B.F.

Skinner: The
Behavioral Approach
Basic Premise

Behavior can be controlled by

consequences- type 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