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CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 1 Critique of “The Experimental Analysis of Behavior” LEIT 642 Sheryl Lombardo CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 2 “The Experimental Analysis of Behavior” by B.F. Skinner was presented in the American Scientist journal in 1957. In this explanation of his research with pigeons and rats, one is given a glimpse into the world of behaviorism often cited by present-day theorists, but only sporadically read in its original form. Skinner’s work in creating behavioral criteria has great significance to the development of the field of Instructional Technology. Instructional Technology has a great deal of its history rooted in behaviorism. Indeed, even much of today’s Instructional Design methodologies borrow heavily from behaviorism in their demand for observable results from instruction. Skinner is often cited as one of the most famous of the 20th century behaviorist, but as we shall see in the next section, behaviorism has its roots in the 19th century as well. Behaviorism: Historical Overview In 1873, Wilhelm Wundt published Principles of Physiological Psychology. This book details Wundt’s theory that psychological methodologies could be based on physiological methods (Schunk, 1996). Wundt, although a native of Germany, established labs in the United States to attempt research on subjects through the use of controlled stimuli and recorded response. In this way, he was one of the first to establish psychology as a “hard” science. As we shall continue to see in further investigation of this movement, in the attempt to create a “science” of behavior is a continuing theme which will be revisited and upon which Skinners work is clearly based. At the early part of the 20th century, Pavlov began his own experiments in Russia involving classical conditioning techniques. His work with canine behavior, although now fodder for jokes, established not only a link between stimulus-response, but more importantly established that a consistent, desired response could be obtained the same CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 3 stimulus. In short, that one can not only observe a response, but can create the response desired was a powerful discovery. About the same time Pavlov was working in this area, another leading figure in behaviorism was emerging: John Watson. It is important to place these two figures against the backdrop of the time period from which they emerged. At the time Pavlov and Watson were experimenting and publishing their work, John Dewey and William James were also publishing their main works, influencing certainly Watson to a high degree. (Burton, Moore, Magliaro, 1996) Watson was greatly influenced by the work of Pavlov and felt that although Pavlov’s work was done primarily with animals, it could be transferred to the human learning experience (Schunk, 1996) This line of inquiry is important to the further discussion research experimentation from Skinner, as this was exactly what Skinner sought to do as well. For both Watson and Skinner, behavior gave them some insight into the mind that could be measured “scientifically,” just as biologists might observe and test amoebas. Edward Thorndike also began publishing his work on behavior in 1913 using the terms, “Laws of Exercise and Effect. ”(Schunk, 1996) The first law, that of exercise can be stated as in relationship to its two parts: The Law of Use and the Law of Disuse. The Law of Use claims that the use of a connection between stimulus and response increases that connection’s strength. If a connection is not used, the strength of that connection is weakened. The Law of Effect states that the consequence or outcomes of behavior shape the learning experience. (Schunk, 1996) Although Thorndike had numerous theories derived from a behaviorist viewpoint, these Laws had a great impact on the subsequent work of Skinner. CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 4 It is from this early behaviorist theory and experimentation that Skinner derived his own theories of Operant Conditioning summarized in his book The Behavior of Organisms. (1938) Overview of Articles Discussed This paper will discuss two articles that explain the progression of Skinners theories from experiments with animals to teaching techniques based on those theories. The first article is entitled, “The Experimental Analysis of Behavior,” was published in the Amercian Scientist journal in 1957. This article outlines his experiments in operant conditioning with pigeons and rats. The second article is entitled, “Teaching Machines,” was published a year later in Science magazine. In it, Skinner makes the great leap from his lab experiments to his theories on learning based on those experiments. Critique of “The Experimental Analysis of Behavior” It is very clear from the onset of the research article that Skinner is attempting to create legitimate hard “science” from the unclear aspects of human behavior. This article provides the reader with some very noteworthy information, first of which is a narration of his own research involving stimulus and response. The second section of the article is a synopsis of research studies relevant to his own. This section would be particularly valuable to persons studying the trend of behavioral research studies throughout the forties and fifties. Skinner’s analysis of these studies is insightful considering his own research interests. For the first half of the article, he details his own research studies. He starts with his research and analysis involving reinforcement and pigeons. In the “Operant Conditioning” section, he very clearly details the parameters of this particular research CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 5 proposition. He gives an excellent description of “feedback” as well as explaining the rationale behind the research itself. One interesting note at this point would be the explanation of treatment of animal subjects. Modern research in this area would probably not be as explicit regarding exactly what happened to animals participating in the experiment. This explanation does give a very clear picture of exactly what happened during the experiment, right down to illustrations and pictures of the experiment conditions (see pgs 345, 354, 359). These visuals are very clear in comparison to the charts indicating the results of experimentation. These charts are very difficult to read, and it is difficult to ascertain the significance of these statistics for the layperson. Many times statistics are given such as “…rates differed by as much as 2000:1.” (Skinner, p 344). However, the explanation of these rates are not given at the time the statistics are quoted. Later in the research study, the rate is response to stimulus, for example 2000 responses are required to obtain 1 stimulus. The next area of Skinner research is avoidance. His research involves electric shocks and rats. The rats avoid the shocks by pressing a button for the researcher. The researcher is attempting to create an avoidance pattern when the rat is given a shock. Again, the critique of the charts is centered on their readability; they are very difficult for the layperson to read. One strong point of this article is the excellent writing style of Skinner. The report, minus the graphics, is so well written that it is enjoyable to read even though the topic is less than thrilling. The last section, mentioned previously, is the review of research studies relevant to Skinner’s area of inquiry. Some of them are very similar, with dependant variables, which have been changed from Skinner’s study. For example, in one, the rats avoiding CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 6 the electrical shocks have been given tranquilizers and amphetamines. Another has a comparison between pigeons and psychotic humans’ stimulus/response. There are no discussions of the ethical dimensions of using mentally ill people who may or may not be aware that they are being compared to pigeons, and according to Skinner, the pigeons are doing better. Critique of “Teaching Machines” Skinner begins this article with a description of the advances in audio-visual technology and with the invention of the Pressey Teaching Machine. Skinner is concerned with the advent of larger class sizes and the presentation of materials with no activity on the part of the student. The description of the Pressey Teaching Machine make it clear that through the use of a multiple-choice format, with the student responses measured by the machine, such activity can be made “active.” However, the Pressey Teaching Machine, introduced to the public in the 1920’s, did not become standard school equipment. Skinner blames this lack of acceptance “…on cultural inertia; the world of education was not ready for them.” (p.969) Skinner then attempts to, using the behaviorist theory of motivation, describe the criteria for a teaching machine. The features he points to as important are: 1. The composition of a response by the student rather than just a multiplechoice selection; 2. The students must proceed through the lesson in a linear fashion, each section leading to a more complex and related section (p. 970) He then explains several different emerging technologies that enable the student to interact with the teaching machine in this fashion. Skinner envisions the use of these CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 7 teaching machines as a replacement for individualized human instruction or tutoring. He sees the teaching machines as a solution to the overcrowded classroom. He then moves on to the kind of material that might be presented in the teaching machines. He describes the progression of material as appearing in “frames,” quite prophetic given the design of frames in web pages. He considers mathematics and spelling to be appropriate content matter to be taught by machine. His description of teaching technique is the “drill and practice” model of learning material, certainly not difficult for a machine. He does point out some deficiencies inherent in teaching machines for more advanced skills (he defines these as “thinking”) on page 975, “A more sensible program is the analyze the behavior called thinking and produce it according to specifications.” This appears to be a bizarre statement in current theoretical constructs such as cognitive theory. How is “thinking” a behavior? At this point, even Skinner is unable to define what “thinking” is in behavioral terms. This is not a research article by Skinner, but rather a progression of his theories from the laboratory to the classroom. What may be the most interesting outcome of such an article is to understand how little ideas about educational media have changed over the years. Looking at educational software or an educational website, the two hot medias of today, one can see Skinners design for his teaching machines. Multiple choice (although eschewed by Skinner) still flourish as form of simple stimulus/response. In fact, much of what was said in the article about active learning through programmed materials could be lifted wholesale out of this article and placed into an article about learning on the web. CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 8 Synthesis of Overview and Articles A historical perspective gives one pause to look at the achievements of Skinner and those who came before him. As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, Instructional Technology owes its beginnings to the work of these theorists. While it is difficult to critique men who were products of the time in which they lived, there are many aspects of behaviorism that do not survive the great leap from theory into practice. As can be demonstrated by the two articles selected from Skinner, work done in a laboratory, while providing some insight into behavior of organisms, cannot always be translated into sound instructional techniques. While the second article from Skinner relies on the basic theories of operant conditioning, these theories are not acknowledged or discussed as the viewpoint from which he is coming. It may be that Skinner was well known at this time for his theories and no explanation was required. However, without directly relating any of the designs for teaching machines back to his own research, they were little more than opinions. Conclusions Skinner always strove to create a scientific veneer to his work on human behavior, it was very important to both himself and other early behaviorists that human behavior become a measurable commodity in order to enter into the realm of the physical sciences. While it can be said that environment does influence behavior, behavior has far more causes than this construct. The link between theory, based on animal responses, and application, based on human understanding remains tenuous at best. CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 9 Appendix A Criteria for Evaluation of Research Studies 1. Hypothesis is clearly stated. Skinner does not meet these criteria in the article I reviewed. It may be that he was so well known regarding his theories that he didn’t need to explain this to his audience. However, even in the explanation of this experiments, he does not start with his hypothesis, just how the experiment fits into his already existing model. 2. Important terms are defined. Yes. 3. Historical placement of current research. No, Skinner gives no history of his own research or the research of others. 4. Research Significance Yes, the research is significant. 5. Parameters of the study are clearly detailed. Yes, at the beginning of each description of research, Skinner clearly states what the test does and does not show. 6. Data collection is based on sound research principles. Yes. 7. Data are analyzed using sound statistical and analytical practices. Yes. 8. Results are clearly stated and related back to original research question. Results are clearly stated, but since the original research question was not stated, there is nothing to relate them to. CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 10 9. Report is organized and well written. Yes. 10. Conclusions are significant and will contribute to the knowledge base of the field. Yes. CRITIQUE OF HISTORICAL ARTICLE Page 11 References: Burton, J., Magliaro, S., & Moore, D. (1996) “Behaviorism and Instructional Technology.” Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technology, Jonassen, ed. Washington DC: Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Schunk, D. (1996) Learning Theories. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Skinner, B. (1957) “The Experimental Analysis of Behavior.” American Scientist, (45) No. 4. Skinner, B. (1958) “Teaching Machines.” Science, (128) No.3330.