B.F.

Skinner: The Behavioral Approach

Basic Premise
Behavior can be controlled by consequencestype of reinforcement following the behavior

Kinds of Behavior : Respondent and Operant

Respondent behavior: responses made to/elicited by specific environmental stimuli
Ex: Reflexes (knee jerk)

Depends on reinforcement, directly related to physical stimulus Conditioning: Higher level respondent behavior
Learning to substitute one stimulus for another

Respondent Behavior and Conditioning

Ivan Pavlov: Classical conditioning
Dogs salivate to neutral stimulus (sound of owners feet) when previously only salivated to sight of food Began sounding bell before and after feeding dogs Eventually began to salivate to sound of bell
Demonstrates new meaning to previously neutral stimulus (sound of bell)

Conditioned Responses
Reinforcement (consequences of behavior)
Dogs learn to respond to bell because reward follows (food) Strengthens response, increases likelihood of repeating response in future

Extinction
Reinforcement is no longer given following the conditioned stimulus Dogs not given food after sound of bell, salivation response eventually stops

Kinds of Behavior: Operant Behavior

Not all behavior is a direct response to environmental stimuli (respondent beh.) Nature and frequency of behavior determined by reinforcement following behavior Behavior that operates on the environment and changes it

Operant Conditioning
Change in consequences of response will affect the rate at which the response occurs Most of human behavior learned this way Behaviors that work are frequently displayed; ineffective behaviors are not repeated Personality

Schedules of Reinforcement
Patterns of rates of providing or withholding reinforcers In everyday life, behavior is rarely reinforced every time it occurs

Successive Approximation
Acquiring complex behaviors Reinforce as behavior comes closer to resembling the desired final behavior
Ex: Child learning to speak

Self-Control of Behavior
Behavior is controlled/modified by external sources Nothing inside us (no internal processes) determines behavior We can alter the impact of external events through self-control

Self-Control Strategies
Stimulus avoidance: Stay away from certain external stimuli Self-administered satiation: Cure bad habits by overdoing the behavior Aversive stimulation: Unpleasant consequences Self-reinforcement: Reward ourselves

Applying Operant Conditioning: Behavior Modification

Behavior modification: apply principles of reinforcement to bring about behavioral changes Token economy: tokens given as reinforcement for positive behaviors, later redeem tokens for rewards

Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement and Punishment

Positive reinforcement: Strengthen response by providing desirable rewards
Ex: Token economy

Negative reinforcement: Strengthen response by removing aversive stimuli

Ex: Prisoners-early release for good behavior

Punishment: Use aversive stimulus following response to decrease likelihood of behavior in the future

Assessment in Skinners Theory

Functional Analysis
Frequency of behavior Situation in which behavior occurs Reinforcement for behavior

Must be evaluated to implement behavior modification plan

Direct Observation of Behavior

Direct observation Self-reports: interviews and questionnaires Physiological measurement: heart rate, muscle tension, brain waves
See effects of various stimuli on the body

Research: Reversal Experimental Design

Baseline: Subjects normal behavior before beginning experiment Conditioning: IV introduced- should produce a change from baseline behavior Reversal: Remove IV influence to determine if IV is responsible for change from baseline behavior Reconditioning: Reintroduce IV provided it is responsible for change from baseline behavior

Criticisms of Skinner
Behavior is more than stimulus-response (Bandura- mediating thoughts) Behavior is not totally determined by externals Overly simplistic explanation for human behavior

Contributions of Skinner
Emphasis on measuring observable behaviors, instead of unobservable constructs (unconscious) Role of reinforcement in shaping behavior Practical usage of theory Considerable research support