waldentwo

         Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which is characterized by persistent thoughts, impulses, or images (obsessions) and repetitive stereotyped actions (compulsions), has always been a disorder that I found to appear frightening, yet interesting. I had watched a documentary on it on television years ago, and was saddened that, as with many psychological disorders, those suffering from this can be trapped within an individual prison their own mind has created.  Feeling compelled to carry out irrational actions, and ruminate over obsessive thoughts can be entirely debilitating for those individuals suffering.           I found that it was interesting that the book mentioned that cleaning and checking (making sure the stove is off/that the door is locked) were two of the most common forms of compulsive behavior. Both of these thing s can serve a great purpose in survival, such as avoidin g deadly bacteria and making sure yo...

In reading the fine print of the book, something caught my eye that I found to be very interesting. "neophobia is a fear of new things" (Honey et al., 2013, pp. 475).  There is also food neophobia which is the fear of trying new foods. This is present most often in young children but what I found interesting was when the book discussed food neophobia in rats. It mentioned how food poisoning is relevant to body weight meaning that the lesser weight the more effected an animal would be by food poisoning. Because of this, there is a biological reason that rats and other small animals have evolved to be resistant to new foods; to better prevent against food poisoning. I find it fascinating how animals come to evolve and how many behaviors can come to be explained. Honey, L. P., Powell, R. A. . A., Symbaluk, D. G. and Powell (2013)  Introduction to Learning and Behavior . United States: CENGAGE Learning Custom Publishing

For decades, animals have been studied to better understand not only their social circles but the way they communicate with each other as well. Many mammals including dolphins and chimps have a way of communicating with one another and sometimes humans, in order to get their wants and needs met. Although chimps do not have the proper anatomy to be able to talk, they have been taught sign language successfully. Many even began using the signs they were taught on their own. This shows that some animals do have the capability of cognitive skills to some degree. Much like chimps, dolphins have the cognitive ability to understand and communicate with their environment. If you have ever been to a zoo, or aquarium, you can see evidence of this. Even though the animals in captivity are not necessarily in the same situations that would be found in the wild, you can see how the mammals interact with not only their environment but their trainers as well. When I do to a zoo, one of my favorite thi...

  While reading chapter 9, the question of the proper way to punish a child can into mind. Positive punishment was defined by Honey, Powell, and Symbaluk in Introduction to learning and behavior (2013) as a punishment that consists of “the presentation of a certain event following a response, which then leads to a decrease in the future strength of that response” and negative punishment was defined as a punishment that “consists of the removal of a certain event following a response, which then leads to a decrease in the future strength of that response” (Honey, Powell, & Symbaluk, 2013, p. 365). Within this chapter the term obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is explained as “a disorder characterized by persistent thoughts, impulses, or images (called obsessions), and repetitive, stereotyped actions (called compulsions) that are carried out in response to the obsessions” ((Honey, Powell, & Symbaluk, 2013, p. 361).  Also explained in the text, a...

Posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD is a form of a chronic fear triggered by a traumatic event. It is seen most often in soldiers returning home from war zones. Many Soldiers return home unable to cope with daily life due to what they have seen while fighting over seas. Many have problems living their day to day lives without reliving the traumatic experiences and often have difficulty sleeping because of it. Something as simple the loud bang of a door closing can trigger wan event. There are many different therapy options available for those who suffer from PTSD with new therapy options being developed daily. Just this morning on NEWS 12 NJ there was a story of a company using golf, which is known for its relaxing nature, to try and help their employees who suffer from PTSD. Many people do not realize how serious PTSD can be for those who need to learn to cope with it on a daily basis. More companies like the one offering the golf outings, need to pay more attention to PTSD in a...

As discussed in our book, the concept of Learned Helplessness is defined as a behavior in which an organism forced to endure aversive, painful, or unpleasant stimuli becomes unable or unwilling to avoid subsequent encounters with those stimuli, even if they are escapable. This behavior is typically related to Seligman's dog experiment where eventually, the dog being shocked accepted the shock without trying to escape, even when the cage was open. Although Learned Helplessness is often related to a physical stimulus, it can also be tied to a more cognitive situation such as a school classroom. As a future school teacher, I found the concept of Learned Helplessness very relevant to my future career, and while further researching it, I came across an article that describes ways in which Learned Helplessness can be developed in students based on their teacher's actions. In the article, "Learned Helplessness in the Classroom" from Exclusive.multibriefs.com, Erick Herrman...

On the contrary to the popular belief that negative reinforcement is solely a form of conditioning similar to punishment that a dominant figure of some sort imposes on someone or something under their control, that is not always the case. In many situations, a parent or guardian may use negative reinforcement in their parenting techniques, or a teacher may use it in his or her classroom, but negative reinforcement is present in our everyday tasks as well. The simplified definition of negative reinforcement is when something that is already present is removed as a result of a specific behavior, thus causing that behavior to increase in the future due to the favorable outcome that it produced.  Whether or not we realize it, this definition lends itself to several every-day occurrences, and negative reinforcement is present in our lives all the time. An article from EducateAutism.com lists several of these examples including the following: 1. Drying wet hands. - Wet hands after ...