Why Do Children Behave or Misbehave, as they do?

Modelling, also called vicarious learning, is learning behaviours through imitating the behaviour of others -specifically people who the infant loves and respects.   Example: It is common to find a little girl imitating her mother by pretending to do housekeeping tasks in play.

Most learning would not have far reaching effects unless it was influenced and encouraged by the environment and the people surrounding us. Parents reward their children for behaviour they approve of, and often punish them for behaviour which they disapprove of. Through modelling, then, we become influenced by other people’s value systems -that is, by what other people regard as right or wrong. This is called conditioning.

Imitation has been noted in infants only a few days old. (e. When mothers have stuck out their tongues at the baby, the baby responded by sticking out its tongue). Vicarious learning develops most rapidly however, between the ages of 1 and 2 years. In a leading research project, subjects were exposed to three kinds of behaviour.

• Motor behaviours such as putting on a hat.
• Social behaviours such as vocalisation and "peek-a-boo".
• Co-ordination sequences such as putting small containers inside large ones and shaking them.

Researchers closely observed the imitation skills of children aged between 1 and 2 years after being exposed to the above mentioned activities. The results were:

• Infants exhibited a marked improvement in social and motor imitation between the ages of one and two.
• All infants successfully imitated motor behaviours more often than social and vocal behaviours.
• Only two year old infants could imitate co-ordinated sequences.

The powerful role of imitation in childhood learning cannot be ignored. Vicarious learning continues to play an important role in development up to the adolescence. Even adults continue to model their behaviour according to others (eg. dressing like the rich and famous).

Classical Conditioning

This is a complex concept that involves an organism’s recognition that two stimuli go together. Ivan Pavlov was the pioneer of classical conditioning. He based his theory on experiments with dogs. Pavlov observed the relationship between an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as a dish of food) with an unconditioned response (UR) (such as salivating). He recognised that this was a natural, unlearned response (UR). He proceeded to experiment with the possibilities of associating other stimuli (e. light) with the unconditioned stimulus (e. food) so that the dog would become conditioned to respond to light by salivating.

He set up the dog in a sound proof laboratory with a special device to measure the salivating response (attached to the salivary gland). A light was the turned on followed by the delivery of meat powder by remote control. A high degree of salivation is measured. The procedure is repeated so that the dog is conditioned to associate the light with food (CS – conditioned stimulus). The repetition of this procedure is called reinforcement. It reinforces the association between light and food. When the experimenter turned on the light without presenting food, the dog still salivated heavily (CR- conditioned response).

Operant Conditioning

This is a more complex and theoretical concept than Classical Conditioning. It involves an organism learning that a particular response to a stimulus will lead to a particular outcome. The concept was formulated by B. F. Skinner. Skinner distinguished between respondent and operator behaviour.

• Respondent behaviour occurs as a direct unconditioned response to a stimulus (such as the reflex of the knee, or salivating at the smell of good food).
• Operant behaviour on the other hand involves the organism actively performing in the environment, without responding to a particular stimulus. Such behaviour is influenced not by causes, but more by the results which it produces.

A simple example of Operant Conditioning: Because you are happy, you might smile at the people you pass in the street. The result of your friendliness might cause people to be warm and friendly in return, and maybe initiate pleasant conversations with you. This consequence of your undirected behaviour (smiling) can lead you to smile more often in order to encourage positive responses in others.

Reinforcement

In classical conditioning, reinforcement refers to paired presentation of a conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus. With operant conditioning, reinforcement refers to the occurrence of an event which follows a desired response. With operant conditioning, there are two types of reinforcement:

• Positive Reinforcement
• Negative Reinforcement.

With Positive Reinforcement, a desirable stimulus follows behaviour response, reinforcing that behaviour. During negative reinforcement, an undesirable stimulus is removed following the behaviour, reinforcing the behaviour.

Types of Consequences

In operant conditioning, learning occurs because we associate a certain behaviour with a kind of response or a consequence. However, not all responses will have the same effect.

• Neutral consequences have no effect of the likelihood of that behaviour.
• A consequence that increases the likelihood that the behaviour will be repeated is called a reinforcer. Reinforcement reinforces the behaviour. Positive reinforcement occurs when a desirable consequence (a reward) is offered. Negative reinforcement occurs when the consequence is the removal of something undesirable.
• A consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behaviour will be repeated is called punishment. Punishment can take the form of introducing an unpleasant consequence or of removing something pleasant.
  
  

Do not confuse punishment and negative reinforcement. Reinforcement always strengthens a behaviour, where punishment weakens it. However, the two consequences are often used together. A parent might scold a child for hitting her sister over a toy (punishment) but the removal of the parent’s disapproval when the child cheerfully hands the toy to her sister also reinforces sharing (negative reinforcement).

Intrinsic and extrinsic reinforcers

Reinforcement can be more complicated that it might seem here. If external rewards (such as stars, prizes, money) are offered for desirable behaviour, they can actually reduce the motivation to repeat that behaviour. Extrinsic (external) reinforcers can make an enjoyable behaviour seem less enjoyable. For instance, if a student enjoys learning and gains satisfaction from gaining new knowledge (intrinsic or internal rewards), that existing pleasure might decrease if the student learns to expect a star or prize for studying.

Consequences and timing

Immediate consequences are much more effective reinforcers than delay consequence. Ideally, reinforcement is given immediately after the behaviour, when the person can clearly associate the behaviour with the reward. This applies to both adults and children, but is especially important with young children and animals, who may not have the cognitive ability to associate delayed consequences with behaviour. Both reinforcement and punishment are more effective when the consequence is immediate. Delayed punishment will simply confuse a young child or animal. For an older child, it turns the focus onto the expectation of punishment rather than on the behaviour that triggered it, thereby decreasing the effect of the punishment on the behaviour.

Reinforcement that occurs after each incidence of a behaviour is called continuous reinforcement. It is most effective in strengthening the behaviour. Intermittent reinforcement can be more successful at maintaining a learned behaviour once it is learned than regular reinforcement. Intermittent reinforcement is given only sometimes.

If a behaviour does not occur, it is difficult to find opportunity to reinforce it. For instance, you want to use reinforcement to teach your teenager to help with the chores, but if he does not help, how can you use reinforcement? The solution is called shaping. At first, you reinforce any approximation of the desired behaviour. For example, your son rinses only a few dishes after dinner. This behaviour is an improvement over doing nothing, so you reinforce this behaviour (perhaps with a warm “Thank you” and a hug) even though it still falls short of your aim (and even it was done grudgingly, since you are also seeking to shape your son’s attitude to the chore). You continue to reinforce approximations until they are established. Then, you reinforce any additional effort until the desired behaviour is established. You might reward your son when he rinses all the dishes, and then, when he puts them all in hot soapy water, then, when he washes them.