Research Premack Principle formulated by David Premack (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

Part A
The Premack's Principle
The Premack Principle was formulated by David Premack. It is a type of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is a school of thought that presumes that behavior can be learned through its consequences (Domjan, 2010 ). In other words, people behave in a particular way to get what they want or to avoid what they don't want. In the everyday life, this equates to the concepts of rewards and punishments.
According to Bouton (2007), the Premack Principle states that a commonly occurring action, one that is more desirable to the actor, can be used as a reinforcer for a less commonly occurring one, i.e., one that is less desirable to the actor. Some responses are more probable than others depending on their desirability to the actor, and the more desirable an action is, the more common it will be. In other words, if a person desires to perform a given activity, he or she will do a less desirable activity so as to get at the more desirable activity. This means that the desirable actions may themselves be reinforcers for the less desirable behaviors.
The Premack Principle further expounds that people are more motivated to perform a particular task if as a consequence, they will be in a position to partake of a more desirable activity. More desirable activities are those that individuals freely engage in, enjoy doing, and spend more time on. The less desirable ones are those that individuals do not enjoy doing, and they spend less time in them. When using the highly desirable behaviors to reinforce the less desirable behaviors, a reinforcement hierarchy may be used to determine the desirability and relative frequency of different actions (Domjan, 2010). This could be a list of actions, starting with the most common and desirable, and ending with the least common and undesirable.
Premack's principle can be used in a wide range of circumstances to predict reinforcement of one behavior, and punishment for another behavior. For example, Geiger (1996) explains that the principle can use by primary school teachers to encourage pupils to do their exercises, which is a commonly less desirable activity, before they go out to play in the field- a commonly more desired behavior. In this case, playing in the field is an activity that typically does not require any reinforcement. It can be used as a reinforcer for doing the exercises, which the pupils would not usually do without being reinforced. In this example, playing out in the field would be close to the top of the reinforcement hierarchy whereas doing exercises would be closer to the bottom.At home, parents can use Premack's principle to encourage good eating habits among their children. It is a common knowledge that most children do not like taking the vegetable, which is an essential part of a balanced diet. Instead, they like taking unhealthy foods and junks such as candy. A mother can, therefore, reinforce the uptake of vegetable (the less desirable behavior in this case), use candy (the more desirable behavior). She can tell the children they will only eat candy if they finish the vegetable serving on their plates.
In conclusion, Premark's principle is context-dependent and flexible because the strength of the more desirable behavior determines its ability to reinforce the less desirable behavior. As stated by Bouton (2007), the theory eliminates the requirement of choosing between a great reward and a terrible punishment to bring out the desired behavior in people. All that the people have is the choice between a lesser and a greater reward.
References
Bouton, M. E. (2007). Learning and behavior: A contemporary synthesis. Sinauer Associates
Domjan, M (2010). The principles of learning and behavior Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Geiger, B. (1996). A Time to Learn, A Time to Play: Premack's Principle Applied in the Classroom. American Secondary Education
Part B
Participant Modelling
Participant modeling is a form of behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapies assume that maladaptive behavior is learned from the environment, and therefore it can be unlearnt (Dobson 2009). Participant modeling as a form of learning involves two participants; the model or trainer, and the learner or observer. The role model actively displays the desired behavior so that the observer or the learner may observe, learn and imitate that behavior. According to Bandura (1976), role models convey the proper behaviors by demonstrating the sequence of the appropriate actions that result in the desired behavior. By observing the role model, the learner is cued to learn, reciprocate and imitate the desired skills.
Participant modeling is applied to enable the learner inhibit the inappropriate behavior and exhibit the appropriate ones. For it to result in the desired behavior change, it must be structured step by step and incorporate feedback. It should also be clear and consistent (Bandura 1976). According to Ladd & Mize, (1983), participant modeling can effectively be used to eliminate anxiety, compulsive-obsessive and phobic disorders among other undesirable behaviors.
Participant modeling, for example, can be used to eliminate bad eating habits in children. Most children's diets consist of junk and other unhealthy foods. The children have learned these bad eating habits from their parents and the society at large. Parents can take it upon themselves to be the role models for proper eating habits to their children. If they consistently take balanced diets in the presence of their children, the children are bound to take their cues and adopt the right eating habits as well
Graduated Modelling
Graduated modeling is also known as systematic desensitization. It is a type of behavioral therapy that is mostly used to help clients cope with ph...