Abstract Cultural influence, the environment, surroundings, and the events tragic or otherwise influence a person’s development throughout their life span. These developments can affect a person’s personality and the way that they may behave. This paper will take a look at all of these aspects and how exactly they play a role in a person’s development. This paper will focus on the psychologist B.F. Skinner and the events that he went through during his life and how is affected his personality and behaviors. This paper will also take a look at Freud’s view of psychoanalytic perspective and how that fits in with Skinner’s life. This paper will look at two other personality perspectives and analyze how it fits with Skinner’s development …show more content…
Major Events/ Cultural Influences Burrhus Frederic Skinner otherwise called B.F. Skinner was born in March 1904, in Susquehanna, PA. B.F. Skinner was an American psychologist and behaviorist. Skinner came from a very strict household where both of his parents were very stern. Even though his parents were strict, Skinner grew up in a loving, secure, where his family tried to instill righteousness and morals into their children’s lives. When Skinner was younger he loved to be outside and was always building things with his hands. Since early childhood Skinner had an interest with animals and why they behave the way that they do. This followed him into his adulthood and even helped him develop the principles of operant conditioning. Operant Conditioning is a type of “learning in which reinforcement, which is contingent upon the occurrence of a particular response; increase the probability that the same response will occur again” (Feist & Feist, 2009). Through precise control of the environment, Skinner was able to modify the behavior of animal subjects. B.F. Skinner believed that a person behaves and act the way that they do because of the environment they came from or the events that has happened in their own lives. Not only while they are a kid but throughout their whole life. Also the kind of involvements that parents decide to have in their kids’ lives can also have
Skinner’s theory is based on the assumption that children learn by being active in the learning process . They use their senses to explore situations before drawing conclusions about them.
Lauren Slater is the author of the 2004 book called “Opening Skinner’s Box”. In this book, Slater writes about ten important psychological studies of the 20th century and she describes the personalities of the famous researchers who conducted the experiments. The book is written in story form with the author recreating the experiments in her own way. Slater uses the experiments to get the reader thinking about important concepts such as free will, authoritarianism, conformity, and morality. She writes about controversies that surround the researchers and she also tries to track down the actual researcher or other people who can help provide more information. In the first chapter of the book, Slater writes about the work of B.F. Skinner, who is known for his contribution to behavioral psychology, specifically the concept of operant conditioning. In this paper, I will summarize some of the major points from this chapter, titled “Opening Skinner’s Box” and I will also offer a critical analysis of the chapter.
One states six steps in which the counselor and child work through the problem, collect data, and set goals. This method is which of the following
This essay will cover a wide range of material to identify, compare and contrast the work of Harry Harlow and Burrhus Frederick Skinner. Harlow and Skinner did research and investigated the influences on behaviour; this essay will draw upon both investigations. Further into the essay it will identify some similarities and differences into both researches with a supported argument about the importance and implications of both studies. The essay will then conclude with a conclusion on the findings.
B.F. Skinner, born on March 20th 1904, was an American behavioural psychologist who carried who carried out many experiments based on how behaviour is shaped and that all humans will regurgitate the things they enjoy doing and avoid those they dislike. He understood that creative people will be rewarded positively in order for that person to take an interest in that particular activity and develop further. He based his theories on self-observation,
Skinner preferred the company of his mother, Grace Skinner, than his father; he had more to gain in his household growing up by pleasing “his mother than his father, given her dominance in the home” (6). This trend, of preferring female company, began in adolescence and carried on throughout his life, “except for his wife, daughters, and mother, he often treated women as sexual objects, somewhat like an adolescent, without committed affairs” (6) Throughout his life, beginning as a child Skinner sought autonomy, “he tried not to depend on anyone for anything” (2). This could have been exacerbated by the culture in his small town community, professional counseling was either scarce or unavailable, which encouraged people to search for assistance from “friends and relatives, physicians, misters, and lawyers—or to struggle harder on their own” (3). The attitudes and opinions of others did not interest him “unless they frustrated or facilitated what he wanted to do” (3). This desire for autonomy and ability to understand what others find confusing assisted him in becoming a capable leader and
This assignment begins by explaining how psychology has developed over the centuries to current day. Psychology did not become an independent area of study until the 19th century. Two theoretical perspectives will then be evaluated; the psychodynamic theory including the work of Freud. Followed by the biological theory, concluding with the conclusion.
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.
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
In behavioural theorist B. F. Skinner 's perspective; an individuals personality development is heavily influenced by their environment and prior experiences (Sincero 2012) , he wrote that 'A person does not act upon the world, the work acts upon him ' (Skinner 1971) . Skinner proposed that the development of an individuals personality is largely dependant on the way in which significant adults in their lives would reward or punish then throughout the course of their childhood. (Carter Grivas 2005, p. 407-408) Therefore, children and adolescents raised by abusive and aggressive parents are more inclined to also be come aggressive and hostile towards peers. (Hellesvig-Gaskell n.d)
Psychologist B.F. Skinner was born March 20, 1904 and passed away August 18, 1990. Raised in a small town in Pennsylvania by his father William who was a lawyer and his mother Grace. Skinner had a younger brother who he watched die at age sixteen due to cerebral hemorrhage. He attended Hamilton College in New York with plans of becoming a writer. After graduating with his B.A. in English literature he attended Harvard University. Here Skinner invented his prototype for the Skinner box. After Graduating he tried to write a novel which unsuccessfully failed. After his studies in psychology he then developed his own idea on behaviorism. Skinner then received a Ph.D. from Harvard and was a researcher there until 1936. He went on to teach at
B. F. Skinner thought of personality in terms of the effects external stimuli have on behavior. This emphasized the mutual interaction of the person or "the organism" with its environment. An example of this is something a baby learns. If a baby cries and receives attention, it teaches the baby that in order to get attention they need to cry. Princess Diana learned that external stimuli have a huge effect on her behavior.
Three major events in the early twentieth century greatly influenced Skinner’s work: Darwin’s theory of evolution, Freud’s psychoanalysis, and Pavlov’s approach to conditioning. Darwin asserted that all life forms evolved from simple forms and that the selection of characteristics contribute to the survival of each individual. Skinner believed that Darwin’s ideas could be applied to behaviorism and coined the idea of “selection by consequences” to explain why people act how they act. Psychoanalysis began in the early 1900s and Freud focused on the idea that people are driven by their unconscious and that adult behaviors are formed in childhood. Skinner agreed with a few of Freud’s ideas; both psychologists believed that behavior has predictable effects and is not a result of free will. However, Skinner rejected Freud’s idea that the id, ego, and superego cause behavior. Pavlov’s
B.F. Skinner was one of the most influential theorists in modern psychology. His work was very important and has been studied by many for years. Skinner was a very straightforward man and a very educated man. His theories have helped mankind in many ways. He has studied the behavior patterns of many living organisms. Skinner was a well-published writer. His work has been published in many journals. He also has written many books on behaviorism. His most important work was the study of behaviorism.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born on March 20, 1904 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. Skinner was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and a social philosopher. Skinner is known for his discovery of the theory of operant conditioning (Wikipedia). Skinner was a graduate from Harvard University. Although he understood the importance of classical conditioning, he noted that, “principles of classical conditioning account for only a small portion of learned behaviors” (Woolfolk 250). Skinner expressed that through operant conditioning, behavior is strengthened or weakened by antecedents or consequences. Both theorists’ work have a major influence on learning/behavioral concepts.