Behavior Modification in Modern Culture

During last night's whirlwind of a storm, I browsed through the handy-dandy interweb, looking for "blogspiration."Suddenly, as the rain pattered against my window, I stumbled across a perfect example of operant conditioning. The laugh-inducing video, from an episode of The Big Bang Theory, describes how Sheldon Cooper attempts to modify Penny's behaviors using operant conditioning.

First, let's define operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is learning to associate a behavior (a response) with the consequences of this behavior and thus to repeat acts followed by good results and to avoid acts followed by bad results. Organisms associate their own actions with consequences. Learning takes place after the response and is used to impact future behavior.

Operant conditioning is based off the ideas of Edward L. Thorndike and B.F. Skinner. Thorndike introduced his law of effect which is the basis of operant conditioning. His idea was the principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely. Skinner developed a behavioral technology that revealed principles of behavior control. Skinner designed an operant chamber, otherwise known as a Skinner box, containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer. Attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking. To form behavior, Skinner used shaping, a procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.

The first part of the four-minute, twenty-two second clip, is of Penny doing behaviors that are favorable in Sheldon's eyes. She clears his plate, assures he has a seat on the couch, remains quiet, and takes her phone call outside. Each time she does so, she receives a chocolate. Sheldon was using positive reinforcement to strengthen Penny's response. Sheldon added a desirable stimulus, the chocolate, following the correct behavior so that it would continue. 

Leonard realizes this, and is soon offered a chocolate for his correct assumption. He declines, but Sheldon assures him that he can train Penny to jump out of the pool bouncing a beach ball on her head (that had me laughing). When Leonard forbids Sheldon from applying the principles of operant conditioning on Penny, Sheldon sprays Leonard with water, therefore using positive punishment to stop the behavior. He administered an aversive stimulus to cease the behavior or response from occurring again. 

Sheldon then tells Leonard that if he were to use negative reinforcement, he could train Penny by the time they were ready to go to sleep. In negative reinforcement, Sheldon would remove something each time so that for example, Penny's voice could be lowered to a more "pleasing register."

Anyways, I found this video incredibly entertaining. On a side note, Sheldon ends his plans by making warm milk and then going to sleep (a reference to the sleep chapter)! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

For your viewing pleasure, here is the video.