Respond to at least two classmates' threads with a 150-250 word response including a biblical world view in addition to any empirical support desired. When responding to the prompt, be sure to use empirical support such as the textbook and/or a peer reviewed article with APA formatted in-text citations and reference citations after your thread as it calls for within the prompt. Include a quote from the Bible using a relevant verse. As well, be sure to cite not only Book chapter and verse, but with the first Bible quotation, also cite the version of the Bible you used. Include the word count for each post. Follow good grammar in your writing.
Reply 1
Our behavior gets modified all the time in many different forms. Through shaping sometimes, we may not even realize the change that has occurred. Shaping is the differential reinforcement of successive approximations of a target behavior (Miltenberger, 2016). Meaning, every time we do something close to what we are supposed to do there is a positive consequence for it, while when we do not closely approximate the behavior there is a negative consequence.
Having four children at two of which I’ve had since before they were born, I can see that shaping happens both consciously and subconsciously. During infancy, many parents positively reinforce word approximations; “The shaping process starts when the parents reinforce babbling (Miltenberger, 2016)”. What we don’t realize sometimes is that by mimicking the “cute” sounds the child makes we are shaping the wrong speech sounds, which we would, in turn, have to shape again as the child grows up. This same process works with other behaviors in children for instance, when an infant cries, our first instinct is to pick them up, therefore the child gets shaped into associating crying to being comforted, the continuing of this shaping is what in my opinion leads to temper tantrums in older children when they do not get what they want. While we cannot ignore a crying infant, it is important to understand the shaping association we in the developing mind. If we continue to shape the non-desired behavior throughout childhood by giving in to tantrums so the kid leaves us alone, we are continuing the shaping of it.
One of the things I do with my children, if they are seeking attention by throwing a tantrum, I not only ignore them and the behavior but also remove anything they like from their rooms where they are confined to until they decide to stop. In turn, however, when they don’t throw tantrums for not getting what they want, they get to spend more time with us doing something else that is fun. This process shapes the positive thinking that everything is ok even when we don’t get what we want. Another approach I take is if they are asking for something they want constantly and the answer is no, then the answer sticks no matter how many times they ask, however, if they only ask once a few days go by without mentioning it and they do their chores if the request was reasonable then they will get it without asking. This shapes patience into their behavior as well as acceptable reactions and communication. None of us receive a foolproof manual on how to be parents when we have a child, however, knowing different shaping techniques to apply at different stages in life, I believe helps in bringing about better-grounded individuals, whom as adults would be better capable of understanding life’s challenges. If we think of it we realize how the things we do daily were shaped by different reinforcements throughout our lives.
Reply 2
The text gives a few examples of shaping like walking and talking both of these are very translatable to just about everyone's experience. So in talking about my experiences with shaping I wanted to go into something more specific to my growing experience. As a child I struggled greatly with reading complex books and chapter books so my mother signed me up for reading tutoring with a local teacher. She worked one on one with me and we started out reading short page or paragraph long story. We worked through the content slowly until I could read through those stories fluently and then she moved me up to a short story books, slowly over the summer the stories got longer and longer until finally at the end of summer my last assignment was to finish a full chapter book and write a book report on it. These sessions with her helped me work through my reading difficulties and inspired a love of reading I had not had before because of my frustration with the process and feeling like a failure because I mispronounced and misunderstood words. The beginning of the shaping process she started would carry on for many years as my reading levels became more and more advanced progressing in leaps and bounds. Till now those first goal she set for me turned into just small stepping stones to the college textbooks I would one day read in full. God did not see my failure he saw my harvest he saw the beginning of the seeds that were being planted in those summer tutoring sessions, and he knew the kind of harvest they would reap. There is a verse about small beginnings that I love, Zechariah 4:10 " Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (NLT). He rejoiced with me, so when discussing shaping process remember the Lord is rejoicing because he knows where they end. No matter what process it is reading, writing, learning to play an instrument, exercising, or whatever it is that holds you back from being all you were made to be, the shaping process and don't despise your small beginnings.
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