Psychological Application Discussion Essay Example

Psychology

For more than a week now, my students in the class have been working so hard on my subject, and everyone wanted to be on top of the class in terms of the assignment attained. Maths is a very challenging subject to them, and I normally encourage them to work hard and compete amongst themselves. The students are encouraged to embrace group work in order for them to attain the required standards. The competition within the class encouraged me to use some rewards for the top performers in helping them maintain the higher standards in their classwork and especially in my subject mathematics.
As I reward the top performers, the lower performer are punished, and some of their freedoms within the class are reduced since they had to leave class late than others as they remain doing their extra class assignments. The last time I gave out the test to the students, majority of them passed the paper and very few of them failed. Surprisingly, my ever top student in the subject failed, and I was much perplexed to find him remain late in class to work on the extra assignment of those who normally fail the test. He did not leave earlier as usual as he always does, and he even came for consultation in his areas of weakness.

Psychological Application:

The top student came to learn of this routine and behaviour from the previous instances on how the low performers are treated and denied some of their freedom to the class. Is illustrates the concept of reinforcement and punishment that he learnt through observation. According to B. Skinner, in his operant conditioning approach, the way of understanding behaviour is in the concentration on the consequences and causes of action. Skinner believed in the observable study of behaviour in contrary to the internal mental event. Observed behaves, and the consequences of behaviour make one to behave in a particular way.
Punishment is a situation where the wrong and unaccepted behaviours are discouraged through a negative reaction. In this case, of my top performer, the student knew that the lower performances are punished (Nevid, 2009). The student had to be up to standard and follow suit. At the same time, the use of reinforcement helps in shaping behaviour to a desirable kind and form. Reinforcement can be either negative or positive. In this case, the teacher applies both the forms of reinforcement; the positive reinforcement is evident in the form of rewards given to the top performers in boosting the positive behaviour in good character (Nevid, 2009). Negative reinforcement is also evident in the form of the extra assignment on the lower performers.
In addition, they have to leave classes late compared to others. It is meant to make them work so hard in achieving the top performance and encouraging them to leave classes early as the other performance. According to Nevid, 2009, behaviour is a learnt process through observation. These behaviours can be encouraged when they are favourable or discouraged when unfavourable or unaccepted. Nevid elaborates on the use of psychological reinforcements in achieving the required behaviours, there is no one who will want to be punished, and, therefore, every person will be working hard towards the required behaviours.

Reference

Nevid, J. S. (2009). Psychology: Concepts and applications. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.