Personality Skinner

8/12/2019 Personality Skinner

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Behaviorism

B. F. Skinner


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B.F. Skinner

(1904-1990)


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B. F. Skinner

(1904-1990)

Skinners life

Predetermined, lawful, and orderly

A product of past reinforcements

1925: Hamilton College (NY): degree in English, no

courses in psychologyRead about Pavlovs and Watsons experimental work

1931: Ph.D. from Harvard


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B. F. Skinner

Dissertation: a reflex is a correlation between

S and R

1938: The Behavior of Organisms1953: Science and Human Behavior

1990: Vigorously attacked the growth of cognitive

psychology

1990 (final article): "Can Psychology Be a Science

of Mind?"


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B. F. Skinner

Dealt only with observable behavior

The task of scientific inquiry:

To establish functional relationships betweenexperimenter-controlled stimulus and organisms

response

No presumptions about internal entities - The "emptyorganism" approach


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B. F. Skinner

Single subject designLarge numbers of subjects not necessary

Statistical comparisons of group means not

necessary

A single subject provides valid and replicable

results

Requires "sufficient" data collected under well-

controlled experimental conditionsStatistics obscure individual responses and

differences


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B. F. Skinner - Operant conditioning

Watson, Pavlov - Respondent behavior: elicited by

specific observable stimulus


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B. F. Skinner

Operant behavior: occurs without an observableexternal stimulus

Operates on the organisms environment

The behavior is instrumental in securing a stimulus

more representative of everyday learning


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B. F. Skinner

Science of behavior: Study of conditioning andextinction of operants

Dependent variable in the "Skinner box": rate of

responseLaw of acquisition

key variable: reinforcement

practice provides opportunities for

additional reinforcement

Differs from Thorndike and Hulls positions

Thorndike and Hull: explanatory

Skinner: strictly descriptive


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Skinners Theory

All we need to know in order to describe

and explain behavior is this: actionsfollowed by good outcomes are likely to

recur , and actions followed by bad

outcomes are less likely to recur.

(Skinner, 1953)


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Central Human Motive in

Skinners Theory

Environmental consequences shape

behavior


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LAW OF EFFECT

Behavior Better state Increasedof affairs probability of

behavior occurringagain

Behavior Worse state Decreased

of affairs probability ofbehavior occurringagain

Behavior A

Behavior B

Behavior C Better state Behavior CBehavior D of affairs emerges as the

Behavior E most probable


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Laboratory ExamplesOperant Conditioning

Reinforcement(food pellet)

Exploring

Scratching

Key-pecking

GroomingDefecating

Urinating

Pigeon

(in aSkinner

box)


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OPERANT CONDITIONING TECHNIQUES

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT= increasing a

behavior by administering a reward

NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT= increasing a

behavior by removing an aversive stimulus when a

behavior occurs

PUNISHMENT= decreasing a behavior by

administering an aversive stimulus following abehavior OR by removing a positive stimulus

EXTINCTION= decreasing a behavior by not

rewarding it


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B. F. Skinner

Research foci

Role of punishment in response acquisition

Schedules of reinforcement

Extinction of operantsSecondary reinforcement

Generalization

Subjects included humans as well as animals


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B. F. Skinner

Schedules of reinforcement

Reinforcement is necessary in operant behavior

Reinforcement schedules

continuousfixed and variable

ratio and interval


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SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

Interval schedules: reinforcement occurs after a certainamount of time has passed

Fixed Interval = reinforcement is presented after a fixedamount of time

Variable Interval = reinforcement is delivered on arandom/variable time schedule

Ratio schedules: reinforcement occurs after a certainnumber of responses

Fixed Ratio = reinforcement presented after a fixed # ofresponses

Variable Ratio = reinforcement delivery is variable butbased on an overall average # of responses


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LIMITED EFFECTS OF PUNISHMENT

Punishment does not teach appropriate behaviors

Must be delivered immediately & consistently

May result in negative side effects Undesirable behaviors may be learned through

modeling (aggression)

May create negative emotions (anxiety & fear)


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HOW COMPLEX BEHAVIORS

ARE LEARNED

Successive approximation/shaping = reinforcingbehaviors as they come to approximate the desiredbehavior

Superstitious Behavior = when persistent behaviors arereinforced coincidentally rather than functionally

Self-control of behavior

Stimulus avoidance Self-administered satiation

Aversive stimulation

Self-reinforcement


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B. F. Skinner

Verbal behavior

Speech

Comprised of responses

Can be reinforced by speech sounds or gestures


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B. F. Skinner

Aircribs and teaching machines

1945: aircrib

Teaching machine

invented in the 1920s by Presseypromoted by Skinner

1968: The Technology of Teaching


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B. F. Skinner

Walden Two (1948): A

behavioristic society

Program of behavioral control

A technology of behavior

Application of laboratory

findings to society at large


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B. F. Skinner

Behavior modification

Used in a variety of applied settings

Reinforce desired behavior and extinguish

undesired behaviorPunishment is not used


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B. F. Skinner

Criticisms of Skinners behaviorism

His extreme positivism

His opposition to theoryHis willingness to extrapolate beyond the data

The narrow range of behavior studied

Problem of instinctive drift

His position on verbal behavior


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B. F. Skinner

Contributions of Skinners behaviorism

Shaped American psychology for 30 years

His goal: the improvement of society

Srength and ramifications of his radical behaviorism


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Social Learning Theories: The Cognitive Challenge

The context

Skinner (1963): "Behaviorism at Fifty"

Progress in experimental psychology in U.S. due to

behaviorism

Social learning/sociobehaviorist approach fomented by

many, including some behaviorists, reflected

broader cognitive revolution in psychology

1995: consciousness has overtly and publicly returned

to psychology


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Personality Skinner