Prompt A: Thorndike and Guthrie
Compare and contrast the theoretical approaches to reinforcement developed by Edward Thorndike and Edwin Guthrie. From the perspective of Thorndike, why would a student continue to attend the lectures in a course in which the student is doing poorly?
Prompt B: The Matching Law
The matching law can be applied to a variety of human choice contexts. For example, students in a class have a choice between staying on task and engaging in some other activity, like checking Facebook. Researchers have used the matching law to explain these types of situations (see Billington&DiTommaso, 2003 for a review). Discuss choices that you make in your everyday life from the perspective of the matching law. Identify examples of what could be considered impulse control and try to identify any strategies mentioned in the book that might be in play to maintain that control.
Reference - Journal of Behavioral Education - Demonstrations and Applications of the Matching Law in Education by Eric Billington and Nina M. DiTommaso