Operant Conditioning (B.F.

Skinner)
Overview: The theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an individual's response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. A response produces a consequence such as defining a word, hitting a ball, or solving a math problem. When a particular Stimulus-Response (S-R) pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond. The distinctive characteristic of operant conditioning relative to previous forms of behaviorism (e.g., Thorndike, Hull) is that the organism can emit responses instead of only eliciting response due to an external stimulus. Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner's S-R theory. A reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired response. It could be verbal praise, a good grade or a feeling of increased accomplishment or satisfaction. The theory also covers negative reinforcers -- any stimulus that results in the increased frequency of a response when it is withdrawn (different from adversive stimuli -- punishment -- which result in reduced responses). A great deal of attention was given to schedules of reinforcement (e.g. interval versus ratio) and their effects on establishing and maintaining behavior. One of the distinctive aspects of Skinner's theory is that it attempted to provide behavioral explanations for a broad range of cognitive phenomena. For example, Skinner explained drive (motivation) in terms of deprivation and reinforcement schedules. Skinner (1957) tried to account for verbal learning and language within the operant conditioning paradigm, although this effort was strongly rejected by linguists and psycholinguists. Skinner (1971) deals with the issue of free will and social control. Scope/Application: Operant conditioning has been widely applied in clinical settings (i.e., behavior modification) as well as teaching (i.e., classroom management) and instructional development (e.g., programmed instruction). Parenthetically, it should be noted that Skinner rejected the idea of theories of learning (see Skinner, 1950). Example: By way of example, consider the implications of reinforcement theory as applied to the development of programmed instruction (Markle, 1969; Skinner, 1968) 1. Practice should take the form of question (stimulus) - answer (response) frames which expose the student to the subject in gradual steps 2. Require that the learner make a response for every frame and receive immediate feedback

3. Try to arrange the difficulty of the questions so the response is always correct and hence a positive reinforcement 4. Ensure that good performance in the lesson is paired with secondary reinforcers such as verbal praise, prizes and good grades. Principles: 1. Behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur; intermittent reinforcement is particularly effective 2. Information should be presented in small amounts so that responses can be reinforced ("shaping") 3. Reinforcements will generalize across similar stimuli ("stimulus generalization") producing secondary conditioning References: Markle, S. (1969). Good Frames and Bad (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley. Skinner, B.F. (1950). Are theories of learning necessary? Psychological Review, 57(4), 193-216. Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and Human Behavior. New York: Macmillan. Skinner, B.F. (1954). The science of learning and the art of teaching. Harvard Educational Review, 24(2), 86-97. Skinner, B.F. (1957). Verbal Learning. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Skinner, B.F. (1968). The Technology of Teaching. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Skinner, B.F. (1971). Beyond Freedom and Dignity. New York: Knopf. Related Web Sites: There are two journals that contain current behaviorist research: The Journal for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB) and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. While the work reported in these journals is not necessarily Skinnerian, much of it does continue the legacy of Skinner's ideas. A bibliography and access to Skinner's works is provided by the B.F. Skinner Foundation. More background on operant conditioning can be found at http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html

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Social Learning Theory (A. Bandura)

Overview: The social learning theory of Bandura emphasizes the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Bandura (1977) states: "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action." (p22). Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, an environmental influences. The component processes underlying observational learning are: (1) Attention, including modeled events (distinctiveness, affective valence, complexity, prevalence, functional value) and observer characteristics (sensory capacities, arousal level, perceptual set, past reinforcement), (2) Retention, including symbolic coding, cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, motor rehearsal), (3) Motor Reproduction, including physical capabilities, self-observation of reproduction, accuracy of feedback, and (4) Motivation, including external, vicarious and self reinforcement. Because it encompasses attention, memory and motivation, social learning theory spans both cognitive and behavioral frameworks. Bandura's theory improves upon the strictly behavioral interpretation of modeling provided by Miller & Dollard (1941). Banduras work is related to the theories of Vygotsky and Lave which also emphasize the central role of social learning. Scope/Application: Social learning theory has been applied extensively to the understanding of aggression (Bandura, 1973) and psychological disorders, particularly in the context of behavior modification (Bandura, 1969). It is also the theoretical foundation for the technique of behavior modeling which is widely used in training programs. In recent years, Bandura has focused his work on the concept of self-efficacy in a variety of contexts (e.g., Bandura, 1997). Example: The most common (and pervasive) examples of social learning situations are television commercials. Commercials suggest that drinking a certain beverage or using a particular hair shampoo will make us popular and win the admiration of attractive people. Depending upon the component processes involved (such as attention or motivation), we may model the behavior shown in the commercial and buy the product being advertised. Principles:

1. The highest level of observational learning is achieved by first organizing and rehearsing the modeled behavior symbolically and then enacting it overtly. Coding modeled behavior into words, labels or images results in better retention than simply observing. 2. Individuals are more likely to adopt a modeled behavior if it results in outcomes they value. 3. Individuals are more likely to adopt a modeled behavior if the model is similar to the observer and has admired status and the behavior has functional value. References:
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman.

Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall. Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall. Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press. Bandura, A. (1969). Principles of Behavior Modification. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Bandura, A. & Walters, R. (1963). Social Learning and Personality Development. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Miller, N. & Dollard, J. (1941). Social Learning and Imitation. New Haven, NJ: Yale University Press. Other descriptions of Banduras work can be found at: http://fates.cns.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/bandura.htm http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/bandura.html

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Theorist

-Albert Bandura

The Social Learning Theory Margaret Delores Isom November 30, 1998 Abstract The social learning theory is the behavior theory most relevant to criminology. Albert Bandura believed that aggression is learned through a process called behavior modeling. He believed that individuals do not actually inherit violent tendencies, but they modeled them after three principles (Bandura, 1976: p.204). Albert Bandura argued that individuals, especially children learn aggressive reponses from observing others, either personally or through the media and environment. He stated that many individuals believed that aggression will produce reinforcements. These reinforcements can formulate into reduction of tension, gaining financial rewards, or gaining the praise of others, or building self-esteem (Siegel, 1992: p.171). In the Bobo doll experiment, the children imitated the aggression of the adults because of the rewarded gained. Albert Bandura was interested in child development. If aggression was diagnosed early in children, Bandura believe that children would reframe from being adult criminals. "Albert Bandura argued that aggression in children is influenced by the reinforcement of family members, the media, and the environment"(Bandura, 1976: pp. 206-208).

Biographical Information

Albert Bandura was born in Mundare, Canada in 1925. He was raised in a small farming community in Canada. Bandura received his B.A. degree from the University of the British Columbia in 1949. In 1952, he obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. During his studying at the University Iowa, he developed the social learning theory. While studying at the University of Iowa, Bandura believed that psychologists should "conceptualize clinical phenomena in ways that would make them amenable to experimental tests"(Evans, 1976: p.243). Bandura believed that psychological research should be conducted in a laboratory to control factors that determined behavior. In 1953, Albert Bandura accepted a position as a psychology professor at the University of Stanford and he is currently employed there today. Albert Bandura has achieved many honors and awards from fellow psychologists. In 1972, he received a distinguished achievement award from the American Psychological Association and a Scientist Award from the California State Psychological Association. In 1974, Bandura was elected the president of the American Psychological Association. In 1977, he was known as the Father of the Cognitive Theory. In 1980, he was also elected the president of the Western Psychological Association. In 1989, he was also employed to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (Hilgard, 1989: pp.11). During his lifetime, he has written several books and articles that have been widely used in psychological research. In 1959, Bandura wrote his first book in collaboration with Richard Walters called "Adolescent Aggression." In 1973, he wrote Aggression: A Social Learning Analysis. Four years later, he published one his most prominent books called the "Social Learning Theory." These books

and articles are the most relevant psychological research in determining aggression and deviance. In 1941, Dollard and Miller published the book "Social Learning and Imitation. Albert Bandura stated that this book was one of the contributions to development of his modeling theory (Evans, 1989: p4). " I was attracted to Miller and Dollards work on the assumption that human development requires a much more powerful mode of transmitting competencies than does trail and error (Evans, 1989: p4). The Social Learning and Imitation theory suggested that people obtain competencies and new modes of behavior through response consequences. (Miller & Dollard, 1941: pp.26-42) Albert Bandura believed aggression reinforced by family members was the most prominent source of behavior modeling. He reports that children use the same aggressive tactics that their parents illustrate when dealing with others (Bandura, 1976: p.206). While studying at Iowa, Bandura became strongly interested in aggression in children (Bandura, 1977). In order to control aggression, Bandura stated that the problem should be diagnosed and treated during ones childhood. "We should not be subjecting people to treatments and then, some years later, trying to figure out what effects they have. We should test treatments before we embark on widespread applications (Evans,1989: p3.)." Children learn to act aggressive when they model their behavior after violent acts of adults, especially family members. For example, the boy who witness his father repeatedly strike his mother will more than likely become an abusive parent and husband (Siegel, 1992: p. 170)

Albert Bandura is most famous for the Bobo doll experiment. Albert Bandura believed that aggression must explain three aspects: First, how aggressive patterns of behavior are developed; second, what provokes people to behave aggressively, and third, what determines whether they are going to continue to resort to an aggressive behavior pattern on future occasions (Evans, 1989: p.22). In this experiment, he had children witness a model aggressively attacking a plastic clown called the Bobo doll. There children would watch a video where a model would aggressively hit a doll and " ...the model pummels it on the head with a mallet, hurls it down, sits on it and punches it on the nose repeatedly, kick it across the room, flings it in the air, and bombards it with balls...(Bandura, 1973: p.72). After the video, the children were placed in a room with attractive toys, but they could not touch them. The process of retention had occurred. Therefore, the children became angry and frustrated. Then the children were led to another room where there were identical toys used in the Bobo video. The motivation phase was in occurrence. Bandura and many other researchers founded that 88% of the children imitated the aggressive behavior. Eight months later, 40% of the same children reproduce the violent

behavior observed in the Bobo doll experiment http://www.mhcollegeco/socscienc/comm/bandur-s.mhtml . Observational learning is also known as imitation or modeling. In this process, learning occurs when individuals observes and imitate others behavior. There are four component processes influenced by the observers behavior following exposure to models. These components include: attention; retention; motor reproduction; and motivation (Bandura, 1977: pp.24-28). Attention is the first component of observational learning. Individuals cannot learn much by observation unless they perceive and attend to the significant features of the modeled behavior. For example, children must attend to what the aggressor is doing and saying in order to reproduce the models behavior (Allen & Santrock,1993: p.139) In the Bobo doll experiment, the children witnessed the Bobo doll being verbally and/or physically abused by live models and filmed models. Retention is the next component. In order to reproduce the modeled behavior, the individuals must code the information into long-term memory. Therefore, the information will be retrieval. For example, a simple verbal description of what the model performed would be a known as retention (Allen & Santrock, 1993: p139). Memory is an important cognitive process that helps the observer code and retrieve information. In the Bobo doll experiment, the children imitated the aggression they witnessed in the video. They aggressively hit the Bobo doll because it was coded and store in their memory. Motor reproduction is another process in observational learning. The observer must be able to reproduce the models behavior. The observer must learn and posses the physical capabilities of the modeled behavior. An example of motor reproduction would to be able to learn how to ski or ride a bike. Once a behavior is learned through attention and retention, the observer must posses the physically capabilities to produce the aggressive act. The children

had the physically capabilities of hitting and pummeling the doll to the ground. The final process in observational learning is motivation or reinforcements. In this process, the observer expects to receive positive reinforcements for the modeled behavior. In the Bobo doll experiment, the children witnessed the adults being rewarded for their aggression. Therefore, they performed the same act to achieve the rewards. For example, most children witnessed violence on television being rewarded by the media. Historically, bank robbers were heroes. Many people were highly upset about the death of Bonnie and Clyde. When individuals, especially children witness this type of media, they attend, code, retrieve, posses the motor capabilities and perform the modeled behavior because of the positive reinforcement determined by the media (Bootzin, Bowers, Crocker, 1991: 201-202). The Bobo doll experiment helped Bandura to theorized that "As children continue to age, the experience still effected their personality, turning them into violent adults http://www.mhcollegeco/socscienc/comm/bandur-s.mhtml Environmental experiences is a second influence of the social learning of violence in children. Albert Bandura reported that individuals that live in high crime rates areas are more likely to act violently than those who dwell in low-crime areas (Bandura, 1976: p.207). This assumption is similar to Shaw and McKays theory of social disorganization. They believed that a neighborhood surrounded by culture conflict, decay and insufficient social organizations was a major cause of criminality (Bartollas, 1990: pp.145). Albert Bandura believed television was a source of behavior modeling. Today, films and television shows illustrate violence graphically. Violence is often expressed as an acceptable behavior, especially for heroes who have never be punished. Since aggression is a prominent feature of many shows, children who have a high degree of exposure to the media may exhibit a relatively high incidence of hostility themselves in imitation of the aggression they have witnessed (Berkowitz, 1962: pp. 247). For example, David Phillips reported homicide rates increase tremendously after a heavy

weight championship fight (Cloward & Ohlin, 1960). There have been a number of deaths linked to violence on television. For example, John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagen after he watched the movie "Taxi Driver" fifteen times. In the movie "Born Innocent," a girl was raped with a bottle by four other girls. In 1974, a similar incident happened to a Californias girl. The girls who raped her testified in court that they had witness the same scene in "Born Innocent." In addition, Ronald Zamora brutally killed an elderly woman and pleaded the insanity defense. His attorney argued that Zamoras was addicted to the violence on television. As a result, he could not differentiate between reality and fantasy. However, Zamora was founded guilty because the jury did not believe his defense (Siegel, 1992: p.172). Contemporary Views Today, many social learning theorists have indicated that crime is a product of learning the values and aggressive behaviors linked with criminality. Sutherland developed the differential association theory that suggests that individuals learn criminal behavior while in their adolescence from family members and peers (Sutherland, 1939, pp25). In "Deviant Behavior: A Social Learning Approach," Akers believed individuals learned aggressive acts through operant condition (Akers, 1977). In this process, the aggression was acquired after through direct conditioning and modeling others actions. He believed that positive rewards and the avoidance of punishment reinforced aggression (Akers, 1977). William Benson found that adolescents that watched excessive amounts of television during their childhood became adult criminals. They committed crimes, such as rape and assault, "at a rate 49% higher than teenage boys who had watched below average quantities of television violence (Centerwall, 1993: pp.70-71) Also, Banduras theory has made the public and political affairs realize that violence does cause aggression in children. He has spoken at a number of political conferences concerning the Bobo doll experiment and the effects television has on children. Several political candidates have indicated that violence on television does cause aggression.

President Clinton has implemented policies that would deter violence on television. Criticisms The social learning theory advocates that individuals, especially children, imitate or copy modeled behavior from personally observing others, the environment, and the mass media. Biological theorists argue that the social learning theory completely ignores individuals biological state. Also, they state that the social learning theory rejects the differences of individuals due to genetic, brain, and learning differences (Jeffery, 1985: p.238). For example, if a person witnessed a hanging or a violent murder, he or she might respond in many different ways. "Biological theorists believed that the responses would be normal and come from the autonomic nervous system. In the autonomic nervous system, the heart rate, increase blood pressure, nausea, and fainting would be normal symptoms of the responses that individuals might expressed in this particular situation. Therefore, the symptoms and behavior are not learned, but partially inherited. In addition, the social learning theory rejects the classical and operant conditioning processes. The biological preparedness of the individual to learn as well as the role of the brain in processing information from the social environment, are critical to learning theory, but they are ignored by the social learning theory. Social reinforcement is conditioned reinforcement based on the relationship of the conditioned stimulus to an unconditioned stimulus" (Jeffery, 1985: p.239). In the Bobo doll experiment, critics have argued that the children were manipulated into responded to the aggressive movie. The children were teased and became frustrated because they could not touch the toys. Many critics believed the experiment conducted was unethical and morally wrong because the children were trained to be aggressive. "How many more of the experiments finding a link between violence on television and aggressive behavior have ethical problems? It is not surprising that the children had long-term implications because of the methods imposed in this experiment"(Worthman and Loftus, p.45)

There have been many debates over whether or not violence on television causes aggressive behavior in children. Many studies have indicated that television does not lead to aggressive behavior. For instances, psychologists have found that some cartoons are very violent and cause children to illustrate aggressive behavior. However, the general public believes that children view cartoons such as Elmer Fudd shooting the rabbit as funny and humorous. It is the parents responsibility to inform their children that the cartoons are not real. Feshbach and R.D. Singer believed that television actually decreases the amount of aggression in children (Feshbach: 1971). They conducted a study within a six-week study on juvenile boys who regularly watched television violence compared to juvenile boys who were exposed to non-violent shows. After the six-week period, Feshback and R.D. Singer found out that the juvenile boys that viewed the non-violent shows were more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior than the juvenile boys that witnessed the violent shows. "The study show that the violence on television allows the viewer to relate with the characters involved in the violent act (Feshback & Singer, 1971: p.247). In doing so, the viewer is able to release all aggressive thoughts and feelings through relation, causing them to be less aggressive than they would have been without watching the violent television. This theory that viewing violence on television leads to a decrease in aggression is called the Catharsis effect (Gerbner,G., Gross,L., Melody,W.H., pg.40). Cooke believed that individuals tend to support the theory that television violence causes aggression because the public needs to justify the aggression they see in others. He also believed television was a form of education and positive role models. "If violence in television causes people to be more aggressive, than shouldnt the good-hearted qualities in television cause its audience to be kinder to others (Cooke,1993, p.L19)? Therefore, television can serve as deterrence if individuals focus on the positive qualities. Despite these criticisms, Albert Bandura s Social Learning Theory has maintained an important place in the study of aggression and criminal behavior. In order to control aggression, he believed family

members and the mass media should provide positive role models for their children and the general public (Bandura, 1976).
References

Allen,L., & Santrock, J. (1993). The Contexts of Behavior Psychology. Brown & Benchmark Press: Madison, WI. Akers, R., (1977). Deviant Behavior: A Social Learning Approach. Belmont Mass, Wadsworth: NY Bandura, A., & Walters, R.H. (1959). Adolescent Aggression. Ronald Press: New York. Bandura, A. (1962). Social Learning through Imitation. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln, NE. Bandura, A. (1975). Social Learning & Personality Development: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, INC: NJ. Bandura, A., & Ribes-Inesta, Emilio. (1976). Analysis of Delinquency and Aggression. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, INC: New Jersey Berowitz, L. (1962). Aggression: A Social Psychological Analysis. McGraw-Hill: San Francisco Bootzin, R., Bower, G., Crocker, J. (1991). Psychology Today. McGraw-Hill: New York Bartollas, C. (1990). Juvenile Delinquency. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York Centerwall, Brandon S. (1993). "Television and Violent Crime." The Public Interest, New York Cooke, P. (1993), TV Causes Violence? Says Who?, The New York Times Evans, R.I. (1989). Albert Bandura: The Man and His Ideas---A Dialogue. New York: Praeger Feshbach, S., & Singer, R.D. (1971). Television and Aggression, Jossey-Bass, San Franisco Gerbner,G., Gross,L.P., Melody,W.H. (1982), Violence and Aggression, Television and Behavior: Ten Years of Scientific Progress and Implications for the Eighties : NJ Jeffery, C.R. (1990). Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Prentice Hall, NJ Miller & Dollard. (1941). Social learning and Imitation. Yale Univer. Press: New Haven Seigel, L., (1992). Criminology. West Publishing Company: St. Paul, Minn

Sutherland, E., (1939). Principles of Criminology. Lippincott: Philadephia Worthman, C., & Loftus, E. (1992), Psychology: McGraw-Hill: New York. http://www.mhcollegeco/socscienc/comm/bandur-s.mhtml

B.F.Skinner Behavioral Psychologist

B.F. Skinner is a behavioral psychologist who became famous for his work with rats using his "Skinner Box". He took the extreme liberty of transferring his experience and theories of rats directly to human beings. It should be kept in mind that rats and people are tremendously different creatures, yet Skinner had no problem with easily assuming what was true for rats, on a very simple scale, would be applicable to human beings in very different and complex situations.

B.F. Skinner

Skinner had the "wonderful" idea to bring up his daughter in a Skinner Box (see picture below). How anyone could admire this man is beyond me. His book,Walden Two, is a utopian presentation of how he imagined the application of is theories would work out in real life. Of course, they never have worked out in real life despite his assertions and beliefs. In Beyond Freedom and

Dignity, Skinner put forth the notion that Man had no indwelling personality, nor will, intention, self-determinism or personal responsibility, and that modern concepts of freedom and dignity have to fall away so Man could be intelligently controlled to behave as he should. Despite the fact of the degree of implied human degradation involved,
the question always remained just who would decide what Man should be, how he should act, and who would control the controllers? The book is a ludicrous dissertation on flimsy behavioral psycho-babble and shoddy science, where simple ideas pertaining to rats and animals are casually transposed to humans. It is good to read some of this stuff to see how ridiculous absurd theories can be and even more how so many people can readily accept them as valid and useful.

In a traditional behavioral approach, Skinner followed

Mr. & Mrs., Skinner view daughter Debbie in a Skinner Box

in the footsteps of Pavlov and Watson. This view postulates that the subject matter of human psychology is only the behavior of the human being. Behaviorism claims that consciousness is neither a definite nor a usable concept. The behaviorist holds, further, that belief in the existence of consciousness goes back to the ancient days of superstition and magic and is useless. The behaviorist asks: Why don't we make what we can

observe the real field of psychology? Let us limit ourselves to things that can be observed, and formulate laws concerning only those things. Now what can we observe? We can observe behavior - what the organism does. This idea began with Wilhelm Wundt in the late 1800s, when the notion that psychology should forsake the human mind and inner personality. "Wundt asserted that man is devoid of spirit and self-determinism. He set out to prove that man is the summation of his experiences, of the stimuli which intrude upon his consciousness and unconsciousness. Realize, by definition, psychology means the "study of the mind or soul". To be honest, these practitioners should have named their subject something else, such as "people control" or "manipulating organisms", but instead they redefined the term psychology to no longer apply to the mind. The rule, or measuring rod, which the behaviorist puts in front of him always is: Can I describe this bit of behavior I see in terms of "stimulus and response"? Per Watson, "By stimulus we mean any object in the general environment or any change in the tissues themselves due to the physiological condition of the animal, such as the change we get when we keep an animal from sex activity, when we keep it from feeding, when we keep it from building a nest. By response we mean anything the animal does - such as turning toward or away from a light, jumping at a sound, and more highly organized activities such as building a skyscraper, drawing plans, having babies, writing books, and the like." The interest of the behaviorist in man's doings is more than the interest of the spectator - he wants to control man's reactions as physical scientists want to control and manipulate other natural phenomena. It is the business of behaviorist psychology to be able to predict and to control human activity. Watson says, "Why do people behave as they do - how can I, as a behaviorist, working in the interests of science, get individuals to behave differently today from the way they acted yesterday? How far can we modify behavior by training (conditioning)? These are some of the major problems of behaviorist psychology." As should be obvious to the reader that "behavioral psychology" has nothing to do with psychology per se, and all to do with managing behavior. It denies the very thing which separates Man from the rest of the animal kingdom - thehuman mind. It is a soulless pursuit which sees Man as an animal who must adapt to the environment, that is, the social system and political regime, rather than adapting the environment to his own vision and will. In this regard the subject has embraced by governments all over the world, as hopefully it would supply them with an effective way to finally get the public to finally behave as they desire. It hasn't exactly worked out that way, but that hasn't stopped them from continuing to try.

Skinner uses the idea of global problems to justify research into and the attempt to manipulate people - pollution, food shortages, depletion of natural resources, overpopulation, war and crime. To him the question is how to induceMan to behave properly so as to use new forms of energy, eat less meat, form smaller families with fewer children, use birth control, and act decently to each other. A seemingly noble purpose with a devious means to achieving the end. As with all behaviorists he assumes Man is incapable of responsibility, self-discipline, selfdetermined morality and even autonomous achievement because there is no self in the first place. To him you simple "react" and "behave" to external forces, and thought and awareness are nothing more than annoying, meaningless by-products. The result of this is that the concepts of consciousness, awareness, self-control, will, self-determinism, and personal responsibility cannot and do not exist within their ideological frameworks. These are considered minor things and of no meaningful significance. At best all internal subjective states, including feelings, are nothing more than chemical reactions in the brain or stimulus-response reactions to evolutionary and immediate environmental forces. He states in Beyond Freedom and Dignity: ". . . yet almost everyone attributes human behavior to intentions, purposes, aims and goals." ". . . as if they had wills, impulses, feelings, purposes, and other fragmentary attributes of an indwelling agent." "We shall not solve the problems of alcoholism and juvenile delinquency by increasing a sense of responsibility. It is the environment which is 'responsible' for the objectionable behavior, and it is the environment, not some attribute of the individual, which must be changed." "But as analysis of behavior adds further evidence, the achievements for which a person himself is to be given credit seem to approach zero." "If all else fails, punishable behavior may be made less likely by changing physiological conditions. Hormones may be used to change sexual behavior, surgery (as in lobotomy) to control violence, tranquilizers to control aggression, and appetite depressants to control overeating." It is interesting to note that modern psychology's failure to impart decent morality and education actually causesmuch violence and aggression, but instead of addressing this at the source, psychiatry jumps in to handle the "real problem", as they conceive it, which is really only a symptom of their own earlier failures, and prescribe oppressive treatments of drugs and lobotomy as solutions. They call their failures "learning disability", "dyslexia", "aggressive disorder", "attention disorder", and hundreds of other things. Skinner advocates complete environmental control of the individual (as a behavioral psychologist), but if that fails, then force the individual to conform through drugs and brain surgery (psychiatric methods). The "modern" behavioral view sees you as only a "behaving biological organism". From this

view who needs responsibility or any personal morality based upon the concept of human causality? To them these concepts are meaningless and useless. Of course, this approach in itself causes all manner of other problems which they then purport to solve with their biochemical and physiological psychiatric interventions. They first themselves cause the problem by advocating and enforcing unworkable methods of learning and morality, and then they apply more crazy methods in their pretentious attempt to "cure" the "mental disorder" they themselves initially brought about through their wacky psychological theories. Notice this keeps them in business and in power. The Skinner Box

Operant Conditioning
"Operant conditioning" describes one type of associative learning in which there is a contingency between the response and the presentation of the reinforcer. This situation resembles most closely the classic experiments from Skinner, where he trained rats and pigeons to press a lever in order to obtain a food reward. In such experiments, the subject is able to generate certain motor-output, (the response R, e.g. running around, cleaning, resting, pressing the lever). The experimentor chooses a suited output (e.g. pressing the lever) to pair it with an unconditioned stimulus (US, e.g. a food reward). Often adiscriminative stimulus (SD, e.g. a light) is present, when the R-US contingency is true. After a training period, the subject will show the conditioned response (CS, e.g. touching the trigger) even in absence of the US, if the R-US association has been memorized.

A Skinner box typically contains one or more levers which an animal can press, one or more stimulus lights and one or more places in which reinforcers like food can be delivered. The animal's presses on the levers can be detected and recorded and a contingency between these presses, the state of the stimulus lights and the delivery of reinforcement can be set up, all automatically. It is also possible to deliver other reinforcers such as water or to deliver punishers like electric shock through the floor of the chamber. Other types of response can be measured nose-poking at a moving panel, or hopping on a treadle - both often used when testing birds rather than rats. And of course all kinds of discriminative stimuli may be used. In principle, and sometimes in practice, it is possible for a rat to learn to press a bar in a Skinnerbox by trial and error. If the box is programmed so that a single lever-press causes a pellet to be dispensed, followed by a period for the rat to eat the pellet when the discriminative-stimulus light is out and the lever inoperative, then the rat may learn to press the lever if left to his own devices

for long enough. This can, however, often take a very long time. The methods used in practice illustrate how much the rat has to learn to tackle this simple instrumental learning situation. The first step is to expose the rat to the food pellets he will later be rewarded with in the Skinner box in his home cage when he is hungry. He has to learn that these pellets are food and hence are reinforcing when he is hungry. Now he can be introduced to the Skinner-box. Initially there may be a few pellets in the hopper where reinforcers are delivered, plus a few scattered nearby, to allow the rat to discover that the hopper is a likely source of food. Once the rat is happy eating from the hopper he can be left in Skinner box and the pellet dispenser operated every now and then so the rat becomes accustomed to eating a pellet from the hopper each time the dispenser operates (the rat is probably learning to associate the sound of the dispenser operating with food - a piece of classical conditioning which is really incidental to the instrumental learning task at hand). Once the animal has learned the food pellets are reinforcing and where they are to be found, it would, however, still probably take some time for the rat to learn that bar-pressing when the SD light was on produced food. The problem is that the rat is extremely unlikely to press the lever often by chance. In order to learn an operant contingency by trial and error the operant must be some behavior which the animal performs often anyway. Instead of allowing the rat to learn by trial and error one can use a 'shaping' or 'successiveapproximations' procedure. Initially, instead of rewarding the rat for producing the exact behavior we require - lever pressing - he is rewarded whenever he performs a behavior which approximates to lever pressing. The closeness of the approximation to the desired behavior required in order for the rat to get a pellet is gradually increased so that eventually he is only reinforced for pressing the lever. Starting by reinforcing the animal whenever he is in the front half of the Skinner-box, he is later only reinforced if he is also on the side of the box where the lever is. After this the reinforcement occurs if his head is pointing towards the lever and then later only when he approaches the lever, when he touches the lever with the front half of his body, when he puts touches the lever with his paw and so on until the rat is pressing the lever in order to obtain the reinforcer. The rat may still not have completely learned the operant contingency - specifically he may not yet have learned that the contingency between the operant response and reinforcement is signaled by the SD light. If we now leave him to work in the Skinner-box on his own he will soon learn this and will only press the lever when the SD light is on. From this procedure, even difficult to get rats to conform to, Skinner developed the absurd theory that Man could and should be controlled in a similar way for his own good and for the good of civilization. Skinner follows in the tradition of all elitists who imagine they know what is best for everyone else and have no compunctions about enforcing his ideas upon others in there own best interests.

The Stimulus and the Response: A Critique of B.F. Skinner - by Ayn Rand Meaning & Motivation - the truth about what really makes people really do things, but more
what enables them to live life causatively as a sane and responsible human being. Note: The book Beyond Freedom and Dignity was written under a grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health (HIMH). This shows first, the relation of the government to

behavioral engineering, and second, that even this massive government organization which claims to deal with "mental health" is quite comfortable dealing with theorists who blatantly deny the very existence of a mind and therefore anything "mental". Possible the NIMH should change it's name to something more appropriate, such as the "National Institutes of Human Control and Conditioning" - which would be a more apt name for what they are actually concerned with.
Suggested Reading!

About Behaviorism - by B. F. Skinner Beyond Freedom and Dignity - by B. F. Skinner Behaviorism - by John Watson Waldon Two - by B. F. Skinner

Say NO To Psychiatry! Back to Behaviorism Main Page Back to Main SNTP Page

Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner of Harvard has identified seven distinct intelligences. This theory has emerged from recent cognitive research and "documents the extent to which students possess different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways," according to Gardner (1991). According to this theory, "we are all able to know the world through language, logical-mathematical analysis, spatial representation, musical thinking, the use of the body to solve problems or to make things, an understanding of other individuals, and an understanding of ourselves. Where individuals differ is in the strength of these intelligences - the so-called profile of intelligences -and in the ways in which such intelligences are invoked and combined to carry out different tasks, solve diverse problems, and progress in various domains." Gardner says that these differences "challenge an educational system that assumes that everyone can learn the same materials in the same way and that a uniform, universal measure suffices to test student learning. Indeed, as currently constituted, our educational system is heavily biased toward linguistic modes of instruction and assessment and, to a somewhat lesser degree, toward logical-quantitative modes as well." Gardner argues that "a contrasting set of assumptions is more likely to be educationally effective. Students learn in ways that are identifiably distinctive. The broad spectrum of students - and perhaps the society as a whole - would be better served if disciplines could be presented in a numbers of ways and learning could be assessed through a variety of means." The learning styles are as follows: Visual-Spatial - think in terms of physical space, as do architects and sailors. Very aware of their environments. They like to draw, do jigsaw puzzles, read maps, daydream. They can be taught through drawings, verbal and physical imagery. Tools include models, graphics, charts, photographs, drawings, 3-D modeling, video, videoconferencing, television, multimedia, texts with pictures/charts/graphs. Bodily-kinesthetic - use the body effectively, like a dancer or a surgeon. Keen sense of body awareness. They like movement, making things, touching. They communicate well through body language and be taught through physical activity, hands-on learning, acting out, role playing. Tools include equipment and real objects. Musical - show sensitivity to rhythm and sound. They love music, but they are also sensitive to sounds in their environments. They may study better with music in the background. They can be taught by turning lessons into lyrics,

speaking rhythmically, tapping out time. Tools include musical instruments, music, radio, stereo, CD-ROM, multimedia. Interpersonal - understanding, interacting with others. These students learn through interaction. They have many friends, empathy for others, street smarts. They can be taught through group activities, seminars, dialogues. Tools include the telephone, audio conferencing, time and attention from the instructor, video conferencing, writing, computer conferencing, E-mail. Intrapersonal - understanding one's own interests, goals. These learners tend to shy away from others. They're in tune with their inner feelings; they have wisdom, intuition and motivation, as well as a strong will, confidence and opinions. They can be taught through independent study and introspection. Tools include books, creative materials, diaries, privacy and time. They are the most independent of the learners. Linguistic - using words effectively. These learners have highly developed auditory skills and often think in words. They like reading, playing word games, making up poetry or stories. They can be taught by encouraging them to say and see words, read books together. Tools include computers, games, multimedia, books, tape recorders, and lecture. Logical -Mathematical - reasoning, calculating. Think conceptually, abstractly and are able to see and explore patterns and relationships. They like to experiment, solve puzzles, ask cosmic questions. They can be taught through logic games, investigations, mysteries. They need to learn and form concepts before they can deal with details. At first, it may seem impossible to teach to all learning styles. However, as we move into using a mix of media or multimedia, it becomes easier. As we understand learning styles, it becomes apparent why multimedia appeals to learners and why a mix of media is more effective. It satisfies the many types of learning preferences that one person may embody or that a class embodies. A review of the literature shows that a variety of decisions must be made when choosing media that is appropriate to learning style. Visuals: Visual media help students acquire concrete concepts, such as object identification, spatial relationship, or motor skills where words alone are inefficient. Printed words: There is disagreement about audio's superiority to print for affective objectives; several models do not recommend verbal sound if it is not part of the task to be learned. Sound: A distinction is drawn between verbal sound and non-verbal sound such as music. Sound media are necessary to present a stimulus for recall or

sound recognition. Audio narration is recommended for poor readers. Motion: Models force decisions among still, limited movement, and full movement visuals. Motion is used to depict human performance so that learners can copy the movement. Several models assert that motion may be unnecessary and provides decision aid questions based upon objectives. Visual media which portray motion are best to show psychomotor or cognitive domain expectations by showing the skill as a model against which students can measure their performance. Color: Decisions on color display are required if an object's color is relevant to what is being learned. Realia: Realia are tangible, real objects which are not models and are useful to teach motor and cognitive skills involving unfamiliar objects. Realia are appropriate for use with individuals or groups and may be situation based. Realia may be used to present information realistically but it may be equally important that the presentation corresponds with the way learner's represent information internally. Instructional Setting: Design should cover whether the materials are to be used in a home or instructional setting and consider the size what is to be learned. Print instruction should be delivered in an individualized mode which allows the learner to set the learning pace. The ability to provide corrective feedback for individual learners is important but any medium can provide corrective feedback by stating the correct answer to allow comparison of the two answers. Learner Characteristics: Most models consider learner characteristics as media may be differentially effective for different learners. Although research has had limited success in identifying the media most suitable for types of learners several models are based on this method. Reading ability: Pictures facilitate learning for poor readers who benefit more from speaking than from writing because they understand spoken words; selfdirected good readers can control the pace; and print allows easier review. Categories of Learning Outcomes: Categories ranged from three to eleven and most include some or all of Gagne's (1977) learning categories; intellectual skills, verbal information, motor skills, attitudes, and cognitive strategies. Several models suggest a procedure which categorizes learning outcomes, plans instructional events to teach objectives, identifies the type of stimuli to present events, and media capable of presenting the stimuli. Events of Instruction: The external events which support internal learning processes are called events of instruction. The events of instruction are

planned before selecting the media to present it. Performance: Many models discuss eliciting performance where the student practices the task which sets the stage for reinforcement. Several models indicate that the elicited performance should be categorized by type; overt, covert, motor, verbal, constructed, and select. Media should be selected which is best able to elicit these responses and the response frequency. One model advocates a behavioral approach so that media is chosen to elicit responses for practice. To provide feedback about the student's response, an interactive medium might be chosen, but any medium can provide feedback. Learner characteristics such as error proneness and anxiety should influence media selection. Testing which traditionally is accomplished through print, may be handled by electronic media. Media are better able to assess learners' visual skills than are print media and can be used to assess learner performance in realistic situations. from "The Distance Learning Technology Resource Guide," by Carla Lane

Genetic Epistemology (J. Piaget)

Overview: Over a period of six decades, Jean Piaget conducted a program of naturalistic research that has profoundly affected our understanding of child development. Piaget called his general theoretical framework "genetic epistemology" because he was primarily interested in how knowledge developed in human organisms. Piaget had a background in both Biology and Philosophy and concepts from both these disciplines influences his theories and research of child development. The concept of cognitive structure is central to his theory. Cognitive structures are patterns of physical or mental action that underlie specific acts of intelligence and correspond to stages of child development (see Schemas). There are four primary cognitive structures (i.e., development stages) according to Piaget: sensorimotor, preoperations, concrete operations, and formal operations. In the sensorimotor stage (0-2 years), intelligence takes the form of motor actions. Intelligence in the preoperation period (3-7 years) is intutive in nature. The cognitive structure during the concrete operational stage (8-11 years) is logical but depends upon concrete referents. In the final stage of formal operations (12-15 years), thinking involves abstractions. Cognitive structures change through the processes of adaptation: assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation involves the interpretation of events in terms of existing cognitive structure whereas accommodation refers to changing the cognitive structure to make sense of the environment. Cognitive development consists of a constant effort to adapt to the environment in terms of assimilation and accommodation. In this sense, Piaget's theory is similar in nature to other constructivist perspectives of learning (e.g., Bruner, Vygotsky). While the stages of cognitive development identified by Piaget are associated with characteristic age spans, they vary for every individual. Furthermore, each stage has many detailed structural forms. For example, the concrete operational period has more than forty distinct structures covering classification and relations, spatial relationships, time, movement, chance, number, conservation and measurement. Similar detailed analysis of intellectual functions is provided by theories of intelligence such as Guilford, Gardner, and Sternberg. Scope/Application: Piaget explored the implications of his theory to all aspects of cognition, intelligence and moral development. Many of Piaget's experiments were focused on the development of mathematical and logical concepts. The theory has been applied extensively to teaching practice and curriculum design in elementary education (e.g., Bybee & Sund, 1982; Wadsworth, 1978). Piaget's ideas have been very influential on others, such as Seymour Papert (see computers). Example: Applying Piaget's theory results in specific recommendations for a given stage of cognitive development. For example, with children in the sensorimotor stage, teachers should try to

provide a rich and stimulating environment with ample objects to play with. On the other hand, with children in the concrete operational stage, learning activities should involve problems of classification, ordering, location, conservation using concrete objects. Principles: 1. Children will provide different explanations of reality at different stages of cognitive development. 2. Cognitive development is facilitated by providing activities or situations that engage learners and require adaptation (i.e., assimilation and accomodation). 3. Learning materials and activities should involve the appropriate level of motor or mental operations for a child of given age; avoid asking students to perform tasks that are beyond their currrent cognitive capabilities. 4. Use teaching methods that actively involve students and present challenges. References: Brainerd, C. (1978). Piaget's Theory of Intelligence. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bybee, R.W. & Sund, R.B. (1982). Piaget for Educators (2nd Ed). Columbus, OH: Charles Merrill. Flavell, J. H. (1963). The Developmental Psychology of Jean Piaget. NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Gallagher, J.M. & Reid, D.K. (1981). The Learning Theory of Piaget and Inhelder. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole. Piaget, J. (1929). The Child's Conception of the World. NY: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich. Piaget, J. (1932). The Moral Judgement of the Child. NY: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich. Piaget, J. (1969). The Mechanisms of Perception. London: Rutledge & Kegan Paul. Paiget, J. (1970). The Science of Education amd the Psychology of the Child. NY: Grossman. Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1969). The Psychology of the Child. NY: Basic Books. Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1973). Memory and intelligence. NY: Basic Books. Wadsworth, B. (1978). Piaget for the Classroom Teacher. NY: Longman.

See http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html for more background on Piaget and his work. For information about current activities relating to Piaget, see the Jean Piaget Society or Piaget Archive web sites.

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