Behaviorism: Skinner’s

Approach to Personality
 Historical Background

Wilhelm Wundt
John B. Watson
(1832-1920)
B. F. Skinner (1878-1958)
(1904-1990)

William James Edward L. Thorndike

(1842-1910) (1874-1949)

Ivan Pavlov John Dewey

(1849-1936) (1859-1952)
 Biographical Sketch
• Burrhus Frederic Skinner
(March 20, 1904 – August
18 1990)
• Writer
• PhD in Psychology
• Fascination with
mechanical inventions
• Antitheorist
Definition of Operant Conditioning
• A process of behavior
modification in which the
likelihood of a specific
behavior is increased or
decreased through
positive or negative
reinforcement each time
the behavior is exhibited,
so that the subject comes
to associate the pleasure
or displeasure of the
reinforcement with the
behavior.
 Operant Conditioning

Increases
Behavior

Decreases
Behavior
 Schedules of Reinforcement
Schedules of
Reinforcement

Continuous Intermittent
Reinforcement Reinforcement

Ratio Interval
Schedule Schedule

Fixed Variable Fixed Variable

Ratio Ratio Interval Interval
 Evaluation
• Operant Conditioning is • Assumptions about personality
based upon observable are proven wrong by research.
behaviors. • Failure to show adequate
generalizability in human
behavior – most experiments are
• Effective therapeutic done on animals.
techniques such as • Although Skinner's ideas on
behavioral modification operant conditioning are able
and token economies are to explain phobias and
all rooted in behaviorism. neurosis, they are sadly
lacking in applicability to the
more complex human
behaviors of language and
memory.
 Application
• Psychopharmacology or the study of the effects of
drugs on behavior
• Educational technology, including programmed
instruction devices and classroom management systems
• Social Skills Training to improve interpersonal skills in
dealing with a variety of real-world interactions
• Therapeutic treatment of psychological problems
• Behavioral Techniques a technique of extinguishing
an undesirable behavior (by removing the reinforcer)
and replace it with a desirable behavior by
reinforcement.
 Conclusion
• The truth about what enables people to live life
causatively as a sane and responsible human being

• Skinner overlooked a major component that shapes

behavior- personality

• A better knowledge of human behavior would help

solve our problems
Presentation By
Devaki Manohar
Amisha Mehta
Shikha Zaveri