Experimental Exercise - Assignment Example

Experimental exercise February 25, Experimental exercise Time consciousness is one of the social norms in my society. People are expected to be on time for schedules and a high level of intolerance to lateness exists. I decided to be 35 minutes late for a meeting and without a prior apology. I was embarrassed upon arrival at the meeting venue and people could not hide their disappointment in me. Immediately upon arrival, three members demanded an explanation for my lateness and the chairperson reminded me that my lateness was the first since the committee commenced its meetings.

I visited a park in order to test influence of operant and classical conditioning. I experienced positive reinforcement after helping an elderly woman at the parking lot. She had a difficulty locating a parking space and appreciated my help. She even tried to reward me for the help. An offer to carry luggage for a group of youths to their camping site also generated a positive reinforcement as they integrated me into their group. An attempt to play with a kid, without its parent’s knowledge and approval however led to reprimand as the parent suspected my motive and raised alarm.

Classical conditioning influenced my response in a restaurant when we shared a table with a middle-aged woman. She repeatedly sipped her coffee, glanced at her watched, and then glanced at the entrance. I observed her subconsciously and eventually began to glance at the entrance as soon as she sipped her coffee. The effect of her sipping on my glance defines classical conditioning (Estes, 2014).The course has been instrumental on my knowledge of human behavior. The most valuable lesson is the role of environment on people’s behavior that has improved my leadership competence.

The role of classical conditioning has however surprised me about human behavior because I thought that autonomy and rationale influenced human behavior. ReferenceEstes, W. (2014). Handbook of learning and cognitive process (Volume 2): Conditioning and behavior theory. New York, NY: Psychology Press.