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Burrhus Frederic (B.F.) Skinner
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1. To which Paradigm does Skinner belong?
2. What is the difference between radical and
methodological behaviorism?
3. Which kind of behaviorist was Skinner? Pavlov?
4. What was Thorndike's law of effect?
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5. What is the difference between
punishment and negative reinforcement?
6. Why did Skinner say he never wrote or
developed a theory?
7. Is God a behaviorist?
“in actual practice a threat to bar from
Heaven or to consign to Hell is contingent
upon sinful behavior, while virtuous behavior
brings a promise of Heaven or a release from
the threat of Hell. B.F Skinner, Science and Human Behavior (1953)
Skinners Beliefs
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1. Neonates are born with "Species specific reflexes"
2. Infants are born "Tabula Rasa"
3. *The infant immediately begins to fill up the
"blank slate" (This is the primary assumption)
PROACTIVE emit or give out responses to the
environment not to simply react to stimuli. Operant
behavior is emitted rather than elicited (This is the
difference between mechanistic and radical
behaviorism)
Problems for Study
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Discover the laws which relate behavior to
environmental forces acting upon it -- This
theory does not account for mental
phenomena-Laws of Operant Conditioning
1. Past Learning
2. Present Conditions
3. Behavior
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Wanted to explain, for example, why a child
misbehaves in a classroom.
1. Past Learning - Runs around at home - Daddy
says "he's all boy"
2. Present Conditions - School is like home 3. Behavior - Run around at school - Teacher
will approve, just like Daddy.
Internal Principles
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Differential /Contingent Reinforcement
favorable consequences to behavior increase the
likelihood that behavior will be more common.
Occurs after a behavior has been emitted (based on
past experiences,
not due to other paired stimuli as the classical
behaviorists would have us believe)
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telling jokes at parties,
driving on the right side of the road,
smiling at strangers,
answering questions from teachers,
doing housework for your spouse.
Internal Principles (cont.)
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Primary reinforcers - biological needs
(food/water)
Secondary reinforcers (most important) are
learned and have different meaning to different
individuals.
Internal Principles (cont.)
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Discriminative Stimulus - Signals the conditions
under which some behaviors will be reinforced and
others will not –
Tell a joke at a party, but don’t tell one in class, or.
Daddy is watching football he won’t read me a story,
but Daddy is helping Mommy with the dishes - ask
him to read the story now.
S(d)-----------------> R ----------------------->S(r)
I like pizza, do I pull into every Pizza Hut I see?
Internal Principles (cont.)
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Shaping - (principle of successive approximation)
reinforcing behavior when it begins and when it
changes toward the appropriate end. Put the trash in
the trash can.
1. Reinforce when they look at the trash
2. Reinforce when they pick up the trash
3. Reinforce when they move toward the
trash can
4. Reinforce when they put the trash in the
trash can
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How do you shape the behavior of others?
How do teachers use shaping
Bridge Principles
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Schedules of Reinforcement - (Contingencies of
reinforcement)
Continuous Reinforcement - produces faster
change in behavior (sit in your seat)
Intermittent Reinforcement - on the basis of a
ratio (either number of instances, or time)
Random Reinforcement – Occasionally
(produces the slowest change in behavior
Bridge Principles (cont.)
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Generalization - behavior in a situation will
be generalized to other situations. Children
talk to everyone who responds, parents,
strangers but not to squirrels, chairs, etc.
Call Daddy “daddy” and call all males
“daddy”
Bridge Principles (cont.)
Chaining  behaviors combined into complex strings of
behaviors. It is the effect produced by the last
behavior which produces the reinforcement for
the chain.
Change Mechanisms
Positive and Negative reinforcement
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Both positive and negative reinforcement increase the
likelihood that behavior will reoccur
positive reinforcement - to achieve the reinforcer
negative reinforcement - to avoid the negative
consequences
Punishment - extinguishes a behavior
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Spanking, scolding, frowning or removal of
privilege
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Skinner is against punishment because
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Short term
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In the proximity of the punisher
Behavior Modification
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Step One - Identify the Reinforcer
If the reinforcer does not produce significant
effects
then it is the reinforcer which must be
changed. If M&M's don't work try money
Behavior Modification
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Step Two - Establish the Final Form.
Describe the behavior to be learned.
(observable and measurable)
Specify the presence of a specific operant
(what behavior is desired) Billy does not run
around the room is not correct (denotes
absence of a behavior),
Billy sits in his seat is correct (denotes
presence of the appropriate behavior).
Behavior Modification
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Step Three - Establish a Reinforcement
Schedule.
Begin with continuous reinforcement - this
produces the fastest change of behavior.
One could then switch to the intermittent
schedule of reinforcement
Behavior Modification
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Step Four - Design a Learning Environment.
Set up the circumstances for which the
behavior will be reinforced
Behavior Modification
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Step Five - Shape the Final Form.
First reinforce gross approximations
successive approximations reinforce closer
approximations
Using law of successive approximations,
reinforce appropriate behavior
Behavior Modification
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Step Six - Implement the plan