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It is important to note that the identified bad habit is cuticle biting, which is similar to fingernail biting. I have developed this problematic behavior within the past few days through associative learning. It is a mild form of dermatophagia, where one engages in an obsessive-compulsive activity. It is harmful to the skin around fingernails and unhealthy as well as unclean. The behavior was learned associatively because it only occurs voluntarily whenever using the computer, constituting operant associative learning.
The observation revealed that the key antecedent circumstances involved me sitting in front of my computer alone during the evening. The behavior starts with me noticing and constantly touching a skin tag near my fingernail, which is due to constant cuticle biting. It generates an obsessive behavior with the skin tag to remove it with other fingers first, which means that it is not classical since the action is voluntary and operant (Blackman, 2019). If it fails or leaves another skin tag, biting is used to remove it. The consequences involve satisfaction with removal and tiredness in fingers and bite muscles due to meticulousness of activity, and reinforcement is an important part of operant associative learning (Hughes et al., 2022). In addition, there is a feeling of disgust and uncleanliness, which leads to hand and mouth washing. Therefore, the habit itself is a voluntary action learned by associating it with my computer use.
In conclusion, dermatophagia behavior is an illustration of operant associative learning. Firstly, there is an element of reinforcement through satisfaction, which is key for the development of habits within this framework of associative learning. Secondly, the action to engage in the habit is voluntary, which constitutes operant associative learning and not a classical one. Thus, the bad habit was learned by associating my leisure time on my computer with dermatophagia.
References
Blackman, D. E. (2019). Operant conditioning: An experimental analysis of behavior. Routledge.
Hughes, C. E., Langford, J. S., Heukelom, J. T. V., Blejewski, R. C., & Pitts, R. C. (2022). A method for studying reinforcement factors controlling impulsive choice for use in behavioral neuroscience. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 117(3), 363-383.
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