B.F. Skinner
1904-1990
Biography
B.F. Skinner was born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania on March 20th, 1904. His father was a young lawyer, and his mother was a house wife. Much of Skinner’s boyhood years were spent being very active and building things such as a cabin and inventions to help out with his small business ventures.
Skinner did very well in school by first getting his BA in English from Hamilton College in upstate New York. He wasn’t one that was big on school activities but rather enjoyed writing articles for his school paper. After Hamilton he went onto Harvard to receive his masters, as well as his doctorate. Skinner stayed at Harvard and continued doing research until 1936 at which time he was offered a teaching job at the University of Minneapolis. At that time Skinner met his wife Yvonne Blue which he had two daughters with. The later of the two daughters became quite famous after Skinner designed a crib for her that although proved to be very calming for the child looked too much like one of his experiments to become popular.
During World War II Skinner worked on a project for the government which involved using pigeons to guide bombs, but this project was later discontinued because of the radar. In 1945 he became the chairman of the psychology department at Indiana University but stayed there for only 3 years before being invited back to Harvard where he remained for the rest of his life. Skinner continued to be very active at Harvard by doing much research as well as writing many books, and guiding many students with their research. Skinner became a very important psychology writer with having written such books as Walden II which is a fictional book about a community that operates on his behaviorist principles. Walden II actually inspired a group of psychologist to start a community named Los Horcones which is based on Skinner’s principles and is still in existence to this day. B.F. Skinner died of leukemia on August 18, 1990, at the age of 86.
Los Horcones
The name "Los Horcones" is a regional word in Spanish for “The Pillars.” The objective of this community is to establish an alternative lifestyle based on cooperation, sharing, non-violence, equality and ecological sustainability. At Los Horcones people learn to live cooperatively and work towards the common good by sharing responsibilities, rights and possessions in a tranquil atmosphere instead of living competitively which leads to aggressive behaviors. From the very beginning, Los Horcones has elaborated a list of objectives which served the members as objective criteria of what behaviors the community promoted (reinforced) among its members and which it didn't (extinguished). The list has been modified throughout the years, on the basis of what proves to be useful in achieving the common goals of the community.
Los Horcones is self-sufficient financially, partly self-sufficient in food and is self-sufficient in elementary, middle and high school. Los Horcones is a well maintained community which draws its water from its own 2 wells, electric power from the nearby city as well as its own power plant, sewage plant, and has radio communication, cellular telephones, and computers. There is also a town hospital with doctors, and nursing staff not far from the community. Presently, there are 22 buildings in the community as well as corrals and for animals, gardens and orchards. There are 18 communal buildings and 4 are private buildings which are used as living quarters for residences and visitors. The communal buildings consist of places like the dinning room, kitchen, offices, shops, school, library, laundry, etc. Members can use whatever is in the communal buildings without asking anybody for permission. In contrast the living quarters are private, every member or couple have their own private bedroom usually with a bathroom, a visitor needs to ask permission to go inside or to use something kept that is kept there. The population in Los Horcones has ranged from 20 to 40 members, and in some instances has been as high as 60 including visitors.
Operant Conditioning
Overview:
-The theory is based upon a critical linking of learning and behavior. Any change in behavior according to operant conditioning is a result of an individual’s response to a stimulus in the environment.
-When a Stimulus-Response pattern is reinforced, the individual is conditioned to respond.
-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. Negative reinforcers are any stimulus that results in the increased frequency of a response when it is withdrawn.
-One of the unique aspects of Skinner's theory is that it attempted to provide behavioral explanations for many cognitive phenomena.
e.g. Skinner explained motivation in terms of deprivation and reinforcement schedules.
Principles:
-Behavior that is positively reinforced will reoccur
-Stopping and starting the intervals at which you introduce the stimulus is most effective
-Information should be presented in small amounts so that responses can be shaped
-Reinforcements will generalize across similar stimuli ("stimulus generalization") producing subsequent conditioning
Social Impact
-Skinner suggested we are controlled by incidents of positive reinforcement. He argues no action is free. For any event X, that occurs there are subsequent causes that demand the occurrence of Y.
-B. F. Skinner argues people are the result of their conditioning. Since people are conditioned byt their upbringing and environments, we should control upbringings and environments as much as possible to ensure that conditioning is positive.
References and Related Links:
Skinner, B.F. (1953). Science and Human Behavior. New York: Macmillan.
Skinner, B. F. (1974). About Behaviorism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
http://www.loshorcones.org.mx http://www.bfskinner.org/http://www.wabash.edu/depart/psych/Courses/Psych97A/STUDENT%20PROJECTS/Skinner/hammondk/rs.html