Operant Conditioning

Part 1:

Operant conditioning is a type of conditioning in which the organism learns an association between a voluntary behavior and its consequences. I would apply operant conditioning to teach Dusty how to roll over by first rolling him over with my hands and then praising him by giving him a belly rub. Every day I would continue to roll him over and give him belly rubs until he learns too roll himself over. If he refuses to roll over he will not get a belly rub. After a couple of months, he will have learned that rolling over will get him a belly rub and he will be influenced to roll over.

Primary reinforcement is a reinforcer that is biological, such as foods, drinks, and pleasure. Primary reinforcers meet a basic biological need. I would apply primary reinforcement to teach Dusty to roll over by having Dusty’s favorite dog treat in my hand. I would start by pushing him gently to roll over with one hand, and with the other hand I would put the treat in front of his snout so that he will follow it. After Dusty finishes the roll I would praise him by saying “You’re a good boy Dusty!” and give him the treat. Then I would continue doing the same thing 3 times a day until Dusty learns to roll over by himself because he knows he will be rewarded if he does.

Shaping is the process of continuously reinforcing the desired behavior, until the organism is performing the desired behavior. I would apply shaping to teach Dusty to roll over by rolling him over with my hands 5 times a day so that he learns what it is to roll over. After a couple days he will have learned that me putting my hand on him means to roll over and he will do it himself.

Part 2:

A flashbulb memory is a highly detailed, vivid 'snapshot' of a moment from an important traumatic event. They are stored in a complete and intense way that captures the context, the event, and the emotional reaction to it. Flashbulb memory could affect how I recall the automobile incident because, it had such a