1. As a school psychologist, it is suggested that you provide assistance to a newly hired teacher who works in a classroom with students identified as behavior disordered and/or emotionally disturbed. One particular student who is age twelve has severe problems calling out in class and remaining on task to complete his assignments. As a result, this student is not only disruptive, but failing his classes. First, explain the concept, components, and procedures of operant conditioning. Select a specific procedure that you would apply in the modification of this child's behavior to include the use of schedules of reinforcement. Finally, justify why your approach is the most effective in modifying this student's behavior.
2. You have a friend that has a serious problem with her self-esteem due to her poor academic performance. She studies a lot in math class, but continuously receives poor grades. As a result, she is hesitant in enrolling in a required statistics class due to her previous poor math performance. According to learning concepts, she may be suffering from learned-helplessness that can adversely affect her learning. Explain the concept of learned-helplessness and the two competing explanations of this effect? Based on the principles of operant conditioning, what recommendations would you provide that might help to alleviate her fears? Provide rationales to support your answer.
3. Briefly describe an experiment that would test the Premack differential probability principle. Compare the Premack principle to the response deprivation hypothesis and behavioral regulation theory. Compile similarities and differences between the Premack principle and behavioral regulation theory. Also, explain some of the shortcomings of the behavioral regulation theory. What evidence do you have to support your claims?
4. Conceptual behavior involves both stimulus generalization and discrimination. Compare and contrast both concepts to include a brief example for each. How is stimulus generalization important in the study of phobias? How did this concept relate to Watson and Raynor's Little Albert experiment? Similarly, suppose you have a new position as a therapist, what are four things you can do to guarantee that the treatment outcomes for your clients will generalize to settings outside your office?