Deck 12: B.F Skinner: Reinforcement Theory

Question 1

How does Skinner's approach to personality differ from other approaches we have discussed?

Answer 1

S's approach to personality:
The research of Mr. S deals with both personality and behavior of people. His approach is mainly differed from his variety of experimental subject. Some theorists of personality focus on psychologically disturbed individuals and other theorists focus on ordinary average individuals.
The work of S has broad practical applications. He thinks that the behavior of human is more complex than the behavior of animal. Hence, he used rats and pigeons in his behavior approach.

Question 2

How did Skinner justify the use of rats and pigeons instead of humans as subjects in the study of behavior?

Answer 2

S's approach to personality:
The research of S focuses on both personality and behavior of people. His approach mainly differed from his variety of experimental subject. Some theorists of personality focus on psychologically disturbed individuals and other theorists focus on ordinary average individuals.
Use of rats and pigeons:
Mr. S was highly interested in behavioral reactions to stimuli. Sometimes animals will give more response or reaction to stimuli than human being. He thinks that the behavior of human is more complex than the behavior of animal. Hence, he chose to use rats and pigeons in his behavior approach.

Question 3

How did Skinner's childhood experiences influence his later approach to studying behavior?

Answer 3

S's approach to personality and his childhood experiences:
The research of S focuses on both personality and behavior of people. His approach mainly differed from his variety of experimental subject. Some theorists of personality focus on psychologically disturbed individuals and other theorists focus on ordinary average individuals.
Mr.S's parents were hard working and highly conscious on the behavior of their children. S was taught to respect god, fear police, and learnt to understand the people's mind in his childhood. As a child, S was also instructed by his father that some of his behavior was improper.
Such childhood's events and experiences made him clear that his behavior were determined by reinforcements such as rewards and punishments he had received in his childhood. Thus, his psychological system revealed his early life. Mr. S's involvement in the study of animal's behavior also derived from his childhood.

Question 4

Distinguish between operant behavior and respondent behavior. Give an example of each.

Question 5

Describe Pavlov's classical-conditioning experiment with dogs. How did Pavlov extinguish conditioned responses?

Question 6

What is the role of reinforcement in modifying behavior? How does reinforcement relate to superstitious behavior?

Question 7

Distinguish between positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment.

Question 8

In Skinner's view, why is positive reinforcement more effective than punishment in changing behavior?

Question 9

Explain the difference between the fixed-interval and variable-interval schedules of reinforcement.

Question 10

Which reinforcement schedule applies to the person who sells computer software on commission? Which schedule applies to the child who is allowed to have an ice-cream cone for good behavior only occasionally?

Question 11

Explain how a complex behavior such as learning to speak is acquired through successive approximation.

Question 12

Describe how you would use the method of successive approximation to train a dog to walk in a circle.

Question 13

How does the notion of reinforcement account for the acquisition of superstitious behaviors?

Question 14

Explain the use of self-administered satiation in getting rid of bad habits.

Question 15

What are the techniques for the self-control of behavior?

Question 16

Describe the token-economy approach to behavior modification. Give an example.

Question 17

Why did Skinner prefer to study the individual case rather than groups of subjects?

Question 18

What was Skinner's position on the nature- nurture issue? On free will versus determinism?

Question 19

What techniques do Skinner's followers use to assess human behavior?

Question 20

Discuss the impact of cognitive psychology on Skinnerian behaviorism.