Author: Brianna Aledo

When considering how children behave we often think to ourselves, how do we make them realize any inappropriate behaviors are wrong? How can we lead them in the right direction? The key to doing this is reinforcement, and there are two types of reinforcement which can be used: Positive and negative reinforcement.

 

Professor Wede states reinforcement describes an event which strengthens the behaviors occurring before it (Wede, 2023). The difference between positive and negative reinforcement is that positive reinforcement presents positive stimuli after the behavior occurs while negative reinforcement removes negative stimuli after the behavior.

 

Within the classroom, I have experienced both positive and negative reinforcement from teaching methods my instructors have used. A classic example of positive reinforcement which many students have experienced would be receiving stickers or golden stars for exhibiting good choices/behaviors. This is a method typically used in elementary school, as visuals are valued greatly by little kids. An example of positive reinforcement which I am experiencing in my current chemistry class is every time I attend a community tutoring session I receive 10 extra points towards my grade.

Figure 1. Golden star used as positive reinforcement in classrooms.

 

When it comes to negative reinforcement in the classroom, an example would be if kids have a sad face sticker from acting bad then when they change their behavior the sticker is taken away. In college, an example of negative reinforcement would be if students had zeros for any work they did not complete, and as they finish assignments the zeros are dropped.

Figure 2. Red sticker removed for negative reinforcement.

When choosing reinforcement for education, I find that positive reinforcement is more beneficial than negative reinforcement, as motivation can be gathered and used towards earning rewards rather than feeling certain behaviors must be exhibited to rid any nuisances. I have observed people tend to move away from stimuli they do not enjoy. If professors begin their classes by saying they use a grading system in which putting more effort in the class such as attending tutoring sessions will earn students more points, the students are likely to stick with the class and put in the work rather than if a professor introduced their class structure by stating there are zeros for all assignments and students must work to remove the zero. 

Sources Cited:

Wede, Josh. “Lecture 15- Operant Conditioning.” The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. Nov, 2023. Lecture.

 

Digital Image. Accessed 12 Nov, 2023. https://jonnywalkerteaching.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/how-gold-stars-ruin-stuff/

 

Digital Image. Accessed 12 Nov, 2023. https://www.amazon.com/Unhappy-Frowns-Stickers-Motivational-Teacher/dp/B09Z6WB8JZ

 

When reflecting on previous events, many people claim they can remember the entirety of the event scene by scene, object by object- how can we be sure of this? The answer is we can’t;  if details are slightly forgotten our brain will attempt to form connections to fill the gaps. This is called the misinformation effect, and is defined as inaccurate information being incorporated into a memory by the brain to make sense of gathered data.

To prove that the memories people have are flexible and easily influenced, the Loftus Study was conducted. The Loftus Study was designed by Elizabeth Loftus who wanted to study the flexibility of memory. This study involved 45 students who were shown short 5-30 second long films in which car accidents happened, then the students were asked how fast they believed the cars were moving prior to them coming in contact. The word which affected the formation of the memory was the word contact, as various students were asked the same question but with various synonyms such as hit, smash, and bumped. Based on the words used, students had different guesses for the speeds which the cars were moving in though they had watched the same video. The pictures below display an example of the difference in which the words hit and smash can imply for how people view the scene, and the speeds people guessed based on which word was used in the questioning process.

After the speed question, there was a week break from the study, then the students were asked to recall if there was broken glass within the films of the car accidents. Those who were asked the question about the car speed with the word smashed proved to be over twice more likely to falsely say there was broken glass in the collision than the students who were asked the question using the word hit. This proved that not only does the brain perceive events differently based on slight differences in the description of the events, but it can also create false occurrences overall drastically changing the memory. The table below displays the recall of various individuals who were asked the speed question with different words.

Knowing this information, I can understand that I have had the misinformation effect occur with my memories. A simple example of the misinformation effect occurring in my life is recalling a toy car which I had when I was little that I could actually drive. Throughout my life after I gave the car away I had memories based on what my mom had told me, which was that it was a purple non branded toy jeep. Growing up, I remembered the purple jeep not having a brand label on it up until I saw a picture of myself within the car. Not only did the jeep have a large Barbie logo on it, it was also pink! Based on new information supplied to me after the memories had been formed, my brain had falsely filled in missing details as drastic as the color of the car. This corresponds directly to the findings within the Loftus Study, as after the formation of a memory added details about the event, though they were false, were incorporated into my memories leading to the misinformation effect.

Works Cited:

Saul Mcleod. “Loftus and Palmer (1974): Car Crash Experiment.” Simply Psychology. 16 June, 2023. https://www.simplypsychology.org/loftus-palmer.html Accessed 22 October, 2023.

 

Wede, Josh. “Lecture 11-Forgetting & Biology of Memory.” The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 22 October, 2023. Lecture.