Essays on B. F. Skinner

PART A- Operant Conditioning Theory

Operant conditioning is a theory on behaviorism that was formulated by behavioral psychologist, B.F. Skinner. It focuses on an individual's changes in observable behavior. According to B.F. Skinner, once a behavior is followed by reinforcement, it is more likely to be repeated; however, if it is followed by punishment then it is not likely to be repeated (Plotnik, R., & Kouyoumdjian, 2014). Bobby is a seven-year old child who is used to getting gifts from his parents every now and then right from a tender age. Every time his mother decides to go to the mall, she takes him with ...

Ivan Pavlov was born in Ryazan, Russia, in the year of 1849, in the family of the Orthodox priest. In 1875, he graduated from the University in St. Petersburg with the Life Sciences degree. After graduation, Pavlov studied medicine and was admitted to the Institute which specialized in Veterinary. He was in Germany and Belarus. There he was making experiments in the laboratories, researching digestion. But after coming back to Russia he began to study glandular secretions. His experiment animal was the dog. Pavlov applies surgical techniques to those dogs that is why it was difficult to make the ...

This assignment will involve learning more about methamphetamine,which is drug we hear about very often on the news. In one page, summarize some of the information that you read on this site and include any parts that surprised you or that you found particularly interesting. Submit your summary below via the upload option (5 points). Please go to the following two sites instead for this assignment. The first link provides a brief history of this drug. The second link provides other general, overview information about this drug. http://healthvermont.gov/adap/meth/brief_history.aspx, http://www.nmtf.us/methamphetamine/methamphetamine.htm

Methamphetamine, a.k.a., speed, ice, meth, crystal, and crank, is a synthetic ...

My Personal Theory of How Personality Is Developed

It is a common fact that personality is considered to be possessed by all people in this or that way. How people tend to think, behave and feel and what causes individuals to have these tendencies are the questions addressed by personality study and research. If developmental psychology and social psychology have merged as a subject matter in psychology, personality has never really found that unity. There has never been a fundamentally acceptable and precise definition as to what personality truly is. These aspects have not prevented personality from being one of the most argued subjects of psychological research and ...

Introduction

Psychology is a vast field. There are many laws, principles, and theories that govern the train of thoughts of psychologists and mental health professionals working in the field. Basically, psychology is a branch of science that is concerned with the academic and applied discipline of studying behaviors and mental functions of animals, which in this case, would be humans. Psychology is not only concerned with studying the behaviors and mental functions of an individual because it may also aim to study the behaviors and mental functions of a group or population. The objective of this paper is to discuss psychology in general, ...

Introduction

Many thinkers and scientists have proposed models and theories about how people learn; they are called learning theories. The learning theories are classified as behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, humanism and design-based. Behaviorism is based on the supposition that learning occurs for an organism through interactions with the environment. Behaviouristic school assumes that an organism always responds to a stimulus and the ‘responses’ are depends on the nature of the stimulus, i.e. rewarding or pain giving. Here, the learner is considered as a system that has the capability to respond to a stimulus and the learner is passive. The definition that emerged from the ...

PROFESSORINSTITUTION

Operant Conditioning 2 Introduction Operant conditioning is a type of learning where a subject’s behavior is modified through antecedents and consequences. The concept was first discovered by Ivan Pavlov who was studying the digestive system of dogs. The theory of behaviorism was introduced by John B. Watson. Later, B.F. Skinner helped define the mechanics of behaviorism through his work. Over the years behaviorism has grown in popularity and scope. Research has shaped the practice of behaviorism as it has been adapted by many disciplines (education, psychology). The most popular use of Behavioral Therapy today is found in treating ...

The task of this paper on motivation is designed to describe the two scenarios provided from a motivation standpoint. The first chosen scenario is the one involving the person who bought a new Audi car who sees the word ‘FUSE’ lit up on the dashboard, followed by an annoying beeping sound after which the car dies. Several trips to the dealership in an effort to get the car fixed inspires emotional annoyance and creates inconvenience. The second chosen scenario involves Jill who meets Jack on a roller coaster ride and falls madly in love with him. In the beginning of their acquaintance ...

Introduction

The psychological field is familiar with the difference of B.F. Skinner and John Watson’s theoretical perspectives. However, none of the two differs as much as Edward Tolman’s perspectives. One of his popular assertions is that his believes in the importance of every aspect in the psychological field. In addition, all those aspects can undergo investigation through perpetual theoretical and practical analysis of rat demeanor determiners in a maze (Pickren & Rutherford, 2010). These different perspectives are captivating and are popular in this era’s modern psychology. This paper will generate a fair comparison and contrast on Skinner and Watson’s ...

Abstract

This paper covers the debated topic on the psychological theorists – Sigmund Freud and B. F. Skinner – and discusses their theories. Additionally, this paper takes the opinion that considering the review of the behaviorism and psychoanalytic theories, B. F. Skinner best describes the psychological approach of understanding human behavior. Therefore, he could have served as a better therapist for depression patients. Psychology, like other disciplines such as philosophy and theology has been subjected to several and constant controversy that has always encompassed several divergent philosophies, ideas, and perspectives. In philosophy, people belonging to a specific school of thought would seek to ...

Introduction

Walden Two is a bizarre utopian novel written by Burrhus Frederick Skinner a behavioral specialist in 1945 during World War II. It was first published in 1948 a time when Skinner had thought deeply of the current events taking place in his society and in the world at large. Though quite seriously intended, Walden Two comes across as an unplanned travesty of social engineering. It basically describes a community in which one thousand people live in plenty and harmony through the purposeful practice of behavioral engineering. Critically, the book makes a leap off from studies and analysis in the library to a vast social setting ...

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is a form of psychotherapy created by Albert Ellis. According to Ellis, the theory helps the clients to accept the irrational and change it to rational. The key theorists are: i. Albert Ellis ii. Watson and Rayner – the little Albert experiment iii. Ivan Pavlov – the Classical conditioning. This was later expanded by Arnold Lazarus iv. B.F. Skinner - operant conditioning v. Albert Bandura - social cognitive theory or social learning theory vi. Joseph Wolpe - approach to the understanding and treatment of anxiety

The Appropriate Populations for the Theory ...