Skinner, operant conditioning is a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher. In my case, I chose the punishment aspect of Skinner's theory, which is a consequence that decreases a certain behavior. The target behavior I chose to modify was the amount of cigarettes I smoke on a daily basis. It is an undesirable behavior I chose to decrease and hopefully eliminate in the near future. I spent five days monitoring my intake of cigarettes and four days modifying my behavior through negative punishment, which ultimately proved to be highly effective.
Negative punishment is an important concept in Skinner's operant conditioning. Punishment tells one what not to do and therefore is a consequence that decreases a behavior. Aversive's, or an unpleasant stimulus, induces changes in behavior through punishment. My aversive, or negative punishment was for every cigarette I smoked, an hour was reduced from my Netflix time. If I smoked two cigarettes a day, my Netflix time was reduced to two hours, and if I smoked three cigarettes a day my Netflix time was reduced to three hours, and so on. I applied this punishment immediately following my behavior. The likelihood of my desire to smoke a cigarette in the future decreased drastically because I knew of the consequences I would endure.
I was remarkably successful in modifying my behavior. Table 1, which illustrates the first five days of monitoring the amount of cigarettes I smoked, was exceptionally longer compared to table 2, which displays my behavior modification for the next four days. Therefore, my success rate was quite an accomplishment. However, modifying my behavior throughout the last four days proved to be very difficult for me. As documented in table 1, my emotions varied from annoyance, disappointment and ultimately to anger. I was frustrated at the fact that I had to make a decision between smoking a cigarette or watching Netflix for as long as I pleased.
