Analysis Of The Book ' Opening Skinner 's Box '

One famous behaviourist was Skinner (1904-1990) who was an American psychologist and believed in the role of reinforcement. There are two types of reinforcement: positive and negative. Positive reinforcement occurs when a particular behaviour is followed by a consequence that is desired such as receiving food, money or verbal praise. Whereas negative reinforcement takes place when a particular behaviour removes something unpleasant. Skinner used both positive and negative reinforcement in his experiment where he worked with rats and pigeons. He used a “Skinner box” to investigate the key values of learning new and challenging behaviours. Skinner used the theory of operant conditioning and would place the rat or pigeon into the “Skinner Box” the animal would then be curious and sniff and run around the box until eventually it would press the lever, which would release a food pellet. After a while the animal would carry out this behaviour many times, as it has learnt that after pressing the lever it will receive a food pellet as a consequence. As the pellet is experienced as reinforcing and something that the animal desires, this increases the chance of the behaviour being repeated. This is called

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.

Skinner 's theory of operant conditioning was based on the work of Thorndike that he reviewed (1948). Edward Thorndike studied learning in animals using a puzzle box to propose the theory known as the 'Law of Effect ', responses that produce a satisfying effect in a situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation. Skinner introduced a new term to Thorndike’s theory known as reinforcement (Skinner, 1948). Reinforcement is a stimulus (as a reward or the removal of an electric shock) that increases the probability of a desired response in operant conditioning by being applied or affected following the desired response. Skinner branched off Thorndike’s approach studied operant conditioning by experimenting on animals using conditioning chambers also known as a Skinner box and in 1948

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.

Thereby, Skinner produced experiments whereby rats would navigate through mazes to achieve the goal of a box containing food. His interest was the behaviour of the rat, taking the right turn to achieve the desired result, food. To begin with the rats would take the wrong turn but with experience, they became more skilful. The rats learning behaviour was measured in two ways, firstly the length of time it took from start to end and secondly, the reduction in errors. This was a lengthy experiment which led Skinner to produce ‘the Skinner box’. Whereby, rats learnt to press a lever and pigeons learnt to peck a key in order to attain food, also known as behaviour shaping. This experiment lacks ecological validity as the animals are kept in a controlled environment which is dissimilar to their natural habitat. However, the results which were attained could not have been possible in natural circumstances. Skinner wanted to observe if behaviour could be learned through reaching a desired outcome such as positive reinforcement which needed to be

Skinner created the theory of Operant Conditioning as he believed that all behaviour can be controlled by rewards or reinforcement. This is very different from Pavlovs theory of Classical Conditioning as Skinner is trying to control voluntary behaviour. This is done by giving the subject a positive or negative reaction to an action with the theory that a negative response will discourage the subject to repeat the action. A good example of this is house training a dog, as the dogs natural reaction is to relieve itself, however it must be taught to wait until it is outside. The more the dog waits until he is outside, the more praise he receives therefore it is less likely to wish to instigate a negative reaction by relieving himself inside the house.

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.

After reading the readings that I have read for this paper makes me sit back and think how others were raised. I wonder if these people were taught right from wrong. It is really hard for me to think that so many people just think of themselves and do not want to help anybody else out in a time of need. If it be at work, personal life, or in a state of emergency. I feel that if you do not help another person out you are a selfish irresponsible person. There are way too many people who like to make somebody else be responsible for what they should take responsibility for.

In the first chapter of Opening Skinner’s Box, Lauren Slater mentioned about B. F. Skinner, an American leading neo-behaviorist, who is known for skinner’s box. Lauren tries to explore about Skinner’s life and his accomplishments through this chapter like the title of this chapter, “‘Opening’ Skinner’s Box.” Skinner discovered that we can teach even small animals by using “operant conditioning” and their particular reactions against the conditionings; with this technique, he could even control the animals as he likes. However, for his unique experiments, there was a rumor that Skinner brought up his daughter in a skinner’s box as if she was an experimental animal and she was taken very young because of this experiences. Of course, this is not truth and she is still alive, but people believe this rumor and they have an image “evil” or “mad scientist” for Skinner. Now, Lauren figures out the truth of his stories and how his experiments and the achievements are excellent. Through her investigation, she decided to apply a kind of “skinner’s box” to her daughter for discipline.

B.F. Skinner’s theory of Operant Conditioning has at its foundation a desire to demonstrate a “cause and

In this chapter of, Opening Skinner’s Box, the author mentions how faith and devotion towards religion helped Linda Santo make sense of the tragic events that took place amongst her family. Linda’s youngest, Audrey Santo, was left to rely on life support equipment and had a tracheotomy hole drilled into her throat. Religious artifacts of various Catholic deities were placed around her bed because of Linda’s beliefs, hoping they would aid Audrey in her struggle. As time passed since the accident, the statues and artifacts around Audrey’s bed began to take on unusual properties. Blood would ooze from the wounds of the figurines, statues of saints would sweat unusual oils unknown to man, and positions would change during the night to face Audrey. Devote believers from various corners of the world would come to the Santo residence to pay their respects in hopes that they would be cured of what ails them. The world is sitting on this poor little girl’s shoulders and while she can miraculously bring joy to others, relief seems to pass this

In Slater's work Opening Skinner's Box, Slater views the experiments of Harlow with a malignant gaze, and often proclaims that his experiments were twisted and wrong. However, in a far more scholarly work by Robert Lickliter, he speaks of the groundbreaking results achieved by Harlow in the field of comparative psychology and behavioral psychology. So the question of which one is right springs to mind. However, they are not mutually exclusive. Even if one believed Harlow's experiments to be wrong and twisted, his results proved extraordinary for the field of psychology, and were worth the high cost.

Just as Freud is known as the father of Psychoanalysis, B.F. Skinner is often referred to ask the “the father of operant conditioning.” B.F. Skinner is also known for major contributions to the field of psychology (About B.F. Skinner, Sept, 2012). Skinner was a prolific author, publishing nearly 200 articles and more than 20 books. Skinner was most known for his work in behavior psychology. Behavioral psychology is the psychological practice that focuses on learning new behaviors and how to modify our existing behavior and how that takes place (About B.F. Skinner, Sept, 2012). One of his major contributions was his theory of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning means roughly, the changing of behavior by the use of reinforcement, either positive or negative, and which these reinforcements are given after the desired response (About B.F. Skinner, Sept, 2012). Skinner identified three types of responses or operant that can follow behavior.

Skinner conducted a series of research experiments with rats and pigeons under controlled laboratory conditions using a specially designed cage. By doing so he sought to demonstrate that behaviour can be created and reinforced by external factors. The puzzle box he created for his experiments has become so widely used that it is now known as the “Skinner box”. Animals would be placed in a cage which had a bar lever mechanism used to dispense food; Skinner would measure the frequency of the bar pressing and introduce different variables into the experiments. This led to his discovery of 'partial reinforcement' and its correlation to the slower extinction of shaped behaviour. When food pellets would only be dispensed once in a while (as opposed to every pressing) Skinner noticed that it took longer for the learnt behaviour to become extinct. The powerful phenomenon of partial reinforcement can be noticed in gambling establishments; a player on a slot machine is more likely to keep up their behaviour of playing if the rewards are unpredictable and occasional. The player becomes more persistent in their gambling in the hope that the next coin will be the winner (Hunt, 1993).

According to Gewirtz and Peláez-Nogueras (1992), “B. F. Skinner contributed a great deal to advancing an understanding of basic psychological processes and to the applications of science-based interventions to problems of individual and social importance.” He contributed to “human and nonhuman behavior, including human behavioral development, and to various segments of the life span, including human infancy” (p. 1411). One of Skinner's greatest scientific discoveries was “single reinforcement” which became sufficient for “operant conditioning, the role of extinction in the discovery of intermittent schedules, the development of the method of shaping by successive approximation, and Skinner's break with and rejection of stimulus-response