Applying Reinforcements to Life
By Justin Lomagistro
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation of Education
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May 29 , 2009
Today’s class was interesting. I enjoyed talking about the differences between positive and negative reinforcements. Many peers in the class believe that positive reinforcement has been taken to far with regard to rewarding students. Instead of rewarding a student for true achievement , everyone gets rewarded for just about anything. This takes away the joy and satisfaction from the student who would feel his/her true achievement.
When the student becomes aware of the positive reinforcement philosophy, the level of achievement may decline because the student knows that they will receive a reward. The student will develop a false sense of security about life. They will constantly need to be praised. On the other hand, positive reinforcement has also improved students behavior. Using positive reinforcements to control and redirect negative behavior has helped many children.
Negative reinforcement though, will motivate a student who did not get a reward, to work harder. The athlete who did not win a medal at the swim meet, will work harder in practice. The swimmer that “failed” by not winning the medal that he desired, will use his experience in order to succeed. Negative reinforcement can also cause students to give up completely because he/she thinks that they will never succeed. I believe as a teacher you will have to be careful deciding on what type of reinforcement you implement since all students are different and do not respond in the same manner.
Long Island University, C. W. Post
May 29 , 2009
Today’s class was interesting. I enjoyed talking about the differences between positive and negative reinforcements. Many peers in the class believe that positive reinforcement has been taken to far with regard to rewarding students. Instead of rewarding a student for true achievement , everyone gets rewarded for just about anything. This takes away the joy and satisfaction from the student who would feel his/her true achievement.
When the student becomes aware of the positive reinforcement philosophy, the level of achievement may decline because the student knows that they will receive a reward. The student will develop a false sense of security about life. They will constantly need to be praised. On the other hand, positive reinforcement has also improved students behavior. Using positive reinforcements to control and redirect negative behavior has helped many children.
Negative reinforcement though, will motivate a student who did not get a reward, to work harder. The athlete who did not win a medal at the swim meet, will work harder in practice. The swimmer that “failed” by not winning the medal that he desired, will use his experience in order to succeed. Negative reinforcement can also cause students to give up completely because he/she thinks that they will never succeed. I believe as a teacher you will have to be careful deciding on what type of reinforcement you implement since all students are different and do not respond in the same manner.
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