PSYC 320 Week 2 DB Forum 2 Example

Discussion Board Forum 2: Thread and Two Replies

PSYC 320 Behavior Modification, Discussion Board Forum 2 (thread and two replies)

Thread by [Student Name]

The prompt, the writer's example and the classmates' posts are composites standing in for the course's own forum; the textbook, Scripture and peer-reviewed meta-analyses are real; the requirements follow Liberty's public course guide for PSYC 320.

Thread

A second-grade teacher gives a sticker for every book a student reads, and a parent worries that her daughter now reads only for stickers. Is she right? The question is older than this classroom; teachers, parents and employers have argued about rewards for decades.

Miltenberger (2015) defines positive reinforcement as adding a stimulus after a behavior so that the behavior is strengthened, and negative reinforcement as removing an aversive stimulus after a behavior with the same strengthening effect. Both are defined by what happens to the behavior, not by whether the consequence seems pleasant. The sticker is positive reinforcement if reading increases. The worry is about something else: whether the reward changes why the child reads. If the stickers stop, will she put the books down?

Two meta-analyses reached different conclusions. Deci et al. (1999) reviewed 128 experiments and found that rewards expected in advance and given simply for doing or completing a task reduced how much people chose to keep doing it later, while positive feedback increased both free-choice behavior and interest. Cameron et al. (2001) reanalyzed the literature and concluded that rewards do not have pervasive negative effects. Rewards for low-interest tasks increased later interest, verbal rewards helped, and harm appeared mainly when tangible rewards were expected and only loosely tied to performance. When rewards were linked to the level of performance, measures of interest rose or stayed the same as in unrewarded groups.

Read together, the studies point to a practical middle path: tie rewards to the quality or amount of performance, pair them with specific praise and fade them as the activity becomes rewarding in itself. On a graph, a well-designed program would show reading rising during the reward phase and staying high as stickers are thinned out. If reading collapsed when stickers ended, the teacher would know the program needed a slower fade or more social reinforcement.

In Colossians 3:23-24, labor done for the Lord rather than for human approval is promised an inheritance from him (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016). Scripture does not treat reward as opposed to wholehearted effort; it treats the right reward as part of what sustains it.

Classmates: when has a reward helped you come to enjoy something you first did only for the reward?

Reply to Morgan

Morgan, you worried that your nephew will stop practicing piano once the reward chart ends. It is a common concern. Miltenberger (2015) addresses it by recommending that reinforcement be thinned gradually, moving from continuous to intermittent schedules so the behavior persists. Cameron et al. (2001) found that rewards for low-interest tasks, and early piano practice is often one, can actually increase later interest, which suggests the chart may help piano become rewarding in itself. Proverbs 22:6 promises that early training shapes a child for life (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016), and training often begins with outside support before it becomes habit. Could you reward every other practice next month and see whether practice holds steady?

Reply to Chris

Chris, you said you plan to praise your students constantly, which shows real care for them. Deci et al. (1999) found that positive feedback increased both free-choice behavior and interest, so praise is a good tool. Miltenberger (2015) adds that reinforcement works best when it follows the behavior immediately and is contingent on it, so specific praise naming exactly what the student did, such as "You found three examples in that paragraph" is stronger than general praise. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul tells the church to keep strengthening each other with words of encouragement (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016). Praise also loses value if it follows everything. How will you keep praise specific in a busy classroom?

References

Cameron, J., Banko, K. M., & Pierce, W. D. (2001). Pervasive negative effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation: The myth continues. The Behavior Analyst, 24(1), 1-44. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03392017

Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 627-668. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.6.627

English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)

Miltenberger, R. G. (2015). Behavior modification: Principles and procedures (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.