Cry baby

No parent likes to see their child sad or to hear them cry, but how should they deal with it? If a parent gives their crying child a cookie, will they stop crying? This video suggests otherwise. This child, after receiving their cookie, starts to fake cry in hopes of getting another cookie from his mother. This is an example of positive reinforcement, something we learned about in class today. Positive reinforcement is part of B.F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning theory. The behavior (crying) will increase because a stimulus (cookie) is added. It is somewhat confusing because crying doesn't sound positive, but you can't exactly think of it that way. This mom has gotten herself into a pickle by rewarding a behavior that I'm sure she does not want to continue because as I said before, no one wants to see their child sad.