Compare And Contrast Roger And John

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RS 2020 Foundation Psychology for Rehabilitation Professionals
Individual Assignment
Cheng Oi Ying
15081305D
Guest Speaker: Yu Bun

According to Group 1’s presentation, they have used theories in the field of educational psychology which are observational learning and operant conditioning theory to explain the life events and experiences of Yu Bun. In this essay, I will use both psychological theories to illustrate Yu Bun’s case and also my own personal experience. But before that, let me first compare and contrast both theories.

To start with, here is the analysis of the cultural background of the theorists. For operant conditioning theory, the major pioneers of the theory are B.F. Skinner and Edward Thorndike. Edward Thorndike proposed the Law of Effect in 1905, it states that actions which are followed by desirable outcomes are more likely to be repeated and vice versa. This law influenced Skinner’s investigation to a great extent and in this essay, I will take B.F. Skinner as the major pioneer of operant conditioning for further elaboration. Skinner is a behaviorist, he believes that classical conditioning cannot explain complex human behavior and the best way to understand behavior is to look at the cause and consequence of event and there are four contingencies in the theory. Bandura is the pioneer of observational theory, he believes that learning is not always measured by behaviors and can be done by observing others, self-efficacy, beliefs and desires of an