Clinical Psychology/Applied Behavior Analysis
This discussion is based on the Inside the Teenage Brain video in your reading for this unit. Please also take
the time to review the Teen Brain website, including the introduction. This will not only benefit your initial post
but also your responses to others. In 250 words please answer the following for page 1.
1. Choose at least two aspects of the videos that you consider pertinent to the study of clinical psychology and
discuss those specific aspects.
2. Why did you choose those aspects of the videos?
3. Can you relate either your current career or your future career plans to those aspects of the videos? Please
explain.
Teenage brain video: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/inside-the-teenage-brain/
Teen brain website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/
Introduction: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/etc/synopsis.html
Page 2. In 250 words please answer the following and fill out the attached worksheet.
1. Setting the Scene
Recently, you ran into your neighbor, Jenny, a teacher from the local public elementary school, at the grocery
store. She began telling you about an observation she made during the second week of the new school year.
Jenny states, “It seems that the lunch bell has an odd effect on student behavior.” You ask, “How so?” The
neighbor tells you that the work that is assigned just before the lunch hour is always completed more quickly
and with more accuracy than the work in the hours leading up to this time. Jenny asks, “What do you think is
responsible for this?”
a. Conditioned Reinforcer: Explain how “pairing” can create conditioned reinforcers (learned reinforcers). Use
the scenario in Jenny’s class to illustrate the process of pairing and to explain the contingencies responsible for
the increased productivity and accuracy in Jenny’s students before the lunch bell.
b. Conditioned Aversive Stimulus: Create a scenario in which a neutral stimulus was transformed into a
conditioned punisher (learned aversive stimulus) through the process of pairing and provide a scenario in
which the conditioned punisher (learned aversive stimulus) influences a behavior – either as a punisher or
something to be escaped.
c. Diagram the pairing procedure and the contingency you created (Hint: The contingency should be an escape
or punishment procedure).