B. F. Skinner Essay

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.

ancient history, specifically ancient Rome regarding the abuse of power it more often than not leads to negative outcomes. William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar depicts the rise

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

Zimmerman and Carla Copenhaven. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2007. 413 – 18. Print.

Often time power can be understood as control of material resources and wealth, control of politics and the institutions that make up society (Hutchison,2015). It is important to recognize and identify the core concepts of power or lack of power with individuals in society. The conflict theory allows examination within the text of those who hold power and lack power. The end result of power to hold dominance over another person, group, or society. As a result of the control and power is causes those who lack power to be devalued or alienated from a setting or even society (Hutchinson, 2015).

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.

There are many people in the world that have power. Their power is impactful to the people under them and maybe big enough for things like countries and the world. This is a big idea that Erich Remarque had when he was writing All Quiet on the Western Front. The war in the novel and the soldiers who take place in it are greatly impacted by the people who have control over them. The soldiers do not agree or like how they run things. A larger theme in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque is power is bad because instinct takes over.

Taking control of people,making yourself benefit, forcing yourself to the top, when power gets into the wrong hands none is safe. The more power someone gets, the more likely it will corrupt them. Power is mainly used in selfish and negative ways.

American psychologist and writer Lauren Slater, is the author of many books including the criticized and awarded book of Opening Skinner’s Box. This book is based on the recompilation of many psychological experiments presented as narrated as stories. Some readers have strong critics about Slater’s work because of the way she narrated every experiment. Slater added personal opinions and experiences during her researches which were printed in her book. The construction of the experiments conducted in the book is best examined by the first chapter “Opening Skinner’s Box” in this chapter, Slater is portrayed as a good narrator who tried to keep a transparency while looking for the truth about the “baby in

In America a person or group who is consider to have power are those who produce own land, own business and produce money to America and yet receives all the reources for example the class power. Class power is known for its firm decision making to the middle class and none for the lower class. There authority in which only want the best for themselves instead of multiplying wealth to the lower class by controlling society unqueal contribution. Through the use of this power this group are in control of resources an important help for the society agency in the most needed community. " Unequal distribution of societal power is to a large extent responsible for poverty, hunger, the destruction of nature, and inhuman living conditions. From the

The way a society is run and how things are enforced also can cause negative feelings towards power. It can cause many to rebel if they feel that a leader has too much control, and it can also make people covet and desire such strength leaders have. In Julius Caesar, Cassius

In B.F. Skinner’s novel called “Walden Two” he shows his ideology of a utopian kind of society. The story starts off with Rodge and Steve coming home from service in the Philippines after the end of WWII. Disenchanted with the American Life, they stopped by the office of Professor Burris (a former professor of Rodge) to ask about a certain person named Frazier, and a new society that this certain person Frazier is trying to build. Professor Burris remembers that Frazier is one of his classmates from graduate school. When Rodge mentions his interest in a utopian community that was showed by Frazier, Burris was shocked. He immediately looked up to his old directory and saw that Frazier is living in a place called “Walden Two”. Burris agreed to

One name that jumps out at the mention of psychology, or the study there of, is the name of Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud is also known as the “Father of Psychoanalysis.” Freud was also known for having the tendency to trace nearly all psychological problems back to sexual issues. Although only parts of his theory of psychosexual development are still accepted by mainstream psychologists, Freud's theory of the Oedipal Complex has become a cultural icon (Freud, Sigmund, 2012).

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