Not long after I started smoking cigarettes, I decided that I wanted to quit. Unfortunately, I was already addicted. I believe that it was the initial feelings I would experience when I first started smoking. After smoking, however, I would begin to habituate to the feelings elicited by the nicotine. I would only feel the negative effects like coughing and being out of breath whenever I would exercise. I must have quit smoking dozens of times before I was finally successful at remaining smoke-free for nearly 16 years. I think I reinforced by bad behavior whenever I would quit for a few days or a few months and then start…

Prison is a perfect place for adolescents who never want to grow up. Prisoners get to play all day, nap whenever they want, and watch a lot of TV. They play cards, dominos, chess, and when the yard is open, they can play handball, basketball, and all other types of recreational games. All that playing must make them want to take a lot of naps. When they are not playing, they can either watch TV or take a nap. Indeed, prison is the perfect place for adolescents who never want to grow up. However, prison is not so good to those taxpayers who must pay the heavy cost of sentencing…

Grammar and style are important in written communication for several reasons. First, proper grammar helps the audience comprehend the message. Improper grammar may lead to ambiguous statements that might be misinterpreted, thus sending the wrong message. Second, proper grammar and style make a piece of text easier and more enjoyable to read. Oftentimes, I will start reading a post or a comment in a blog and stop reading because the text has too many grammar errors or the style is awkward. Third, proper grammar establishes credibility while improper grammar indicates that the author lacks the skills to be an author. Style and delivery are important in political rhetoric because the…

The question as to whether it is possible to learn without remembering depends not only on the definition of learning, but also on the type of memory. If learning is defined as acquiring permanent changes in thinking and behavior, then I believe that in order to learn, one must retain in some form the facts, skills or beliefs that make up learning. Such information must be stored somewhere as long-term memory. However, information that is stored somewhere in the long-term memory does not necessarily constitute learned behavior. As previously defined, learning is permanent changes in behavior. But what if someone learns something and then forgets what he or she has…

During the summer of 1969, Charles Manson and a band of younger hippies committed mass murder on two separate nights (Bugliosi, 1994). One of those young hippies who participated in the second mass murder was a 19-year-old former homecoming princess named Leslie Van Houten. Van Houten was subsequently sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder (In re Houten, 2019). After many attempts at parole, Van Houten was found suitable for parole by the California Board of Parole Hearings. However, the governor reversed the grant of parole based on the claim that Van Houten currently remains too dangerous to be released into society…

Brain trauma can be especially destructive to an individual’s cognitive-communication skills. Such problems include disorganized oral and written communication, imprecise language and word-retrieval problems, use of socially inappropriate language, and comprehension difficulties. Furthermore, since conversational communication demands the integration of cognitive, language, and social skills, an individual suffering from a brain injury is especially burdened. LeBlanc et al. (2014) found that individuals suffering from traumatic brain injury demonstrate two general problems with verbal communication. First, individuals displayed lower initiation and maintenance of conversational topics. Second, they demonstrated difficulty conveying the content of the discussion. Written communication is also affected by brain injuries, resulting in difficulties participating and achieving success in…

Behaviorism is the study of observable behavior. Although it began with the ideas of James Watson and his skepticism of subjective thoughts and feelings, other schools of behaviorism have developed insights worth understanding from a personal perspective. Clark Hull, for example, criticized Watson’s rejection of unobservable events as unsound. Hull also believed that scientists might be able to infer internal events through mediation means (Powell, Honey, & Symbaluk, (2017). The following article will present an example of a means of examination my own internal events to expose some insight into my past behavior. My Choice of Music Could music expose our inner feelings? As I look back at my own…

Discuss your answers to these questions with your classmates: What is the relationship between behaviorism and learning? What is an example of an observable and measurable behavior related to the use of technology? Choose an example you would like to study. What research methods would you use to study this behavior? Why? Discussion Behaviorism is the scientific study of observable behavior. Learning is the observable behavior that is of interest to the science of behaviorism. Albert Bandura distinguishes learning from performance. Thus, someone can learn something and never use what has been learned. Also, people can act on information learned in the past. In one of Bandura’s observations, some children…

To create a new national country or a new national identity, the people must first gain independence from the old national identity. Such a movement, however, is not a simple task to achieve. As Thomas Jefferson asserted in the Declaration of Independence: “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes” (Declaration of Independence, 1776). Therefore, to persuade the people to rise up and fight for independence, especially when such independence will enflame the fury of a tyrannical king whose army and navy are in the process of slaughtering and conquering the entire world, one must present a persuasive argument to the…

After reading this week’s lessons and pondering their meaning, I feel I have a better understanding of why the monotheistic worldview would inspire such world chaos. After all, if there is only one true God for the whole wide world, then all those who do not believe in that one true God would be godless and in need of conversion, even if by the sword. The problem with that worldview, however, centers around the question as to who decides which God is the one True God.  Unfortunately for many, those with sharper swords and bigger bombs seem to think that their God is the one true God, and that their…