Analysis Of Opening Skinner's Box By Lauren Slater

Throughout life, one is to see many people they don’t know Humans walk past each other and no interaction occurs. Depending on a particular situation one might be in, it can change the ability to react, help and care for a stranger in need. In the article “We are all bystanders”, by Jason Marsh and Dacher Keltner, it shows how in certain settings people don’t act to help another, even though one might want to. “Everyday Stuart would board the bus and a couple of boys would tease him. I would sit silent and watch. I wish I would’ve helped” (Marsh/Keltner 3). People develop a feeling that prevents them from caring for strangers. This is due to a thought of peer pressure or judgement that could be given to an individual for taking action.

Often times, many forget to be kind to one another. When we are performing out our daily activities we forget to think about other people. Individuals can be naturally selfish or self- centered. There are multiple obstacles working against our being kind to one another. Our own success being one of them. We must remember to put ourselves in the shoes of the other person, in order to understand the issues in front of us. It is not easy to become detached ourselves from how we usually are nor how we are born, but it is imperative that we try to ensure a brighter future.

In chapter 1, Opening Skinner’s Box, Slater talks about a psychologist named B. F. Skinner. Skinner shows us how easily operant conditioning can be done. He believed that you have a better outcome if you study observable behavior instead of studying mental events. Skinner’s work focused on operant conditioning. People and animals were the subjects of his studies.

Burrhus Frederic (B. F.) Skinner, an American behavioral psychologist who believed the idea that human free will was an illusion and any human action was the result of the consequences of that same action, developed an experiment to verify if superstition was present in pigeons. Skinner’s beliefs led him to conduct this research experiment which ultimately declared him as one of the top psychologists of his era. Skinner believed that the best way to understand behavior was to look at the causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning.

Chapter 1 of Opening Skinners Box portrays the life and experiments of one B.F. Skinner. The way this one man researched and spent so many years of his life dedicated to his findings is not only crazy and committed, but encouraging, motivational, and stimulating. Skinner was a neo-behaviorist well-known and notorious for his findings about the behavior animals have when using positive reinforcement and what you can teach them to do with these findings.

In the Chapter “In the Unlikely Event of a Water Landing,” from the book Opening Skinner’s Box, by Lauren Slater. Slater describes a crime scene in which the witnesses didn’t do anything to help a woman that was being stabbed, she also tells us about a few experiments that were conducted in regards to how people would react when help is needed in certain situations, will they report the situation to anyone or just go about their business like nothing is going on. Calling for help or assisting someone in a time of need isn’t always something that people do as an immediate reaction, especially when there’s a crowd of people present.

Psychologist, born in Susquhanna, Pa. He studied at Harvard, teaching there (1931-6, 1947-74). A leading behaviorist, he is a proponent of operant conditioning, and the inventor of the Skinner box for facilitating experimental observations.

I wasn’t aware of the importance of doing good for others, until recently that I witnessed it with my own eyes. It all started when was at Chicago, a random man helped out a homeless man and bought him some food. I noticed as I was in line that the cashier then gave the helping man a free choice to pick something he wanted due to the action he did. After that day I began to make an attempt at helping out more and being a better person in general.

As I grew and became more knowledgeable and I have a clear view of my morals toward life, helping people become more frequent for me. This is a story that happened to me not very long ago when I was a freshman at collage. One of the most thing I hate to see happening anytime and anywhere is people mistreating someone that is homeless or in need. once when I was just walking by down the street just a few minutes after sunset to get I some fresh air. And I saw from a far a group of young teens gathering around a small corner down the street and went to see what was going on? To see them around this poor person that seem very weak and vulnerable. Forcing him to act in a very disrespecting manner for a very small amount of money. The instance that I saw that I was filled with rage and anger and wanted to jump in and stop what was happing to that man. But they were a group and I was alone so this meant I am outnumbered and would be over whelmed. Even though all of that was true I headed striate for them with a mad face and a tight fist and with no hesitation I shouted to leave that man alone. And all their attention went to me as that shout startled them, they stud there for a moment but as I kept on getting closer they would spread further and further and when I got to them they started acting all innocent. I told them with a stern voice to leave this man alone and never do what they were dong again. I would have

In Opening Skinner’s Box, Lauren Slater explores psychology’s most controversial experiments with her own distinct style. Her third chapter, “On Being Sane in Insane Places,” adds an unique layer to her novel by examining Rosenhan’s experiment. In Rosenhan’s experiment, he sent eight pseudopatients to different mental institutions, each complaining of one nonexistent psychological issue—a voice in their head saying ‘thud’. All eight of the psuedopatients were locked up for at least seven days, most being diagnosed as schizophrenic, even though they acted completely sane after being admitted (Slater 63). Slater, fascinated by Rosenhan’s experiment, set out to replicate it herself.

I believe that for majority of people Pre-Conventional (level 1) is what we base almost all of our decisions on. We imprint these concepts into our children from a very young age, we teach them that if they don't clean their room they will lose something, and that if they act and do as they are told they will be rewarded. I don't believe that there is truly very many acts of real kindness. Though some do exist, it's almost the exception to the rules of behavior. We live in a society that thinks if they do something nice for another it must be filmed, or ranted about. You see these videos everywhere some stranger buying a homeless guy a meal, or giving him clothing. If you need so desperately for acknowledgement for doing the right thing, it

So, why is that? John Darley and Bibb Latane explain exactly why people just walk by without helping in their essay titled, “Why People Don’t Help in a Crisis.” Darley and Latane describe what feelings people have when they pass a

So while I do agree with most of what Darley and Latane have to say about their observations, I can’t accept one of their ideas. Their idea of people not wanting to seem foolish seems to confuse me because as humans and as a society, we should always be ready to help one another in any given situation. What I mean by that is, a situation shouldn’t be treated differently whether you were helping a friend during an emergency or helping a stranger. And yes, there are times when people are too prideful to accept your assistance, though on the inside they may think differently. For example, if someone has fallen in a crowd of five-hundred people, everyone will walk on by expecting one of the other five-hundred people to help that person. You don’t want to be the person that took the time out of their day to help a person with a simple problem, though the action itself is very rewarding. We have to understand that helping others should always come first because when you think about it, ignorance can be murder in its own way. I scarcely fathom the reasons why we don’t help others because in reality we are already aware, and we need to stop that

There is a point in human life when we reach a strong level of selfishness, which influence our decision making. Even if we are raised to be helpful, respectful, and compassionate to others, that view can change once we get older. Human beings encounter many social organizations, which leave a mark on our views, manners, and approaches.

Even though there are a number of instances when people help others who are in need,