“Give me a dozen healthy infants,
well-formed, and my own specified
world to bring them up in and I’ll
guarantee to take any one at
random and train him to become
any type of specialist I might select
- doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant,
chief, and yes, even beggar-man
and thief - regardless of his talents,
penchants, tendencies, abilities,
vocations, and race of his
ancestors.”
John B. Watson, 1924
Behaviorism, p. 104
BEHAVIORISM
BEHAVIORISM
ENVIRONMENT
Stimulus
BEHAVIOR
Response
MEDIATING MECHANISMS
• Nature of the association (pairing)
IVAN PAVLOV
CLASSICAL
CONDITIONING
RESPONDENT CONDITIONING
RESPONDENT BEHAVIOR IS A PHYSIOLOGICAL OR
EMOTIONAL RESPONSE ELICITED BY A STIMULUS
UCS elicits UCR
Neutral stimulus and UCS paired
(association is attempted)
Neutral stimulus becomes CS that elicits
Conditioned Response
(association is made)
BEHAVIORISM
ENVIRONMENT
Stimulus
BEHAVIOR
Response
MEDIATING MECHANISMS
• Nature of the association (pairing)
• Nature of reinforcement
B. F. SKINNER
OPERANT
CONDITIONING
OPERANT BEHAVIORS ARE ACTIONS
THAT INDIVIDUALS TAKE TO MEET THE
DEMANDS OF THEIR ENVIRONMENTS
TYPE S CONDITIONING (RESPONDENT)
SD
R
TYPE R CONDITIONING (OPERANT)
S
D
TEACHER
ASKS
QUESTION
R
STUDENT
RAISES
HAND
S
R
TEACHER
SAYS
“AN A FOR YOU!”
REINFORCEMENT
Any event following a behavior that
increases the likelihood of that behavior
occurring again.
“The only defining
characteristic of a reinforcing
stimulus is that it reinforces”
(Skinner, 1953, p. 72).
OPERANT CONDITIONING TECHNIQUES
• POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT = increasing a
behavior by administering a reward
• NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT = increasing a
behavior by removing an aversive stimulus when a
behavior occurs
• PUNISHMENT = decreasing a behavior by
administering an aversive stimulus following a
behavior OR by removing a positive stimulus
• EXTINCTION = decreasing a behavior by not
rewarding it
LIMITED EFFECTS OF PUNISHMENT
•
•
•
•
Punishment does not teach appropriate behaviors
Must be delivered immediately & consistently
May result in negative side effects
Undesirable behaviors may be learned through
modeling (aggression)
• May create negative emotions (anxiety & fear)
BEHAVIORISM
ENVIRONMENT
Stimulus
BEHAVIOR
Response
MEDIATING MECHANISMS
• Nature of the association (pairing)
• Nature of reinforcement
• Schedules of reinforcement
FIXED
VARIABLE
SCHEDULES OF
REINFORCEMENT
CONTINUOUS
or
INTERMITTENT
RATIO
INTERVAL
SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
• Interval schedules: reinforcement occurs after a certain
amount of time has passed
• Fixed Interval = reinforcement is presented after a fixed
amount of time
• Variable Interval = reinforcement is delivered on a
random/variable time schedule
• Ratio schedules: reinforcement occurs after a certain
number of responses
• Fixed Ratio = reinforcement presented after a fixed # of
responses
• Variable Ratio = reinforcement delivery is variable but
based on an overall average # of responses
BEHAVIORISM
ENVIRONMENT
Stimulus
BEHAVIOR
Response
MEDIATING MECHANISMS
• Nature of the association (pairing)
• Nature of reinforcement (stimulus)
• Schedules of reinforcement
• Shaping (successive approximations)
HOW COMPLEX BEHAVIORS
ARE LEARNED
• Successive approximation/shaping = reinforcing
behaviors as they come to approximate the desired
behavior
• Superstitious Behavior = when persistent behaviors are
reinforced coincidentally rather than functionally
• Self-control of behavior
 Stimulus avoidance
 Self-administered satiation
 Aversive stimulation
 Self-reinforcement
B. F. Skinner
Aircribs and teaching machines
1945: aircrib
Teaching machine
invented in the 1920s by Pressey
promoted by Skinner
1968: The Technology of Teaching
B. F. Skinner
Walden Two (1948): A
behavioristic society
Program of behavioral control
A technology of behavior
Application of laboratory
findings to society at large
“If the occurrence of an operant is followed
by presentation of a reinforcing stimulus,
the strength is increased . . . if the
occurrence of an operant already
strengthened through conditioning
is not followed by the reinforcing
stimulus, the strength is decreased.”
B. F. Skinner
Behavior modification
Used in a variety of applied settings
Reinforce desired behavior and extinguish
undesired behavior
Punishment is not used
BEHAVIOR
MODIFICATION
Central Human Motive in
Skinner’s Theory
Environmental consequences shape
behavior
Skinner’s Theory
“All we need to know in order to describe
and explain behavior is this: actions
followed by good outcomes are likely to
recur , and actions followed by bad
outcomes are less likely to recur.”
(Skinner, 1953)
B. F. Skinner
Criticisms of Skinner’s behaviorism
His extreme positivism
His opposition to theory
His willingness to extrapolate beyond the data
The narrow range of behavior studied
Problem of instinctive drift
His position on verbal behavior
B. F. Skinner
Contributions of Skinner’s behaviorism
Shaped American psychology for 30 years
His goal: the improvement of society
Srength and ramifications of his radical behaviorism
“The goal of psychology
should be the prediction
and control of behavior.”
John B. Watson, 1913
Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It, p. 158
John Watson on Children:
“Never hug and kiss them, never let them sit on
your lap. If you must, kiss them once on the
forehead when they say good night. Shake
hands with them in the morning. Give them a
pat on the head if they have made an
extraordinarily good job of a difficult task. Try
it out. In a week's time you will find how easy it
is to be perfectly objective with your child and
at the same time kindly. You will be utterly
ashamed of the mawkish, sentimental way you
have been handling it.”