5. Behavior Change Paper (200 points): For this paper, you will choose a
behavior of yours or someone else’s that you would like to change through
operant conditioning. Examples include overeating, getting a child to clean
up his room, or stopping your dog from chewing up your shoes. Answer the
following questions in the form of a 2-3 page paper:
• What is the behavior that you are trying to change? Describe the behavior.
• How would you apply operant conditioning to change this behavior? Would
you use positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive
punishment or negative punishment?
• Is your goal to increase or decrease the behavior?
• What will you use as reinforcers or punishers? Are they primary or secondary
reinforcers/punishers?
• If you choose to reinforce the behavior- What schedule of reinforcement will
you use? What pattern of responding would you expect this schedule of
reinforcement to produce? OR
• If you choose to punish the behavior- What problems might result from
using punishment to change the behavior? What steps would you take to
address these problems?
• What would you expect to happen to the behavior if the reinforcer/punisher
were removed?
• Does research support your method of changing the behavior? Discuss the
empirically-supported methods of changing your selected behavior. Cite at
MUST use at least 2 peer-reviewed journal articles.
*Both papers should be in the form of an essay (i.e., not question and answer).
Papers should include APA (7th edition) formatted in-text citations and reference
list. A title page is not required, but your name and PSY 240-01 should appear at
the top of the paper