Reemergence

Interestingly, after generations of Dr. Spock parenting and self-esteem schooling seem to have contributed to high depression rates, low resilience, and falling performance among American youth, popular television shows like The Nanny and The Dog Whisperer seem to be causing a reemergence of shaping as an effective tool for increasing learner focus and achievement.

In addition to being a valuable tool for training animals and children, operant conditioning is widely applied to modify behavior in clinical and correctional settings, classroom management in schools, recruit training in the military, and organizational development practices in business. Emerging applications of classical and operant conditioning include training individuals suffering from bipolar disorder, autism, and Alzheimer’s to be functional without medication.

###