Chapter 5 Project/Interview: Conditioning/Reinforcement while Parenting Children
2 page typed essay, 100 points: For this assignment/project, you will demonstrate how well versed
you have become in the theories and principles behind classical and operant conditioning and
reinforcement. You should now be ready to apply what you have learned to everyday life, in particular the
behavior modification of children. Write a 2-page paper discussing practical extensions of classical
conditioning, operant conditioning, and schedules of reinforcement after you interview teachers of
children. You can also interview any other adult you have access to acquire your information.
Directions:
There are several ways to approach the written portion of the assignment. In one version, you can discuss
a variety of examples of conditioning/reinforcement from your information acquired from your
interviews. You might, for instance, retell the story of an interview, note that a child responded to a
certain schedule of reinforcement or explain how the parent told you how he used his own experience to
help him modify his child’s behaviors or habits. In another version, you can explain examples of how the
parents you interviewed used the principles in this chapter an attempt to influence the behavior of their
children. Potential examples include how they potty trained their children, got them to sleep through the
night, stopped the bottle or stopped nursing, stopped sucking their thumbs, stopped using a pacifier,
stopped temper tantrums, or acting out other negative behaviors, or any other stimulus that produces a
negative behavior and how they parent replaced that with a positive response, behavior, incentive, or
feeling. Also look for school based examples if their children are school-age, such as completing
homework, studying for tests, behavior in school, getting along with friends, playing in sports, etc. The
format should be like the free responses, in which you typed your answers and did not follow APA format.
However, it must be well-written and grammatically correct to receive full credit.
Questioning:
You can imagine that your questions will change depending upon what the interviewee tells you, so feel
free to add, change, delete, edit they suggested question list as you need. As you listen to the responses,
play amateur psychologist and stay attentive for any information that cues you to something else the
parent has told you is going on with the child’s behavior. For examples, if you have asked about behavior
modification for homework compliance and the parent you are interviewing tells you that their child was
involved with the child study team, ask what other types of interventions he tried with new information.
You can ask questions based on other information you have learned so far in the course because you now
know that other factors are affecting how this child will respond to behavior modification and listen
carefully and ask questions based on what they parent is telling you. As you start to ask questions and
explain what the assignment is, the parent will start to tell you stories because every parent loves to talk
about his children, and you will just have to guide the interview to get the information you need for the
assignment.
Sample Questions:
1. How did you help your child sleep through the night?
2. How old was your child when he/she walked?
3. What is your parenting style?
4. How old was your child when stopped bottle or nursing? How did you help him or her?
5. What are your favorite things to do together?
6. How would you describe your child’s basic temperament or personality?
7. Who handles discipline in your home?
8. How was potty training?
9. Does your child have a bedtime routine?
10. What do you do when your child brings home a bad grade? Doesn’t do homework?
11. How do you handle fights between the siblings?
12. Did your child ever have a tantrum? If so, what did you do? Did they continue?
13. What is the most effective means of stopping a negative behavior for your child? How did you
come to discover that?
14. How would you describe your disciplinary style?
15. If your child ever publically misbehaved, how would you handle it?
16. Would you describe your child as strong-willed?
17. What means do you use to extinguish a behavior in your child?
18. Can you describe a time that your child has become angry when you have tried to modify his or
her behavior?
19. How would you describe consistent parenting?
20. How do you handle discipline or parenting with a child with special needs or a learning disability?
21. What modifications do you allow for a child with a learning disability?
22. How do you modify behavior when you learn your child has a learning disability?
23. What resources are available to assist with difficulties with behavior when you learn your child
has a learning disability?
24. Have you ever tried star charts of reward charts and were they successful for your child?
Written Assignment:
In the written part of your paper, you MAY, BUT DO NOT HAVE TO locate recent research that applies
principles of classical or operant conditioning to any child rearing problems (e.g., classical conditioning as
a treatment for bedwetting, incentives for toilet training, the revoking of game systems for bad grades).
Your paper should contain a thorough discussion that relates your examples that you acquired through
interview to theory and principles discussed in the text, power point, class discussion and handouts.