Freud and Skinner's Approaches to Understanding Behavior - Coursework Example

Freud and Skinner Psychologists who deal with personalities are often faced with several questions like what factors influence the changingpatterns of behavior and what differentiates one individual with the other. There are also other areas of doubt like the role of intuition and subject experience on human mind, differences in personalities between individuals, common needs and emotions of humans, and how people are motivated to behave in a particular manner. Both Freud and Skinner attempted to provide explanations to all such questions, but their concepts and perceptions of human behavior had contrasting elements. Human behavior and its evolutionary process have been explained by numerous psychoanalysts, but such explanations have always been under the scanner because of their abstract nature. This does not conclude that such explanations are false but they are always akin to speculations since it is never possible to know the accuracy of human behavior. B.F. Skinner was a twentieth century American psychologist, behaviorist and social philosopher. He talked about Radical behaviorism which is a philosophy of behavioral pattern. He believed that behaviour is in general casual and is affected by circumstantial events. His perception of behavior has influenced other scientists to study on social behavior and contingencies. Freud was an Austrian neurologist and is an important name in the world of psychology. He believed that human behavior is influenced mostly by the unconscious mind. His theory is in direct contrast to Skinner as the latter has taken a more scientific approach. Skinner did not consider a person’s consciousness as valid data while Freud has mainly focused on the unconscious mind. This paper will attempt to compare and contrast Freud and Skinners approaches to understanding behavior. Skinner’s theory of behavior Skinner believed that human behavior is completely influenced by external factors and genetic influences. He did not believe in free will and regarded it as a myth. His behavioral theory was based on response to circumstances and their consequences. He gave a more formal shape to this type of learning and he called it operant conditioning. Skinner was both popular and controversial psychologist among his peers. His most controversial theory was radical behaviorism, which explains that “behavior, whether animal or human, is completely determined by environmental and genetic influences” (Nevid, 2012, p.191). Skinner firmly believed that behavior must be measured and identified based on observational processes. The mind of a person which consists of thoughts and feelings cannot be observed as it is abstract, so it must not be considered while making scientific judgement of human behavior. Skinner’s perception of mind was that it is like a “black box” that cannot be comprehended with scientific methods. Skinner also said that some responses occur as reflex actions, but his concept of classical conditioning describes that “new stimuli can elicit existing behaviors, such as salivation” (Nevid, 2012, p.192). It cannot extract any new behavior. He, however, does not advocate the idea that behaviour is influenced by consequences because they generate “satisfying effects”. His theory of operant conditioning explains that “organisms learn responses that operate on the environment to produce consequences” (Nevid, 2012, p.192). Under this theory, the behaviour occurs in response to a consequence, and the presence or absence of the consequence alters the tendency of the organisms to repeat the behavior in the future. For instance, if a rat is placed in a special cage where there is a bar on the wall which if pressed will release food pellets in the cage, then the rat will continuously bounce around and press the bar to pile up his food. Thus the behavior of the rat will remain constant as long as same behavior (release of food pellets) is followed by his action. But if no more food pellets are given, then the rat will stop pressing the bar after a few failed attempts. This theory is called extinction of the operant behavior (Boeree, 2006). Skinner emphasises on observables, that is, the circumstantial events that influence behavior of organisms. Freud’s theory of behavior The physicist and neurologist, Sigmund Freud was the pioneer of major personality theory in the late nineteenth century. His studies were mainly based on childhood experiences as recalled by his patients who had mental problems. Freud based his theories on the belief that the experiences gained from the years of childhood have a major impact on the “formation of adult personality and psychopathology” (Ashford et.al, 2009, p.87). Freud believed that behavioral patterns of humans depend on the early-childhood development between the age of 5 and 6. According to Freudian theory, all kinds of human behavior are influenced by a specific kind of energy which is termed as libido. This libido is a continuous seeking of pleasure. Even contemporary psychoanalysis is based on this libido theory (Ashford et.al, 2009, p.87-88). Freud emphasized on the “biological causes of human behavior”. The libido theory can be explained by the theory that humans are prompted by strong inherent forces like hunger, thirst or need for sexual consummation. Human behavioral pattern gets developed by instincts which are inherent feelings, for instance, every person has the urge to satisfy his needs. Some of his needs can be necessities while others are born out of the habit of seeking pleasure. These kinds of “activated instincts” give rise to unpleasant sensations which explains an individual’s constant search of pleasure. This drives individuals to behave in a pattern to reduce his unpleasant mental conditions to achieve satisfaction of his needs. Thus the principal objective of human pleasure is “realized by means of drive reduction, and the goal of the instincts is to restore the body to a previous state of equilibrium” (Ewen, 1997, p.33) According to Freud, even an infant’s behaviour is guided by this same pleasure-seeking principle (Ashford et.al, 2009, p.87). According to Freud “unconscious is the source of our motivations, whether they be simple desires for food or sex, neurotic compulsions, or the motives of an artist or scientist” (Boeree, 2009). Freud also maintained that the aggressive pattern in human behavior is stemmed from his sexual drives. This is associated with human needs to consume material objects of life. The greatest violence as defined by Freud is “consumption of an organism by another organism” for maintenance of life (Ashford et.al, 2009, p.88). Comparisons and contrasts Although both Skinner and Freud focused their research work on human behavior and personality, their perspectives apparently seem to be wholly incompatible. Skinner’s theory is based around his definition of operant conditioning while Freud’s theory is based on psychosexual conflict. Each theory has its plus points and controversial points. Skinner, in general, rejected the idea of theories based of mentalities and imposed the concept that human behavior is largely influenced by the environment. His emphasized on the casual role of environment in determining human behavior and his approach was mainly scientific and he relied more on facts than on probable theories. He also felt the need to make theoretical constructions of human psychology. He founded and collected his data from the behavior of animals in his lab. He believed that behavioral patterns can both be formed and lost depending on the response from the environment to human activities. On the contrary Freud’s research was mainly based on the unconscious mind of human beings. He studied the childhood memories of his mental patients and placed a strong connection between behavioral pattern and the early development of childhood. While Skinner theories states that human behavior is determined by the external factors like environmental response to an individual’s actions, Freud on the other hand focused on the theory that human behavior is by large influenced by the inherent needs of an individual, be it a necessity or an urge to seek pleasure from consuming the materials of life. While Skinner focused on external environment, Freud’s approach was the mind of human beings. Freud’s theories were mostly based on elaborate speculations and formulated on indiscernible theory of the human mind. Freud considered psychoanalysis as a scientific process which reaffirms the claim of existing tension between the “goals of therapy and the goals of science” (Henriques, 2011, p.199). Skinner also maintained a connection between science and practice. He associated everything with human behavior and said that the ultimate goal of science is the control of behavioral patterns of human beings. Freud and Skinner stressed on a common cause of human condition which is that people are largely controlled by forces which their conscious mind is not aware of. This gives rise to conflicts between civilizations because of tendencies forming out of unconscious mind, and humanity may not find perfect solutions. Freud and Skinner both supported the theory that human behavior is controlled by two different systems. Both agreed that the system that exists outside the awareness of human beings may to a large extent influence the thinking process of a person, and also his feelings and behavior. Both of them agree that many causes of human behavior are not comprehended by the conscious minds of humans (Overskied, 2007, p.592). While Freud emphasized that human behavioral pattern develops from the experiences gained in the childhood days, Skinner believed that development and modification of behavioral patterns of human beings occur during the entire life span. Conclusion The subject of psychology and human behavior is a complex matter. No two psychologists will agree on all perspectives of each other. While Freud stresses on the unconscious mind and theorizes his concepts on its influence on human behavioral pattern, Skinner on the other hand emphasizes on the environmental responses to human stimuli. Skinner however supports the fact that Freud contributed immensely to the subject of human behavior and many of his theories are scientific. References 1. Ashford, J.B. et.al. (2009) Human Behavior in the Social Environment: A Multidimensional Perspective. USA: Cengage Learning 2. Boeree, C.G. (2006), B.F. Skinner, webspace.ship, retrieved on September 13, 2012 from: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/skinner.html 3. Boeree, C.G. (2009), Sigmund Freud, webspace.ship, retrieved on September 13, 2012 from: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/freud.html 4. Ewen, R.B. (2007). Personality: A Topical Approach: Theories, Research, Major Controversies, and Emerging Findings. USA: Routledge 5. Henriques, G. (2011). A New Unified Theory of Psychology. USA: Springer 6. Nevid, J.S. (2012). Psychology: Concepts and Applications. USA: Cengage Learning 7. Overskeid, G. (September, 2007). Looking for Skinner and Finding Freud. American Psychologist, 62(6), 590-594 Read More