Behaviorism
Behaviorism grew in response to the popularity of
Psychoanalysis as well as to the seemingly
pessimistic perspective outlook on the human
condition.
Early 20th Century figures included
– E.L. Thorndike
– John B. Watson (Father of American
Behaviorism)
Mid 20th Century figures included
- B.F. Skinner (Americas most prolific
writer and theorist on behaviorism)
Radical Behaviorism
A doctrine that avoids all
hypothetical constructs, such as ego,
traits, drives, needs, hunger, the
unconscious, etc.
This deterministic model rejected the
notion of volition or free will.
Skinner’s Scientific Behaviorism
Scientific behaviorism allows for an
interpretation of behavior but not an
explanation.
Interpretation permits a scientist to
generalize from a simple learning
condition to a more general one.
Skinner used simple animal
experiments and applied them to
human behavior.
Characteristics of Science
Science is cumulative
Science is an attitude that values
empirical observations
Science is a search for order and
lawful relationship.
Conditioning
Classical Condition (Pavlov) renamed
by Skinner as Respondent
Conditioning
– Environment elicits a response from the
organism
– Little Albert experiment
Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
– The organism emits a response on the
environment and the response is
strengthened by reinforcement.
Operant Conditioning
Shaping
Successive Approximations
ABC’s of conditioning
– Antecedents (environment in which the behavior takes
place)
– Behavior
– Consequences (the reward)
Operant Discrimination – Not an ability we
possess but due to the consequences of our
reinforcement history.
Stimulus Generalization – Is a response to a
similar environment in the absence of previous
reinforcement.
Reinforcements
Any stimulus that, when added to a
situation increases the probability of a
behavior is a positive reinforcement.
The removal of an aversive stimulus
from a situation also increases the
probability of the preceding behavior
is a negative reinforcement.
Punishments
Punishment is the presentation or
addition of an aversive stimulus
(positive punishment) or the removal
of a positive one (negative
punishment)
Human and animal behavior is
always better served by positive and
negative reinforcement than by
punishments.
Effects of Punishment
Suppress behavior in general
Conditioning of negative feelings by
associating a strong aversive
stimulus with the behavior being
punished
Spreading of its effects because any
stimulus associated with the
punishment may be suppressed or
avoided
Punishment and Reinforcement
Compared
Both have some characteristics in
common:
Two kinds of each (+/-)
Both derive from natural consequences or
from human imposition
Both are a means of controlling behavior
Skinner favored planned control of
behavior – Walden Two (1948)
Conditioned Reinforcers
Conditioned reinforcers (secondary
or learned) take on their value
because of their relationship with an
unconditioned reinforcer (primary)
Can also generalize to many other
primary reinforcers.
A good example is “money”.
Schedules of Reinforcement
Continuous versus Intermittent
Ratios versus Intervals
– Fixed versus Variable
Acquisition versus Extinction
Loss of learning can occur because of:
The passage of time
Interference from previous or
subsequent learning
The effects of punishment
Extinction – the tendency of a
previously acquired response to
become progressively weakened by
non-reinforcement
Skinner believed that human
behavior is shaped by three forces
Natural Selection – Allows the human
creature to survive in the ever
changing world
Cultural Practices – Allows human
groups to survive
The individual’s history of
reinforcement
Inner States
Although Skinner rejected
explanations of behavior founded on
non-observable hypothetical
constructs, he did not deny the
existence of internal states including:
– Love
– Anxiety
– Fear
– He called these private events
Self-awareness
Skinner believed that humans are
fully conscious.
– Awareness of themselves, their
environment and the own mental
activity
Drives
Drives are not causes of behavior but
merely explanatory fictions.
– Drives simply refer to the effects of
deprivation and satiation and the
corresponding probability that the
organism will respond.
– Knowing enough about the ABC’s of
behavior would allow a psychologist to
know why a person reacts the way they
do.
Emotions
Skinner recognized the subjective
existence of emotions and insisted
that behavior must not be attributed
to them.
He accounted for emotions by the
contingencies of survival and the
contingencies of reinforcement.
Purpose and Intention
Skinner cautioned against attributing
behavior to them.
Purpose and intention exist within
the individual and are not subject to
direct outside scrutiny or
observation.
Complex Behavior
Skinner believed that even the most
complex human behaviors are
shaped by the same forces of natural
selection, cultural evolution, and the
individual’s history of reinforcement.
He did not deny the existence of
cognition, reason, recall, creativity,
unconscious behavior, dreams and
social behavior.
Higher Mental Processes
Very difficult to study
Thinking, problem solving, and
reminiscing are covert behavior that
take place within the “skin” and not
inside the “mind”.
They are amenable to the same
forces (contingencies of
reinforcement) as other overt
behaviors.
Creativity
If behaviors were nothing other than a
predictable response to a stimulus,
creative behavior could not exist because
only previously reinforced behavior would
be emitted.
Skinner believed that creative behavior is
similar to natural selection in evolutionary
theory.
– Accidental variations in behavior are selected
by their reinforcing consequences.
Unconscious Behavior
Skinner did not accept the idea of a
warehouse of unconscious ideas or
feelings.
He did accept the idea of
unconscious “behavior”.
– Behavior is labeled “unconscious” when
they no longer think about it (either by
reinforcement or punishment)
Dreams
Skinner saw dreams as covert and
symbolic forms of behavior that are
subject to the same contingencies of
reinforcement as other behaviors
are.
Dream behavior is reinforcing when
the consequence of the behavior are
reinforcing or avoid punishment.
Social Behavior
Groups do not behave; individuals behave.
Individuals establish groups because they have
been rewarded to do so.
Sometimes membership in a group is not
reinforcing but members remain in the group:
– People may remain in a group that abuses
them because some group members are
reinforcing them.
– Children may not possess the means to leave
– Reinforcement may occur on an intermittent
basis so that he abuse suffered by the
individual is intermingled with occasional
rewards.
Control of Human Behavior
Ultimately, an individual’s behavior is
controlled by environmental
contingencies.
Social Control
Individuals act to form social groups
because such behavior tends to be
reinforced.
Same for groups, organizations,
nations, societies, etc.
Social Control
Operant conditioning
– Positive reinforcement
– Negative reinforcement
– Aversive stimuli (positive punishment)
– Removing a positive stimulus (negative
punishment)
Social Control
Describing contingencies
– Through the use of language
– Social control of advertising, etc.
Social Control
Deprivation and satiation
– Depriving and providing through control
of internal states.
Social Control
Physical constraint
– Prisons
– Controlling children
Self Control
Controlling the variables within one’s
own environment and thus exercising
some measure of self-control
– Physical aids, tools, finances, etc.
– Change the environment
– Arrange their environment so that they
can escape from an aversive stimulus
only by producing the proper response
– Take drugs as a means of self control
Unhealthy Personality
Counteracting Strategies
– Escape (problems with intimacy)
– Revolt
– Passive resistance (stubbornness)
Inappropriate Behaviors
– Self-defeating techniques
– Excess vigorous activity or unrestrained
behavior
– Defective self-knowledge
Therapy
Teach appropriate skills and
behaviors
Techniques
Critique
Generate research – 5
Falsifiable – 5
Organization – 3
Guide to Action – 5
Internal consistency – 5
Parsimony – 3
Deterministic
Optimistic
Conscious
Social emphasis
Causal