This can be categorized as Punishment I - the basic presentation of an aversive stimulus as a consequence of the slapping or throwing water on face behavior.
Sullivan’s face, she did the same thing to Helen for several rounds back-and-forth. In other words, are the reinforcers working toward the desirable outcome or are they functioning contrary to it? If your aim is to extinguish an undesirable behavior, it should be met with a reasonable form or amount of punishment to reinforce the more desirable one.įor instance, when Helen slapped and threw water on Ms. That is to be mindful of the reinforcement-response association. The above considerations are crucial points to look at in conducting any form of operant conditioning. This, instead of punishing the negative act to reinforce a more positive or desirable response. The family happened to employ a reinforcement which strengthened rather than weaken the undesirable behavior. Here, an undesirable association occurred between the behavior-response and consequence. Contrary to what they expected and as a result, Helen unintentionally associated the stimulus reinforcer (candies) to her aggressiveness, thereby strengthening it further and reinforced her to perform the negative act more often. Sullivan’s intervention, the Keller family used to give Helen some candies every time she would throw tantrums to stop or prevent her from making such negative behavior. These are types of rewards that are not only ‘fortifying’ but also have such an ‘appealing’ value to Helen. Sullivan used both material or non-social rewards like the doll and primary reinforcers such as food (the cake on one of the scenes and Helen’s favorite dish or breakfast on the other).
Watch Disney's The Miracle Worker (2000) here: These consequences strengthen and weaken the behavior they follow respectively-the general framework of operant conditioning. Sullivan who tried and successfully eliminated the “aggressive” behavior of young Helen (i.e., throwing temper tantrums, breaking down things among others) through reinforcement of desirable behavior and punishment for undesirable ones. The Miracle Worker (2000) revolved around the story of Ms. However, I was not aware back then how operant or instrumental conditioning in behavioral psychology and pedagogy worked through the film, which I intend to present and identify in this review. During early childhood, Helen was handicapped by a disease that left her deaf-blind and potentially mute for life.Īnd if there was one person to give much credit for helping the then young Helen (Hallie Eisenberg) overcome her 'inferiorities' it would be no other than her teacher, Anne Sullivan (Alison Elliot). I was in third year high school when I first watched the biographical film “The Miracle Worker” (2000) that brought to screen the extraordinary life of Helen Keller-one of the most prolific and greatest writers in American history.
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