Behaviourism - BF Skinner - Essay Example

Behaviorism is a psychological theory first put forth by John Watson (1925), and then expounded upon by BF Skinner. Among other famous behaviorists are Ivan Pavlov, Clark Hall, Albert Bandura and other. Attempting to answer the question of human behavior, proponents of this theory essentially hold that all human behavior is learned from one's surrounding context and environment1. The foundation of this theory has been laid by the publication of Watson's article 'Psychology as the behaviorist views it', in which he wrote 'Psychology as the behaviorist views it is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science.

Its theoretical goal is the prediction and control of behavior"2. So as a subject-matter of psychology this theory presents not the subjective world of an individual, but objectively fixated characteristics of an individual' behavior, caused by some external impacts. The followers of behaviorism have stated that the analysis of behavior must be strictly objective and content itself with observation of reactions on the surface. All that is happening inside of an individual cannot be studied as an individual's thoughts and conscience cannot be properly measured or recorded.

Therefore nothing but responses and outward actions of a human being, and those stimuli and situations, which determine these reactions, can be researched objectively. According to behaviorists the main task of psychology is to spot the probable stimulus by response, and prognosticate some certain response by stimulus. From the point of view of behaviorism, personality is neither more nor less than a summation of behavioral responses inherent to a given person. Any behavioral response is originated by definite stimulus or situation.

The formula 'stimulus - response' has been principal in behaviorism. The law of effect described by Edward Thorndike3 specifies that the connection between S and R becomes stronger if there is some reinforcement. The reinforcement may be positive (praise, achievement of a result, some wealth etc.) or negative (pain, punishment, fiasco, censorious remarks etc.). Humans' behavior mostly supervenes from expectation of positive reinforcement, but sometimes the only predominant wish is just to avoid negative reinforcement, that is pain, judgment etc.

Following the conception of behaviorism, a human is first of all perceived as some respondent, active and teachable entity, coded for some responses, actions and behavior. Edward C. Tolman, who developed much of what would later become the cognitivist program, have called in question the formula S - R, as considered it too simplified. The connection between stimulus and response (S->R) Tolman has mediated by a third term - the organism (S->O->R). This new term has represented psychological processes of this particular individual dependent on his/her heredity, physiological state, backward experience and kind of stimulus.

In 1970es behaviorism represented its conceptions in a new light - in a theory of social cognition. According to Albert Bandura, one of the main reasons of our being people as we are now is our predilection to imitate other people's behavior taking into consideration to what extant fruitful the results of such imitation may be. In this way we may conclude that these are not only external conditions, which influence on individuals. Every person must foreknow the after-effects of his/her behavior by means of self-evaluation.

The particular branch in development of behaviorism is presented by edifice of B. F. Skinner, a psychologist, who proposed the theory of operant behaviorism. In accordance with classical conception of behaviorism represented by Watson, Skinner has studied an organism's behavior. On holding over the formula S - R he has studied merely operate side of behavior. Being based on experimental researches and theoretical analysis of animals' behavior, Skinner has formulated his conception of operant conditioning.

It should be mentioned that Edward L. Thorndike, who observed the behavior of cats trying to escape from homemade puzzle boxes, first extensively studied the operant conditioning. Later on Skinner has constructed a more detailed theory of operant conditioning, which has been based on reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. On the ground of behavior analysis the psychologist has stated own theory of cognition. As a key means of new behavior formation he has set forward some reinforcement.

The point is that all data received in the course of experimental work with animal Skinner has transferred to human beings' behavior, which has accounted for extremely biologicalised treatment of individuals. On the ground of results of experimental work, animals have got Skinner's version of program cognition. Its principled narrowness has laid in reduction of cognition to some set of external acts of behavior and reinforcements for the right ones. Herewith we do not take into consideration inner cognitive activity of learners, and as a consequence such cognition is by no means a conscious process anymore.

Following the guidelines of Watson's behaviorism, Skinner has excluded the inner world of a human being, an individual's conscious from the behavior, and has produced the behaviorisation of an individual's mind. Thinking, memory, emotions and other mental processes he has described in terms of responses and reinforcement, and a human has been presented as some reactive entity, which has been constantly leavened by outward circumstances. The biological approach to studying of a human being, inherent to behaviorism in general has drawn to a head in Skinner's representation.

All culture - literature, art, music, etc, - in Skinner's handling is just some set of catchy reinforcements. Bibliography:1. Tsamis, William J. Philosophy. A Glossary of Terms. Retrieved 07 Jan, 2007 from 2. Watson, J. B. "Psychology as the behaviorist views it". Psychological Review, 20, 1913: 158-177.3. Thorndike, E. L. Animal intelligence: An experimental study of the associative processes in animals. Psychological Review Monograph Supplement, 2 (no. 4), 1-109, 1898.