Positive reinforcement is a key idea in behaviorism. It means making a behavior more likely to happen by giving a reward after it happens. For instance, a teacher might give a student a sticker or praise for turning in their homework on time. This encourages the student to keep doing their work. Parents also use this when they give their child extra playtime as a reward for doing chores. This makes the child more likely to do the same thing again. In the same way, employees who get bonuses or praise for doing a good job are more likely to keep up or improve the quality of their work. These examples show how positive reinforcement can help people do the right thing at school, at home, and at work.

• Dhaphney Andrea Batiles

Role of the Teacher in the Behaviorist Scheme
- In behaviorism, the teacher plays an active role in shaping how students learn. The teacher becomes the person who controls the classroom by giving rewards, such as praise or good grades, to increase positive behaviors, and by giving consequences to reduce unwanted behaviors. This system helps students learn discipline, responsibility, and habits that support their academic progress. However, this approach also has limits, since students may focus only on external rewards and punishments rather than developing a true interest in learning. If teaching becomes too mechanical, it can reduce education to simple memorization and drills, leaving little space for curiosity, creativity, or deeper understanding. Because of this, while behaviorism shows the teacher as a manager of behavior, an effective teacher also needs to balance reinforcement with opportunities that allow students to explore, think critically, and enjoy the process of learning.

• Joana Paula Mercado

For me, B.F. Skinner’s comment about “free will” is restricting human behavior. Although it is understandable that during that time, research and experiment have limited resources. Behaviorism is not solely about environmental factors, but rather the decision-making and critical thinking of an individual. Humans are born with various genetics, that includes intelligence. And as the person grows older, they learn through experience, and develop a mind of their own. So it is both genes and environment that plays a role in the behavior of human beings. The role of a teacher in the behaviorist scheme is to facilitate the learning, but the negative side of it is the repetitive drills, and the use of punishment and rewards. For me it is both nurture and nature, for instance both the parents are smart and their child inherits that genes, but because of their environment, whereas education is limited and books are not accessible, the child grows as an average one, the intelligence is not utilized to its fullest. The danger of intelligence tests is, it can be used to degrade a person, when Alfred Binet’s goal is to categorize the learning capacities of children to make a better learning environment for those with disabilities.

• Kristine Sophia Cabulao

You explained well how both genetics and environment shape behavior and i like how you connected it to the role of teachers and the risks of intelligence test

• Dhaphney Andrea Batiles

-B.F. Skinner believed on what we call free will is not truly free. which mean for him the actions of a person in actually controlled by the environment then have and the reinforcement experiences or punishment they have on their past. sometimes we might see this as their free choice, but in reality this is by the influence of rewards like recognition, good grades and praise. Skinner think that by our decisions is shaped by this consequences, means the “free will” is likely an illusion.

-In the behaviorist scheme, almost every teacher has a role which is to guide and shape us in our behavior by using reinforcement. They are the ones that encourage positive behaviors such as that make us engage and participate, make an effort, and discipline us by the use of reward with praise, giving good grades, or the recognition. Because of this, the learning status of every student is seen as a process of conditioning us rather than free choice.

-Also in between nature and nurture, for me behaviorism emphasizes nurture. The environment we use to grow, and experiences we have, shows that reinforcement has a big impact on how we learn and behave.While in this nature or means the genetics we adapt and show talents has played a role, nurture has a greater effect on how students can develop the habits and also motivation in school.

-Lastly, in terms of the intelligence tests, for me, they have both uses and have dangers. Meaning on the positive side, they are very helpful especially when it comes to helping teachers and psychologists by identifying learning needs, and the strengths, also, appropriate programs for every student. However, this is becoming dangerous on how we label students that have lower scores because they may be judged fast unfairly as seeing them “less intelligent,” which damages the self-esteem of students and this can limit the opportunities. Tests may also be culturally biased, making results inaccurate for diverse

• Rejoice Mae Castro

I appreciate how you show the balance of positive and negative effects of reinforcement and intelligence test especially on students self esteem

• Dhaphney Andrea Batiles

Reading about B.F. Skinner and behaviorism made me realize how much our actions are shaped by the environment around us. One of the main things I learned is that behavior doesn’t just happen randomly—it can be strengthened or weakened depending on the consequences. For example, rewards can encourage us to repeat a behavior, while punishments can make us avoid it. This made me reflect on my own habits, like how I study better when I give myself small rewards after finishing a task.

I also learned that Skinner questioned the idea of free will. At first, this sounded strange, but I understood his point that many of our choices are actually influenced by outside factors, like how we were raised or the situations we face. It made me think about how teachers, parents, and even society play a role in shaping who we become.

• Aleck Jean Roi Ortega

Your reflection is clear and personal and i like how you relate skinner's ideas to your own habits and the role of society and shaping choices

• Dhaphney Andrea Batiles

I believe that free will is just a human thought where we would comfort ourselves in decision-making that takes us to the safer route, Skinner believed that free will lacks of awareness to everything. It feels like we're only limited to choose things for ourselves but I get that because our actions have consequences but not everything turns out negative, it is just depends how will the person act upon on their own free will. Also, my view on nature vs nurture are different, I see that if we go for nurture, not only a child's growth will be nurtured, but also their senses towards to decision-making because we created a space for them to grow on their own. For nature, it is like we're creating an environment where all children are learning and growing in the same method, limiting for them to grow in their own way. My words can be off sometimes but I hope it can be understand.

• Shena Marie Yang

You have such a creative way of explaining your perspective. This is really good.

• Aleck Jean Roi Ortega

From the perspective of the classical behaviorists, just like B.F. Skinner, they do not acknowledge any kind of free will or agency in the human behavior because they believe that behavior can be determined through environmental factors and the conditioned response that can only be elicited through either positive or negative stimuli. For Skinner, he truly believed that the behavior of people are dependent on the consequences of the previous actions— which led to critics viewing this perspective as something that is degrading and brutal. The human behavior in general is complex and is full of nuances. For humans to be boxed in on a framework that feels mechanical as it denies the intrinsic motivations or free choice of an individual, the behaviorist framework further limits the understanding for human learning and motivation.

• Regina Sadia

This is very informative and I really like how you explained your learning

• Aleck Jean Roi Ortega

As mentioned in the video, Skinner is the most “behaviorist” out of all the individuals. It could be taken that he’s the kind of person who leans more towards science, as behaviorism focuses on scientific method, rather than emotional or complex concepts such as “free will”. He believes that human behavior or actions are influenced by environmental forces and “conditioning” and not free will. For Skinner, “free will” is something that does not exist as he argues that the feeling of being able to freely choose for yourself is just a consequence of the positive and negative reinforcements that you’ve experienced.

In the behaviorist scheme, the teacher is the director or manager, the one who sets up the stage for the individuals and creates a learning environment with certain rules for rewards and punishment, providing stimuli that gain response from the individual or students.

Nature or nurture? Behaviorism, for me, falls under the nurture category. Since a conditioned response isn’t something that you can gain from the moment you were born; it is something that they repeatedly did until it became “conditioned”.

Intelligence tests are used to measure one’s intelligence. However, this intelligence test could be used to discriminate or belittle someone.

• Jadelyn Pascasio

This explanation is very nice and clear and easy to understand

• Aleck Jean Roi Ortega

One key concept of behaviorism is **positive reinforcement**, which means encouraging a behavior by following it with a reward. The idea is that behaviors followed by pleasant outcomes are more likely to be repeated. For example, in a classroom setting, a teacher might give a student praise or a sticker for completing their homework on time. Over time, this reward increases the likelihood that the student will continue turning in homework regularly. Positive reinforcement is widely used in education and behavior therapy because it helps shape desired behaviors. However, one limitation is that it may not address the internal reasons behind behavior, and once rewards are removed, the behavior might stop unless it has become a habit.

• Krista Gavina

You explained positive reinforcement very well! Your example is easy to understand too. I also agree with your last statement because if one person feels like they're not benefiting from something anymore, they are more likely to stop the action unless they got used doing it and feel empty without it. @Krista Gavina

• Jadelyn Pascasio

Skinner's Perspective on Free Will: The Role of Environment and Conditioning in Shaping Behavior

B.F. Skinner, a well-known behaviorist psychologist, held an alternative view on free will. He argued that contextual elements, including reward and punishment, affect free will. Skinner posited that human conduct is shaped by prior experiences and external stimuli rather than by free will. Skinner posits that our actions are shaped by our environment, asserting that free will is an illusion (Skinner, B.F., 1971).
Skinner's behaviorist theory suggests that teachers can have a significant influence on student behavior. Both teachers and students share the responsibility for maintaining excellent behavior in the classroom. They help youngsters by providing rewards and punishments. The goal is to teach students how to excel academically and interact positively with their peers. Teachers not only teach students how to behave, but they also impart knowledge on various subjects.
Skinner sides with the nurture side of the debate between nature and nurture. He believed that environmental factors, rather than genetics, control behavior. This approach contradicts genetic or biological theories of behavior. Skinner shows that the right stimuli can adapt and influence people through environmental conditioning.

Reference:
Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. Knopf.

• Felisa Zaragoza