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Behavior Theory

            A distraught mother comes into the clinic and has a concerning problem with her five year old son Johnny. The young boy has a problem with unruly behavior at home and at his school. The mother has tried everything from punishment to ignoring the inappropriate behavior but so far nothing has worked. Johnny has showed increased aggression towards his father as well as with the children at school. Johnny's mother is starting to feel that it is her parenting that is to blame. As a last result, Johnny's mother comes to me for help. She wants to know what the cause of Johnny's unruly behavior is and how can she help to diminish it. .
             I am a Psychologist. I am going to explain to Johnny's mother what may be causing this behavior in her son and what she can do to help. Here are some possible causes and remedies to Johnny's problem. .
             Behavioral Theory.
             I feel that this theory is the most appropriate and may best explain the unruly behavior. The behavioral theory suggests that behavior is learned through other people's examples. Observational learning is simply done by imitating others which is called modeling. In Johnny's case, he may be imitating the behavior of a parent, a peer or another influential person in his life. Bandura's bobo doll experiment explains just that. A child sees an adult kicking and punching the doll when frustrated and the child ultimately imitates the same behavior when frustrated or angry. Johnny may have seen this aggressive behavior at home or at school and has assumed that this is correct behavior. His behavior might also be reflecting that of a television character or television show that he may repeatedly watch. Since parents are such powerful models to a child, this behavior can be reversed if the parent is persistent with correcting it. So if Johnny is imitating the behavior of a parent at home, the parent must also change their behavior. If Johnny is learning the behavior at school, he must be taught the correct behavior so he knows what the correct behavior is.


Essays Related to Behavior Theory

1. Differential Association Theory

... than a particular community, region, nation, or other geographically bounded collection of people" (Sutherland, 1939). Sutherland's views and ideas on criminal behavior gradually made him to develop a theory that would connect an individual's criminal behavior, and the factors that lead to one becoming a criminal (Williams and Mcshane,2004). Before authoring his first version of his book Principles of Criminology ... . The motives behind why someone does a crime can greatly influence the mindset of the individual moving forward. The fifth principle of the differential association theory ...

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  • Approx Pages: 21
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2. The Constructivist Approach to International Relations Theory

... to provide viable options that are competitive in their ambition to explain a phenomenon or to provide a means of predicting future behavior and outcomes. This is a general theoretical problem, but as Hans Morgenthau has informed us, "The key to a theory of international politics will not be found in the specific subject matter of international politics but in the requirements and problems of ... causal law or causal hypothesis connected with an explanation of the causal law or hypothesis (1997, 9). The implication of this definition for social science is that theory should allow us to m...

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3. The Differential Theory and Criminal Behavior

... 's social structure or organization. This paper discusses the development of this theory and will explain how this theory influences criminal behavior in our society using illustrations and references. Introduction The development of the Theory of Differential Association was an important milestone in criminology. This theory became instrumental in integrating the view of sociology in the context of ... others (Sutherland 1974). There are nine principles that make up the differential association theory. First, Sutherland asserts that deviant behavior is learned, which implies that devia...

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4. Theory

... some people more predisposed to committing criminal acts. Psychological theories include different theories such as Psychoanalytic Theory, Moral Development Theory, Maternal Deprivation Theory, and Learning Theory. By analyzing Frank's criminal behavior, we could discover that he is presenting a mixture of these theories. Psychoanalytic Theory, according to Sigmund Freud, all humans have natural drives and urges repressed in the unconscious. ... and with the absence of significant social bonds they become delinquents. The previous thoughts were then reinforced through the Maternal Depri...

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5. Cognitive-Behavioral Theory, Reality Theory, and Gestalt The

... of this paper is Donald Meichenbaum . Donald's focus is on changing the client's self verbalizations and he has come up with cognitive behavior modification. Meichenbaum also developed what he called stress inoculation training, including the coping skills program. The second theory I researched is reality therapy. The key developer is William Glasser he was born in 1925. William started out training on the ... are plenty more ways these theories contrast or are different than ways they are similar. I am going to get started on describing the ways they are not alike now. Cognitive behav...

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6. Exercise Behavior and Adherence

... experience caring for and from others. So with these factors being briefly explained, the studies that were already completed for examining the effects of the self-determination theory and exercise behavior found the psychological need for competence to be the main drive in exercise attendance. Competence is the most important need when predicting exercise attendance and adherence because ... on the physical well-being of activity, but also the mental well-being. Methods This study was comprised to determine the motivational factors that underlie exercise behavior and adherence. The self...

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7. The Social Control Theory

... their bonds are weakened, do some people become criminals while others do not. Social theorists Sampson and Laub developed the age-graded theory where they impose that the different relationships during the early years of a delinquent and later adult criminal behavior is not exclusively a result of a person's characteristics. Social occurrences may influence some people while others may continue to offend. ... that attachments or social bonds during adult years increase some people's social capital, leading to discontinuance from different types of delinquent behavior. Age-graded theory h...

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8. Domestic Violence: Theory, Ef

... from abuse, but as a reaction over time to battered women's realization their partners' violent behavior cannot be controlled" (p.32). This remains as one of the leading explanations of the learned behavior of battered women (Harway, 1993). Social Psychological Theory explains the strong emotional bond that forms between the battered woman and her partner, sometimes referred ... to a traumatic bonding (Painter & Dutton, 1985). This term is defined as a strong emotional tie that develops between two people when one person harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other. This...

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9. Cognitive Behavioral Theory

... considered the only treatment strategy known to be both safe and effective. Cognitive Behavioral therapists vary tremendously in both theory and technique. There are several approaches to Cognitive-Behavioral therapy, including Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Rational Behavior Therapy, Rational Living Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, and Dialectic Behavior Therapy. However, most cognitive-behavioral therapies have some common characteristics. First, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is based on the ... because they always have the choice to leave their present one to find one that will be more...

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10. Frustration-Aggression Theory and Family Violence

... could be a contributing factor to Family Violence but is not complete as far as having the capacity to be the main cause for Family Violence. The Social Learning Theory states that people learn behavior by observation and imitation. Papalia, et al. states that imitation is the most prominent way to teach a child anything. Imitation can be seen in their development of language ... electric shock. As a result, he learns to press the blue button but avoid the red button. Likewise, parents often use this method of teaching when raising a child. Social Learning Theory suggests observing beha...

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