Signature Assignment 1

B.F Skinner was a North-American behaviorist who expanded on Ivan Pavlov’s concept of classical conditioning and demonstrated a new kind of conditioning called operant conditioning. (Berger, 2021, p. 20) “In operant conditioning (also called instrumental conditioning), animals (including humans) perform some action and then a response occurs. If the response is useful or pleasurable, the animal is likely to repeat the action; if the response is painful or discouraging, then repetition is unlikely. In both cases, the animal has been conditioned. Thus, responses are crucial; that is how learning occurs” (Berger, 2021, p. 20).

As I read this, many of my own thought patterns and habits flooded my internal dialogue. The main one that came to mind is my relationship with make-up and the beauty industry as a person who identifies and presents as female. As a child, I looked up to my father and I held onto the words he spoke to me as though they were Gospel.  He would tell me, “Never wear makeup because it will ruin your face and your face is naturally beautiful.” Because of the constant fear that my face would be “ruined” I was a late bloomer when it came to wearing makeup. I did not wear makeup until my sophomore year in high school, and by that time I was already two years behind most of my peers. I started small, only wearing masquera, but as I did, I received compliments from my friends, classmates, and teammates. They praised my big brown eyes. Then they praised my smile once I started to tiptoe into the lipstick waters. According to Skinner, this would be reinforcement. A compliment in those formative years meant acceptance. But it eventually got to the point where I could not leave the house without wearing makeup because if I did, I was met with “Are you feeling okay? You look sick.” and the “You look tired, did you get any sleep last night?” remarks. This was punishment because it was an unpleasant consequence of not wearing “my face”.

It has been years since I have felt the need to wear makeup every day. The main reason why I was able to kick the habit of painting my face before leaving the house, was because I worked the graveyard shift at a medical laboratory facility. It turns out, it is not very practical wearing a face full of makeup only to have it smear when I rubbed my tired eyes at three in the morning. It was socially acceptable to look tired at work. The lack of comments, in either direction (praising or questioning), on my appearance freed me from the insistent need to hold up the societal beauty expectations of my face.

I cannot claim that I am immune to the idea that beauty holds value or even worth. I still find myself in front of the bathroom mirror for a few hours, making sure my face is “worthy” of being seen when I am getting ready for date night with my husband; a man who knows what my naked face has looked like for over twelve years. I suppose that is the true operant conditioning that I have encountered. Not that I need to wear makeup to be beautiful, but to be worthy as a woman in the world, I need to be beautiful. Even those words of advice from my father hinted at the idea that beauty is something I should aspire to attain. Heaven forbids something to happen to my “naturally beautiful face”.

The idea that women need to be beautiful to be seen permeates everywhere in our society. From the remarks we are told as children, to the messages in media that bombard us every day, it is impossible to escape this conditioning. This idea is intertwined and complex in many ways and therefore would need many different solutions. But one possible solution that does come to mind, would be to refrain from making any remark, whether it be positive or negative, on the appearance of women. And even that solution has its drawbacks. But it would be a starting point. 

In writing this essay all names have been used with permission.

Reference

 Berger, K. S. (2021). Invitation to the life span (5th ed.). Macmillan Higher Education.

Word Count: 697 words. I counted ONLY the Answer section, not the essay prompt, the Reference section, etc.