Discussion: Can
Bullying Be Mitigated Through Behaviorist Approaches?
A classic example of bullying is a scenario in which a much
larger, stronger bully physically intimidates and harasses a smaller, weaker
victim to steal the victim’s lunch money. You might think that the obvious
solution to the bullying in this example is to punish the bully to prevent the
behavior from reoccurring. It would be nice if the solution were that simple,
but it often is not. The bully may receive gains from the behavior (positive
reinforcement; e.g., money to buy more food at lunch or respect from peers)
that outweigh the punishment. Furthermore, if the bullying has occurred over a
length of time with the same victim, the victim may also develop a conditioned
response. For example, suppose that the school bell signaling that it is lunch
time rings just before the bully approaches the victim for his lunch money.
Initially the bell is a neutral stimulus that produces no specific response.
Over time, the victim may associate the bell with the fear response of being
bullied, such that the bell alone triggers a fear response in the potential
victim. Now the bell is a conditioned stimulus because it elicits a conditioned
response.
Classical and operant conditioning can be used to understand why
bullying occurs, as illustrated in the previous example, and to design
effective interventions to reduce bullying behavior. In this discussion, you
will use classical or operant conditioning to propose a strategy to mitigate
bullying.
To Prepare:
·
Review this week’s Learning Resources on the behaviorist
perspective and classical and operant conditioning.
·
Pay particular attention to the meaning of the terms in each type
of conditioning. Classical conditioning terms include: UCS (unconditioned
stimulus), UCR (unconditioned response), NS (neutral stimulus), CS (conditioned
stimulus), CR (conditioned response). Operant conditioning terms include
positive reinforcers, and negative reinforcers, and punishers.
·
Select one conditioning approach and use it to propose a strategy
to mitigate bullying.
·
Operationalize the characteristics of your strategy. For example,
if you selected the classical approach, identify which aspects of your strategy
represent the UCS, UCR, NS, CS, and CR. If you selected the operant
approach, identify which aspects (or operants) of your strategy represent
positive reinforcers, negative reinforcers, and/or punishers.
By Day 4
Post a
response to the following:
Describe the conditioning approach you
selected. Explain how you used this approach to identify a strategy to mitigate
bullying. Following your mitigation strategy, operationalize the
characteristics of your strategy according to the conditioning method you
chose, such as UCS, UCR, NS, CS, CR for classical conditioning; and positive
reinforcers, negative reinforcers, punishers for operant conditioning.
Note: Support
your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources
and any additional sources you identify using both in-text citations and
references. It is strongly recommended that you include proper APA format and
citations.
By Day 6
Respond to at least one of your colleagues’ posts by
identifying at least one limitation inherent in classical or operant
conditioning that could affect your colleague’s mitigation plan. Make a
suggestion to help strengthen your colleague’s plan. Provide scholarly content
and citations to support your response.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the
responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any
insights you have gained as a result of your colleagues’ comments.