Burrhus Frederic Skinner , Better known as B. F. Skinner, was an American psychologist known for his contributions in developing the theory of behaviorism, and his utopian novel Walden Two (1948).
Behavior supposes q All behaviors are responses to certain stimuli in the environment, or consequences of the individual's history. Although behaviorists generally accept the important role of heredity in determining behavior, they focus primarily on environmental factors.
He is the most recognized psychologist in the current of behaviorism and his theory has been one of the most influential in Psychology.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1904, he began working on his ideas on human behavior after earning his doctorate from Harvard. Skinner's work includes The behavior of organisms (1938) and a novel based on his theories, Walden two (1948). He explored behaviorism in relation to society in later books, including Beyond Freedom and Human Dignity (1971).
As a student at Hamilton College, Skinner developed a passion for writing. He attempted to become a professional writer after graduating in 1926, but achieved little success. Two years later, he decided to follow a new direction for his life; He enrolled at Harvard University to study psychology.
Skinner considered free will an illusion and human action as dependent on the consequences of previous actions. If the consequences are bad, there is a high probability that the action will not recur. On the contrary, if the consequences are good, the action is likely to be repeated. Skinner called this the principle of reinforcement.
Skinner Box
To strengthen behavior, Skinner used operant conditioning and to study it invented the operant conditioning chamber, also known as the Skinner box.
By the 1920s, Watson had left academic psychology and other behaviorists were beginning to be influential, proposing new ways of learning apart from classical conditioning.
Skinner's way of thinking was slightly less extreme than Watson's. Skinner believed that we have minds, but that it is simply more productive to study observable behaviors rather than internal mental events.
Introduction to behaviorism
Behaviorism was the main paradigm of psychology between 1920 and 1950, founded by John Watson and based on the belief that behaviors can be measured, trained and changed. Behaviorism could be summed up with Watson's next quotation, considered the"father"of this psychological current:
"Give me a dozen healthy, well-trained children so that I can educate them, and I promise to choose one at random and train him to become a specialist of anything I can choose: doctor, lawyer, artist, businessman, beggar Or robber, regardless of his talent, inclinations, tendencies, aptitudes, vocations and race of his ancestors.
John Watson, Behaviorism, 1930.
According to the principles of behaviorism, all behaviors are learned from the environment in which we grow. Behaviorists did not believe in biological determinations.
In addition, they were mainly concerned with behaviors that could be observed and believed that there was not much difference between the learning that takes place in humans and that which takes place in animals.
How did behaviorism begin?
The Russian physician Pavlov was the first to study theories related to behaviorism in the 1890s. Classical Pavlovian conditioning was discovered by accident, when he discovered, In an experiment About the digestion of their dogs, that they salivated when he entered the room, without even bringing food with him.
Pavlov and dog
To summarize, classical conditioning implies a learning that associates an unconditioned stimulus that brings by default a response in the organism (for example, a reflex) with a new stimulus, so that the latter also carries the same response.
This theory was later developed by Watson (1913), who was the American psychologist who founded the behavioral psychological school, publishing an article called"Psychology as seen by a behaviorist." Later, he conditioned a child to fear a white rat.
Thorndike , The American psychologist and pedagogue, formalized the term"Law of effect"in 1905. In 1936, Skinner, the American psychologist who forms the true focus of this article, published"The Conduct of Organisms"and introduced the Concepts of operant conditioning And modeling.
Behaviorism according to Burrhus Frederic Skinner
Source: emaze.com.
Skinner's work was rooted in the view of classical conditioning as too simple to constitute a complete explanation of complex human behavior. Skinner believed that the best way to understand human behavior was to check the causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach"operant conditioning."
Operant conditioning has to do with operants: intentional actions that have an effect on the environment around us. Skinner began to identify the processes that made the occurrence of certain operant behaviors more or less probable.
Skinner's theory of operant conditioning is based on the work of Thorndike (1905). Edward Thorndike studied learning in animals using a puzzle box to propose the theory known as"The Law of Effect".
Skinner's operant conditioning
As we have said, Skinner is considered the father of operant conditioning, but his work is based on the law of Thorndike effect. Skinner introduced a new term in the law of effect: reinforcement. Behavior that is reinforced tends to be repeated; Behavior that is not reinforced tends to become extinct (weakens).
Skinner studied operant conditioning by conducting animal experiments, which he placed in a"Skinner box", similar to Thorndike's puzzle box.
Skinner coined the term"operant conditioning,"which involves changing a behavior using reinforcements given after the desired response. Skinner identified three types of responses or operants that may follow the behavior:
- Neutral operators. These are responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the likelihood of repeat behavior.
- These responses increase the likelihood of repeat behavior. Reinforcements can be positive or negative.
- These are responses that lessen the likelihood that a behavior will recur; Punishment weakens the conduct in question.
We have all experienced examples of behaviors that have been affected by reinforcements and punishments. When we were children, for example, if we talked during a class, the teacher told us to shut up. This response by the teacher constitutes a punishment that, at least supposedly, should weaken the behavior of talking to the classmate during the class.
During adolescence, for example, wearing a particular style or brand of clothing could be positively reinforced by peers through praise, social acceptance or just some kind gesture. This reinforces and makes it more likely to repeat the behavior of wearing a particular brand clothing.
Positive reinforcement
Researchers with Skinner box and dove.
Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box. The box contained a lever on one side and the rat, as it moved through the box, accidentally pressed the lever. Immediately, a pellet of food fell into a small container next to the lever.
The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after being a few times in the box. The consequence of receiving the food if they pressed the lever ensured that they repeated the behavior over and over again.
Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence that the individual considers rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you money every time you complete homework, you are more likely to repeat homework in the future, strengthening that behavior.
Negative reinforcement
Removing an unpleasant reinforcement can also strengthen a certain behavior. This is known as negative reinforcement, because it is the elimination of an adverse stimulus that is"rewarding"for the person or animal. Negative reinforcement strengthens behavior by stopping or eliminating an unpleasant experience.
For example, when you have headache , You take aspirin to relieve it. The fact that the pain subsides is a negative reinforcer for the behavior of taking aspirin, making it more likely to recur in the future when you have a headache.
Skinner studied how the negative reinforcement worked, again, placing a rat in his Skinner box and exposing it to an unpleasant electrical current that caused him some discomfort. This time, the lever of the box caused the electric current to stop.
The rats, at first, pressed the lever by accident, but soon learned to press it to stop the electric current. The consequence of escaping the current ensured that they repeated the action whenever they were placed in the box or whenever they felt the electricity.
In fact, Skinner taught the rats even to avoid electric current by turning on a light just before the electric current appeared. The rats soon learned to push the lever when the light went on because they knew this would prevent the electric current from being turned on.
These two learned responses are known as"escape learning"and"learning by avoidance".
Punishment
Punishment is defined as the opposite of reinforcement, since it is designed to weaken or eliminate a response instead of increasing its probability. It is an aversive event that diminishes the behavior that follows.
As with reinforcement, punishment can work either by directly applying an unpleasant stimulus, or an electric shock after a response, or by eliminating a potentially rewarding stimulus.
For example, deducting money from someone's pay to punish undesirable behaviors. It is necessary to point out that it is not always easy to distinguish between punishments and negative reinforcements.
There are several problems in using punishments, such as the following:
- The punished behavior is not forgotten, it is suppressed. This behavior returns when punishment is not present.
- Punishment can lead to increased aggressiveness. It can show that aggressiveness is a way of coping with problems.
- Punishments create fear that is generalized to undesirable behaviors, for example, fear of going to school.
- Often, punishment does not shape behavior toward the desired goal. Reinforcement tells you what to do, while punishment only tells you what not to do.
Behavior modeling
Another important contribution of Skinner is the notion of behavioral modeling through successive approximation. Skinner argues that the principles of operant conditioning can be used to produce extremely complex behaviors if rewards and punishments are performed in a way that encourages the organism in question to become closer and closer to the desired behavior.
For this result to occur, the conditions (or contingencies) required to receive the reward should change each time the organism takes a step to be closer to the desired behavior.
According to Skinner, most human behavior (including language) can be explained as a product of this kind of successive approximation.
Behavior modification
Behavior modification is a set of therapies or techniques based on operant conditioning. The basic principle is to change environmental events related to a particular behavior of a person. For example, reinforcing desired behaviors and ignoring or punishing unwanted behaviors.
However, this is not as simple as it sounds. Always reinforcing a desired behavior, for example, is basically bribe someone.
There are several types of positive reinforcement. Primary reinforcement occurs when a reward strengthens a behavior by itself. Secondary reinforcement occurs when something reinforces a behavior because it leads to a primary reinforcer.
Practical educational applications
In the conventional learning situation, operant conditioning is applied to topics related to classrooms and study, rather than to content related to learning.
With respect to the educational application of behavioral modeling, a simple way of modeling a behavior consists of provide feedback (Feedback) regarding the execution of the learner (for example, flattery, approval signals, encouragement).
For example, if a teacher would like to encourage their students to answer questions in class, they should praise them on every attempt, regardless of whether the answer is correct or not. Gradually, the teacher will only praise students when their answers are correct and, over time, only exceptional responses will be praised.
Unwanted behaviors, such as delays in coming to class and dominating class discussions, can be extinguished by being ignored by the teacher, rather than being reinforced by drawing the teacher's attention to such behaviors.
Knowing that success has been achieved is also important, as it motivates future learning. However, it is important to vary the type of reinforcement provided, so that the behavior is maintained. This is not a simple task, since the teacher may seem untrustworthy if he thinks too much about the way he should behave when praising a student.
Other practical applications and critical evaluation
Operant conditioning can be used to explain a large number of behaviors, from the learning process to addiction and language acquisition. It also has practical applications, such as the educational ones we have described previously, and in prisons, psychiatric hospitals and economics.
In economics, a known application of operant conditioning is token economy, a system through which the person receives chips just after carrying out a desired behavior. The tokens are collected and then exchanged for something meaningful to the individual.
The use of animal research on operant conditioning also raises the question of extrapolation of the findings.
Some psychologists allege that we can not generalize to human behavior completed results of animal research, since their anatomy and physiology is different and can not reflect on their experiences or invoke reason, patience and memory like humans.