B.F. Skinner Behaviorism- Operant Learning

Skinner box-Psychology

B.F. Skinner-Bio

• Was born Burrhus Fredic Skinner March 20, 1904• Received his BA in English from Hamilton College New York• He became a writer of poetry, short stories and wrote for the local

newspaper• In 1930, he earned his MA and PhD in Psychology at Harvard.• In 1936, he met and married, Yvonne Blue. The two of them had two girls• Both of his daughters were raised in what is called the Skinner box, which

was a crib with plastic sides. The crib was air-conditioned and had the appearance of a baby in an aquarium

Behaviorism-Operant LearningTheory • Skinner’s focus was based on the “effects of consequences”

Characteristics of Operant Learning

• Positive Reinforcement- behavior is strengthened by the consequences of experiencing a positive condition

• Negative Reinforcement- behavior is strengthened by the consequence of stopping of a negative condition

• Punishment- behavior weakened by experiencing a negative condition

• Extinction- behavior is weakened by the consequence of not experiencing a positive condition or stopping a negative condition

Examples of the Characteristics

• Positive Reinforcement:

• A hungry rat presses a bar in its cage and receives food. • The food is a positive condition for the hungry rat. The rat presses

the bar again, and again receives food. • The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is strengthened by the

consequence of receiving food.”

Examples of the Characteristics

• Negative Reinforcement:

• A rat is placed in a cage and immediately receives a mild electrical shock on its feet.

• The shock is a negative condition for the rat. • The rat presses a bar and the shock stops. • The rat receives another shock, presses the bar again, and again

the shock stops. • The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is strengthened by the

consequence of stopping the shock.”

Examples of the Characteristics• Punishment

• A rat presses a bar in its cage and receives a mild electrical shock on its feet.

• The shock is a negative condition for the rat.• The rat presses the bar again and again receives a shock. • The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is weakened by the

consequence of receiving a shock.

Examples of the Characteristics

• Extinction

• A rat presses a bar in its cage and nothing happens. Neither a positive or a negative condition exists for the rat.

• The rat presses the bar again and again nothing happens. • The rat's behavior of pressing the bar is weakened by the

consequence of not experiencing anything positive or stopping anything negative.

References

• Myers, D. (2009). Pyschology. (9th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.

Discussion• This technique can be used to reward students for good behavior

and allow them to know when they are not behaving properly.

• One way of using this method will be for homework and class participation.

• If the student turns their homework in on time, then the student will be rewarded on a monthly basis based on a point system

• If the student fail to turn in the homework on time, then a reward will be lesser, than the one that they could have originally gotten.

• I don’t agree with not rewarding a student for trying. Mainly because I do not believe that the “extinction method” allows for change.