Principal's ITE advice had to be delivered.

[Spring]

Wonie,

I have a daughter in JC (first year) too. Only wish she can be half as sensible as you!!

It's really good for your school to involve students this way. I'm just curious about your project though.....wouldn't it open a lot of wounds when you interview teenage girls in shelter homes? I mean, they have just gone through so much and a group of students come & interview them!

Also, I've been very intrigued by the term 'negative reinforcement' as I've seen it a few times in newspaper, other magazines but never got around to finding out what they mean. Reinforcements should always be 'positive' right?

[Wonie]

Hi Spring,

Thanks! Actually, I have my moments with my parents too lah....
 
The interview at shelter home was conducted with pertinent consideration for the girls' privacy and emotional well-being. The girls were asked if they were comfortable with the idea & only those who agreed were interviewed. And all the girls interviewed had already come to terms with their situation or had found resolution through their families, the shelter home, etc. They had also been psychologically assessed to be mentally / emotionally fit. Anonymity was guaranteed and no names were quoted in our subsequent class presentation.

Although I'm not a psych student, I will try to help enlighten your doubts about 'positive' & 'negative' reinforcements as I'm extremely interested in the workings of our human mind & have read up quite a bit.... In the study of psychology, there's this theory of 'operant conditioning' which uses consequences to modify the occurence & form of behaviour. Reinforcement is one way to modify behaviour.

In a nutshell, positive reinforcement means 'increase' in stimulus to encourage a response / behaviour. E.g. A child who is rather laid-back does well at his work one day. His mum praises him. It goes on for a while and the child begins to associate his mum's praises with doing his work well. This is positive reinforcement.

Negative reinforcement, on the other hand, is the 'decrease' in stimulus to encourage a response / behaviour. E.g. A mum nags at her child for not picking up after himself. She goes on and on until he starts to tidy his room. She then stops her nagging. This is negative reinforcement - the removal of an aversive stimuls.

Boy, I do feel like I'm doing an assignment! I'm down with flu today, that's why so much time lor.....But Spring, psychology's really an interesting science of the human mind. There're really lots more.....did you know that there's 'positive punishment' & 'negative punishment' too? You can google 'behaviour analysis', 'BF Skinner' or 'types of reinforcements'.

Good luck!

[fsng0156]

I guessed the principal 'meant well' but her tone was misinterpreted. My opinion is that the principal should be sent back for re-training. She, being and educator must be able to communicate effectively so that her the message and intention are clearly understood.

[tom]

Behavior Analysis is the scientific study of behavior. It emphasizes careful measurement of observed behavior, along with an appreciation of the role of environment just before and just after the response.

Prediction and control of behavior are of vital interest to mankind, and behavior analysis offers the tools to accomplish this.  Behavior is governed by its consequences, and  this simple principle is applicable in a variety of practical situations.

Human behavior is indeed a complex issue. It is indeed a plus, for educators to be trained or well versed with " Positive Reinforcements " or topics dealing with human behaviour. This is an interesting topic and I feel more parents should be involved in the discussion.  Thanks Wonie and others for your valuable contribution.