Operant Conditioning Can Be Used

Operant conditioning can be used to help someone overcome negative behaviors, such as in the case of a school boy who is prone to fighting in school. If the boy's parents wanted to use operant conditioning to help their child overcome his temper and stop fighting, there are various operant-conditioning approaches they could take. They could reinforce good behavior and punish bad behavior in the following ways:

(1) They could use positive reinforcement by rewarding the boy for avoiding fights, either by rewarding him for conflicts that he encountered but did not allow to escalate to physical altercations, or they could reward him for the consecutive number of days he avoided fighting. Either way, they would reinforce fighting avoidance by giving the boy something that he valued or appreciated that he realizes he earned by avoiding fighting.

(2) They could also use negative reinforcement by rewarding the boy for avoiding fights. As in the case of positive reinforcement, they could either reward him for conflicts that he encountered but did not allow to escalate to physical altercations, or they could reward him for the consecutive number of days he avoided fighting. They could reinforce fighting avoidance by allowing the boy to be excused from doing something that he normally is required to do but would prefer not to do, such as helping clean the dishes or mowing the lawn.

(3) They could use negative punishment by punishing the boy for fighting. If the boy fights, he could be required to do additional chores at home that he would ordinarily not have to do. To be effective, the boy would have to strongly prefer not to do those chores and he would have to be explicitly aware that the additional chores are consequences of fighting in school.