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Unit 8 Assignment Learning and Behavior

Essay Instructions:
This assignment assesses the following Course Outcome: PS515-4: Determine the appropriate tool to modify behavior. By now, you know that reinforcement is a powerful tool to develop and maintain behavior. As it turns out, the schedule by which that reinforcement is delivered makes a difference in terms of behavior. Further, it would be frustrating to teach a behavior that disappeared after the lesson was over. Therefore, it is important to learn how to apply reinforcement and how to make behaviors last over time. For this assignment, you will write a 4- to 6-page essay that describes how you would apply reinforcement tools within the working world. You have 25 new employees, and you want them to complete several new-employee onboarding tasks, such as selecting a health insurance plan, federal withholding, state withholding, 401(k) selection, setting up direct deposit, etc. You also want them to turn in biweekly reports on time. Several months later, you have noticed that there are many employee absences on the Monday after the biweekly payday. Attendance seems to improve the closer it gets to payday. In your essay, be sure to do the following: Describe a fixed reinforcement schedule, a variable reinforcement schedule, a duration schedule, a response rate schedule, and a noncontingent reinforcement schedule. Explain how each works and when you might use each one. Refer to the case above. Evaluate the best schedule of reinforcement for the initial paperwork and to get employees to turn in biweekly reports on time. Apply the schedule, explaining specifically how and when you would reinforce the employee. Be sure to provide your rationale. Discuss what seems to be happening with the employee absences (explain in terms of operant conditioning), and why you think it is happening. Refer to the scenario above. Evaluate the best schedule of reinforcement to improve attendance. Apply the schedule, explaining specifically how and when you would reinforce the employee, and provide your rationale. Explain how you would work to generalize the attendance behavior across time. Identify what sociocultural factors should be considered when trying to encourage better attendance. Your assignment should be a 4- to 6-page essay, not including the title and reference pages, and should include the following elements: Title page: Provide your name, title of assignment, course and section number, and date. Body: Answer all the questions in complete sentences and paragraphs. Your responses should reflect professional writing standards, using proper tone and language. The writing and writing style should be correct and accurate and reflect knowledge of skills and practice of the psychology profession. Reference page: Sources listed in current APA format. Include a minimum of three scholarly or academic sources to support your responses and conclusions. Use Arial or Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced and left aligned. Use standard 1" margins on all sides. Use current APA formatting and citation style.
Essay Sample Content Preview:
Unit 8 Assignment Learning and Behavior Student’s Name Institution Course # and Name Professor’s Name Submission Date Reinforcement Schedules Behavior is developed and maintained using reinforcement schedules. This means the type of schedule chosen will determine the reinforcement delivered, the differences in behaviors taught, and how long the behavior will last. A fixed reinforcement schedule is a type of schedule in which rewards for a response are given after a predetermined period (Johnson et al., 2022). This consistency means the subject knows precisely when the reinforcement will be delivered. It can be used in scenarios that require high factory response rates and establish a predictable pattern of behavior. Second, a variable reinforcement schedule is used to reinforce a predictable number of responses or a varying amount of time (Johnson et al., 2022). Since the subject cannot predict the actual time that the reward will be given, this type of reinforcement schedule leads to a more consistent behavior. This reinforcement schedule will apply to the company's sales department. Employees who record higher sales will be rewarded with massive commissions compared to their lower sales counterparts. A duration schedule only reinforces if the behavior occurs continuously for a specified period. In a fixed-duration schedule, a reward is given when a particular behavior is observed for a specified time (Meindl et al., 2021). On the other hand, a variable duration schedule reinforces a behavior performed continuously for a variable period. In the company, this reinforcement schedule will be used to encourage sustained attention and effort. Moreover, the response rate schedule reinforces behavior based on the rate at which responses are made, encouraging either a high or low response rate. The frequency of a desired behavior is rewarded based on its high rates, while undesired behaviors like interruption and absenteeism are rewarded based on its low rates. In this company, response rate reinforcement will be used to address the issue of increased employee absenteeism. In addition, a noncontingent reinforcement schedule delivers reinforcement independently of the subject's behavior (Meindl et al., 2021). This reinforcement schedule does not require a predetermined response to occur to give the reward. In the company, noncontingent reinforcement will encourage work attendance by rewarding all employees who come to the business premises regardless of their actions on that day. Reinforcing Initial Paperwork The business recently recruited 25 new employees who should be quickly acquainted with the workplace culture. Ensuring the completion of initial paperwork and submitting biweekly reports are critical tasks. A response rate reinforcement schedule will be used to improve compliance and productivity of the employees significantly (Johnson et al., 2022). The initial onboarding paperwork includes 401(k) selection, federal withholding, selecting health insurance plans, state withholding, and setting up a direct deposit. The response rate schedule, in this case, will require setting clear guidelines and criteria for engagement. All required paperwork must be completed in a fortnight, and the performance criterion involves completing five tasks within the first week. Employees who meet the criteria can choose one of the available tangible rewards in the factory. The rationale for choosing this reinforcement schedule is that it reduces delays in onboarding and boosts employees' morale using immediate reinforcement (Nawata et al....
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