Operant Conditioning in the Criminal Justice System Z. M. Keys Psychology of Criminal Behavior CCJS 461 17 October 2014
"The only way to tell whether a given event is reinforcing to a given organism under given conditions is to make a direct test. We observe the frequency of a selected response, then make an event contingent upon it and observe any change in frequency. If there is a change, we classify the event as reinforcing to the organism under the existing conditions." (Skinner, 1953) What does that even mean? Scientists use so many worlds to say the simplest things. Basically, behavioral psychology is known as behaviorism and based on a theory of learning that is significantly contingent on the premise A., 2007). There are four different contexts or types of operant conditioning: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive (or response-cost) punishment, and negative punishment. The last three of these are all associated with aversive control while only one, positive reinforcement, is associated with positive control. Thus, researchers can distinguish between two variations of the model, a positive one and a negative one” (McLeod S. A., 2007) (Landrum & Koffman, 2011). So, in layman’s terms the belief is that if your behavior has positive or negative consequences then it will inspire you to do those things that render good reward and cease actions and behaviors of things that are punishable. For example if a child is being potty trained, when the child uses the toilet properly, they are rewarded, and when the child goes to the potty on themselves they are either punished or not rewarded. Through this technique the child forms an association between going to the bathroom properly and being rewarded and the consequences for not going to the bathroom properly. Though there are two types of condition methods, for the purpose of this assignment we will discuss operant conditioning in great detail, and how it relates to multiple criminal acts and procedures. Operant conditioning is pertinent in many ways and instances. It is related to every aspect of our daily lives; at home in your personal life
