1. Classical conditioning can sometimes be difficult to apply to everyday life. For a moment, think about the sound of a dentist’s drill. Did you cringe? If yes, then you have been classically conditioned. Young children find the sound of a dentist’s drill amusing; however, one pairing of that sound with pain conditions a quite different response. In your discussion groups, discuss examples of how you have been classically conditioned to different sounds, smells, foods, or such.

2. Operant conditioning focuses on increasing the likelihood of a behavior being repeated through reinforcements, and decreasing the likelihood of a behavior being repeated through punishments. Discuss how your professors use reinforcement and punishment in your classes. Which do you feel influences your behavior more, reinforcements or punishments? Why?

3. You do not have to be the person that receives a reinforcement or punishment to influence your behavior. Instead, you can learn vicariously by observing others being reinforced or punished. Discuss a time when you learned something through vicarious learning.

4. In the book, 1984, the government is constantly removing words from the dictionary as a means of controlling its citizens thinking and emotions. This exemplifies Vygotsky’s idea that thought and language are dialectical in nature. If you do not have a word for something, can you truly think about it? When you think, are you thinking in words? Discuss the relationship between thought and language. Could a government really control its citizens by controlling the language? How is language already used by advertisers, political parties, or other organizations to manipulate how we think?

5. Active learning strategies allow students to construct meaning from experiences. Do you prefer activity/discussion-based classes or lecture classes? Which do you feel better facilitates learning and why?