Principles of counseling Ch 11 assignment

Principles of counseling Ch 11 assignment

Introduction

Indeed, it is the goal of any counselor to provide assistance to people so that they are able to see not only their own needs but also those of others. Out of all the counseling theories that have been explained in Chapter 10, three can be selected for analysis in this paper. These are Operant Conditioning, Classical Conditioning, and Social Learning Theory.

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is basically a method that facilitates learning though rewarding and punishing certain types of behavior in an individual. It is one of the most effective techniques used by counselors looking to change the behavioral patterns of individuals (Neukrug, 2011). The technique basically works by establishing a connection between the behavioral pattern of an individual and the consequence of the behavior. The fundamental concept on which the counseling technique is based is that internal thoughts, internal emotions and internal motivations are not enough to explain behavior (Neukrug, 2011).

It therefore explains that it is absolutely imperative that external causes of human behavior are studied too, those that are identifiable and observable. Operant conditioning works on certain core concepts such as reinforcement. In operant conditioning, reinforcement is described as any event that would tend to strengthen the behavior it follows or increase its intensity (Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2012). Reinforcement is divided into two different categories - positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.

Skinner described positive reinforcers as favorable outcomes or events that are the direct result of a certain behavior. Therefore, in a situation that reflects positive reinforcement, a certain type of behavior is mostly strengthened with the help of a positive reinforcer such as a reward, compliment etc. while on the other hand, negative reinforcers are also used in operant conditioning and these involve removing unfavorable events and outcomes after a person exhibits a certain type of behavior (Neukrug, 2011). In such cases, negative reinforcement tends to reaffirm and strengthen a response by removing something that is considered unpleasant.

Conversely, operant conditioning also believes in the concept of punishment. Skinner describes punishment as the manifestation of a particularly unfavorable event following a certain type of behavior. Skinner believes that this manifestation should lead to a decrease in the type of behavior that triggered it in the first place (Neukrug, 2011). Just as in the case of reinforcement, there are two types of punishments. Positive punishment is where a unfavorable event weakens the ...