Burrhus Frederic (B.F.) Skinner

1
Burrhus Frederic (B.F.) Skinner

• 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?

2

• 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)

3
Skinners Beliefs

• 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)

4
Problems for Study

• 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

5

• 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.

6
Internal Principles

• 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)

7

• telling jokes at parties,
• driving on the right side of the road,
• smiling at strangers,
• answering questions from teachers,
• doing housework for your spouse.

8
Internal Principles (cont.)

• Primary reinforcers - biological needs
  (food/water)
• Secondary reinforcers (most important) are
  learned and have different meaning to different
  individuals.

9
Internal Principles (cont.)

• Discriminative Stimulus - Signals the conditions
  under which some behaviors will be reinforced and
  others will not
• Tell a joke at a party, but dont tell one in
  class, or.
• Daddy is watching football he wont read me a
  story, but Daddy is helping Mommy with the dishes
  - ask him to read the story now.
• S(d)-----------------gt R -----------------------gtS
  (r)
• I like pizza, do I pull into every Pizza Hut I
  see?

10
Internal Principles (cont.)

• 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

11

• How do you shape the behavior of others?
• How do teachers use shaping

12
Bridge Principles

• 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

13
Bridge Principles (cont.)

• 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

14
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.

15
Change Mechanisms

• Positive and Negative reinforcement
• 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

16

• Punishment - extinguishes a behavior
• Spanking, scolding, frowning or removal of
  privilege
• Skinner is against punishment because
• Short term
• In the proximity of the punisher

17
Behavior Modification

• Step One - Identify the Reinforcer
• If the reinforcer does not produce significant
  effects
• then it is the reinforcer which must be changed.
  If MM's don't work try money

18
Behavior Modification

• 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).

19
Behavior Modification

• 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

20
Behavior Modification

• Step Four - Design a Learning Environment.
• Set up the circumstances for which the behavior
  will be reinforced

21
Behavior Modification

• Step Five - Shape the Final Form.
• First reinforce gross approximations
• successive approximations reinforce closer
  approximations
• Using law of successive approximations, reinforce
  appropriate behavior

22
Behavior Modification

• Step Six - Implement the plan