e.beingabletoplayintheplayland).

Secondobservation,positivepunishmentwasexhibited.Positivepunishmentis

characterizedbypresentinganegativeconsequenceafteranundesiredbehaviorisexhibited,

makingthebehaviorlesslikelytooccurinthefuture.Whiteoldman,probablymid60s
(assumedtobegrandfather)presentsasituationtohisgrandson(whoappearstohaveamore

latinolook)wholookslikehesabout6yearsold.Theothersubjectisthegranddaughterwho

isprobablyabout5yearsoldandhasasimilarskintoneofthegrandson.Thegrandsondidnt

wanttosharehiscrayonswithhissister,sothegrandfatherintervened,Ifyoudontsharewith

yoursister,youwontgettorideinpapastruck.Thechilddidntsharethecrayonandhis

grandpatoldhimthathecouldntrideinthetruckonthewayback.Thisshowsclearpositive

punishmentbecausethechildwasntsharinghistoyandthenegativeconsequencewasnot

beingabletorideinhisgrandpastruck.Theeffectivenessofthisspecifictechniquemayvary,

butinthissituationIbelieveitwasaneffectivewaytoteachthechildtheconsequencesofnot

sharingthecrayonswithhissister.

Thirdobservation,negativereinforcementwasexhibited.Acaucasianchildaround11

yearsoldwaswalkingouttothecarwithhismomandcousins.Oneofhisyoungercousins,

alsocaucasian,thatwasaround2yearswasfollowinghimtothewrongcar.Theoldercousin

beganrepeatedlysaying,GotoMommy,Finn,gotoMommy!Thiswasnegative

reinforcementbecausehekeptnagginghiscousinuntilthecousinwenttohismother.In

negativereinforcement,abehaviorisreinforcedbytakingabadthingaway.Whentheyounger

cousinbehavedashewassupposedto,thenaggingwastakenaway.Thiswaseffective

becausetheyoungercousindidendupgoingtohismother.Negativereinforcementusually

worksthefastestoutofallthetypicalpunishmentsorreinforcements.

 Reflection

Wewereextremelysurprisedbyhowfastwewereabletogatherexamples.Within

about15minutes,wehad3observationsandevenafterthat,wewereabletoobservemore.

Theoneformofconditioningwhichwesawmostoftenwaspositivereinforcement.Whetheror

nottheparentsknowit,positivereinforcementisstatisticallyproventobethebestwayto

reinforcebehavior.ThingssuchasOkhoney,ifyoueatyourfood,Illletyougoonthe

playlandforawhile,wereheardmorethanonce.Thistypeofreinforcementencouragesthe

childtoeathis/herfoodandtheywilleventuallylearntoeattheirfoodandhopefullybeableto

doitwithoutneedingareward.Oneoftheproblemswithnaturalisticobservationisthatits

difficulttostaydiscrete.Luckilypeoplewerentreallynoticing,butitseasytobeonedgeand

wonderingifanyoneseesyouobservingthem.Oneoftheotherproblemsiswereonlyableto

seeonepieceoftheparentingpuzzle.Perhapstheparentstreattheirkidsdifferentlyinother

places,suchasthehome,soobservingtheirbehaviorinapublicplacemaynotbethebest

waytoaccuratelyinterpretoperantconditioning.

Itssafetosaythatalotofthethingsthatparentsmightdotoreinforcebehaviorin

publicmaynotreflectinthehome.Onamoregeneralscale,positivereinforcementisa

parentingmethodthatparentswouldbesmarttouse,butmanytryandfail.Theyfailbecause

theirkidsdontlistenandafterconstantlynaggingthemtoperformacertaintask,theygiveup

andrewardthemwithoutreinforcingbehavior.Positivebehaviorsarenotreinforcedandthe

parent(s)actuallyendupreinforcingnegativebehavior.Overall,itwasreallyjustquite

interestingtoseewhatwelearnedinclassappliedinreallife.Itwasquitefunnyactuallytosee

theparentstrythesetechniquesandhoweffective(andsometimesineffective)theywerein

reinforcingbehavior.Oneofthequestionsthatremainsis,Whydoparentsgiveupsoeasily
onmanyoftheseeffectivetechniquesandreinforcetheirchildrensbadbehavior?Itseems

counterproductive,butIthinkpartoftheanswermaycomedowntotheamountofattachment

betweentheparentandchild.Theparentwantstopleasethechildandtheyendupreinforcing

badbehaviorinfearofthechildlashingback.Overall,itwasaveryinterestingpsychological

principletoviewinreal-time.