Make an Update: Take one key concept of behaviorism, define it and provide an example of this concept in practice. Or, analyze an example of an intelligence test—a whole test, or some questions from a test. What is the test used for? What are its uses and limits?

A key concept of behaviorism is reinforcement, or also referred to as operant conditioning. 

Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviour. Through operant conditioning, an individual makes an association between a particular behaviour and a consequence (Skinner, 1938).

An example of this in a labratory setting would be a rat and a learning machine. This learning machine would be a food dispenser. Once a rat pulls down the lever, food is dispensed. There is instant positive reinforcement for the rat pulling the lever. This behavior can be repeated, to show that the rat is learning that it is not by chance that food is despensed, it is from the direct effort of the rat pulling the lever. Skinner claimed that this ability to recognize the action and create change was the act of learning. 

When entering any classroom, you can see these conditiong practices everywhere. In younger levels it may be with stickers which are given based on behavior, achievement, or completion. In the more advanced levels, grades are the direct reinforcement of studying, or being an attentive student. Even in the way a school is run, operant conditioning is potent. If a school wants its' students to be in class by a certain time, they will create a negative reinforcement for if the task is not done. A student may get detention if they are not in class in time, thus teaching them to change their behavior so they will not be punished. 

"The application of operant conditioning to education is simple and direct. Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement under which students learn. They learn without teaching in their natural environments, but teachers arrange special contingencies which expedite learning, hastening the appearance of behavior which would otherwise be acquired slowly or making sure of the appearance of behavior which might otherwise never occur …"

Operant conditioning is used throughout most institutions, whether a subject can be rewarded with a promotion, a blessing, or honors; there is an incentive to learn and conform. This method can also help people fix or improve their learning habits. However, like the textbook highlights, they must first be aware there is a problem and understand the cause of it. 

References

Cope, Kalantzis. Works and Days. Web. ishttps://newlearningonline.com/new-learning/chapter-6/skinners-behaviourism. 1/20/20.

Skinner, B. F. (1965). Science and human behavior (No. 92904). Simon and Schuster.