Burres Frederick Skinner is one of the greatest psychologists of the 20th century. His books are worthy of a separate story. This outstanding person has been awarded many awards and prizes. Including Thorndike Prize.
One of the most famous books is Skinner's Behavioralism and Beyond Freedom and Dignity.
Who is Skinner?
An outstanding American psychologist who lived in the 20th century. He made a significant contribution to the development of behaviorism. He gained the greatest fame thanks to his theory of operant conditioning. In addition to advances in psychology, Burres Skinner was an excellent inventor. One of the scientist's inventions is a box named in his honor - Skinner's box. This design is designed to study the principles of operant learning.
Skinner pioneered functional analysis. It was he who proposed it as a method of studying behavior.
It is known that in 1958 the famous psychologist was awarded the prize "For outstanding contribution to the development of science." And the American Psychological Association awarded this award. It was noted that few American psychologists were able to make such a significant contribution to the development of psychology.
In 1972, the same Association recognized Berres Frederick Skinner as the most outstanding psychologist of the 20th century. The second line at that time was occupied by Z. Freud.
The famous psychologist has hundreds of articles and several dozens of scientific books.
Skinner's theory of behaviorism is a breakthrough in the science of psychology. And it will be discussed below.
What is behaviorism?
From English behavior the word is translated as "behavior". Thus, Skinner's behaviorism is nothing more than a study of behavior under the influence of certain environmental factors.
Operant behavior
Skinner's operant behaviorism, or operant behavior, is any action aimed at achieving a specific goal. It is under the influence of previous factors and consequences.
Thus, the theory of operant conditioning is as follows: a learning process based on the actions of previous factors and consequences.
The consequences form operant behavior. And therefore, its frequency in the future increases or decreases.
Previous factors influence the manifestation of behavior in the present tense.
Briefly about Skinner's behaviorism: the formation of operant behavior occurs as a result of "operating with consequences." That is, certain environmental conditions are created.
Creating conditions
These conditions, according to Skinner behaviorism, are created using positive or negative reinforcements (reinforcements). Positive reinforcement reinforces the manifestation of this or that behavior in the future. The negative, on the contrary, extinguishes it.
For example, a child is constantly acting up in a store. Mom buys him a chocolate bar or a toy, the baby stops his whims. Chocolate is a positive reinforcement in this situation for a little whim. He has already developed a clear algorithm of behavior, and the child knows that if he starts a tantrum in the store, he will receive a kind of amplification for this.
Another example. The child rolls a tantrum in the store. Mom ignores. The child screams even more, trying to fall to the floor and fight in hysteria. Mom spanks him badly and takes him out of the store without buying anything. The second time, the baby again includes such a system of behavior, and again receives a slap. It is unlikely for the third time he wants to be spanked. The child begins to behave calmly in the store, not trying to be capricious. And why? Because the slap is negative reinforcement. And the kid does not like this method, so he will try to avoid it in the future.
Reinforcing behavior
The principle of reinforcing behavior is a process that occurs in the environment after the behavior has already formed and manifested.
Amplification occurs immediately after the manifestation of behavior.
Positive reinforcement is the manifestation of a stimulus after a demonstration of behavior. It leads to its strengthening in the future.
Negative amplification is a stimulus that is given immediately after the manifestation of behavior, and reduces its subsequent possibility of occurrence.
According to Skinner's operant behaviorism, negative reinforcement is liberation. Having received it once, a person in the future will seek to free himself from strengthening an unpleasant stimulus.
Types of amplification processes
Behaviorism of B. Skinner speaks of two types of these processes: direct and indirect. The first are processes in which external environmental irritants are involved that have a direct effect on humans. They, in turn, are divided into:
- Positive - attention, sleep, food.
- Negative - avoiding an unpleasant person.
Direct processes are automatic. They, like indirect ones, are divided into positive and negative.
Attenuation processes
Skinner's behaviorism also includes attenuation processes. What it is? This is a process of punishment or weakening that occurs after the behavior has manifested. And it leads to the weakening of unwanted behavior in the future.
These processes are divided into positive and negative.
Positive attenuation is a process in which, after the manifestation of behavior, an unpleasant stimulus is provided, leading to a decrease and / or reduction in future behavior.
Negative attenuation is the process of eliminating pleasant incentives after demonstrating undesirable behavior, so that the manifestation of behavior in the future decreases or decreases.
Previous factors
One of the stages of Skinner's behaviorism includes various stimuli and motivational operations.
Motivational operations increase or decrease the effectiveness of a particular stimulus to enhance or weaken behavior. They are divided into stimulating and suppressing.
Motivators increase motivational value. So, the probability of occurrence of behavior increases.
The suppressors, in turn, lower the motivational value of the stimulus, reducing the likelihood of this or that behavior.
Incentives
They influence behavior due to past experience. They can be divided into three options.
- After the behavior, an intensifying consequence will occur.
- Amplifying effects will not occur.
- An unpleasant consequence will occur, which will lead to a weakening of behavior in the future.
That is, the first option is a stimulating effect. Behavior will be more likely to occur, as it intensified in the past in the presence of this stimulus.
The second option is an overwhelming effect. The behavior will not occur, since in the past, under the influence of this stimulus, the quenching process occurred.
The third option is a prohibitive effect. The behavior will not occur because in the past, in the presence of a given stimulus, an unpleasant stimulus appeared that weakened it.
Skinner's radical behaviorism
To understand what it is, you need to know his attitude to the theory of Z. Freud. Skinner believed that he made a colossal discovery that human behavior, to a large extent, is due to unconscious reasons. However, he fundamentally disagreed with Freud about his invention of the psychic apparatus and the accompanying processes for explaining human behavior.
According to Skinner, behavior processes have nothing to do with behavior. Mental links only create a problem for explaining behavior.
Skinner believed that reflex is the concept of the relationship between a stimulus and the response to that stimulus. Thus, if the body receives reinforcement for its behavior, then it intensifies. The body remembers them, and accordingly, there is a memorization and formation of a certain type of behavior. If there is no reinforcement, then behavioral acts, not supported by anything, disappear from the repertoire of the organism’s behavior.
This can be called reflex behavior or involuntary. Its main difference from operant is that the latter cannot be called up. It is voluntary. And reflex behavior is caused by one or another stimulus, whether it is conditional or unconditional. This theory coincided with the opinion of the Russian scientist I. Pavlov.
Man management
Education in the concept of behaviorism of B. Skinner is based on the fact that a person’s personality is a combination of physical reactions that occur in the presence of previous factors and consequences.
Human behavior is formed according to reinforcements. Most often, based on the positive. It can also form under the influence of negative reinforcement.
Knowing this, human behavior can be controlled based on:
- Positive reinforcement of correct reactions. This contributes to their consolidation in the behavior of the individual.
- Subjective values reinforcements. That is, based on what is most challenging for a given person.
- Operant conditioning. A person knows that their behavior may be followed by negative reinforcement. To avoid negative consequences, a person is quite capable of abandoning a particular type of behavior.
- Subjective probability of consequences. If a person realizes that the probability of negative reinforcement from his actions is small, he is ready to take risks.
- Imitation. People tend to unconsciously imitate those whom they consider their authority.
- Personality type. Managing those who tend to shift responsibility for their actions and actions to other people and life circumstances is much easier. This type of personality is called externalities. Internals, on the contrary, take full responsibility for what is happening with them only on themselves.
Beyond Freedom and Dignity
Speaking of Skinner, it's hard not to mention this book. In it, all the old values and ideals of an ordinary person are turned over. The author clearly and clearly sets out how to manage people. What is money, for example. Are they good for people or a way to influence the crowd? Or how to make a person work? It is enough to pay him a monthly salary in such a volume that is enough only for food. This technique has been known since ancient Rome, where people worked for food. Now in her role are rustling pieces of paper.
What is the value of human life, and most importantly - how to reconsider your own views and decide to change the usual way? Burres Frederic Skinner gives concrete and very clear answers for these questions in his book. For those who want to change something in their life, it will be a great impetus to action.
Conclusion
So, we examined Skinner behaviorism in psychology. What is the main idea of the article? Human behavior is formed under the influence of the external environment. This environment can be created artificially, and thereby manage a person based on 6 principles.
The secondary thought - positive and negative reinforcement plays a huge role in the formation of behavioral acts. If positive reinforcement is given for a certain behavior, then it will increase in the future. Negative reinforcement, on the contrary, contributes to a decrease or disappearance of future behavior.