To begin with, the educational system is based on operant conditioning, which can be described as modifying behavior through the use of positive and negative reinforcement. For example, students follow school rules because they know that there are negative consequences for not following them (McLeod). In other words, teachers teach students manners and condition them to obey society’s rules by applying punishments for what is considered to be immoral as well as applying rewards for what is considered to be moral. In like manner, in the Brave New World, the nurses provide the babies with books and flowers. Then, as the babies crawl towards the books and the flowers, they shock them with the electric shock. The Director illustrates the results of this process, saying, "They'll grow up with what the psychologists used to call an 'instinctive' hatred of books and flowers. Reflexes …show more content…
Indeed, the children learn that books are dangerous by going through operant conditioning. This indicates that our society is moving towards the Brave New World because operant conditioning is used in our educational system to teach the students society’s rules and expectations.
One of the most significant types of conditioning in today’s society is gender conditioning. Individuals begin going through this conditioning as early as their childhood. According to the New York Times, “Boys’ toys and costumes tend to be associated with action or destruction: objects that move, characters that save the day and animals that prey. Girls’ toys and costumes are more passive: objects to be looked at, characters that are rescued and animals that are docile or pretty” (Miller). Parents give their sons with toy predators and toy