Skinner:

Behavioral
Analysis
 OVERVIEW OF BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS
Skinner’s Radical Determinism and
Behaviorism: Environmentalism :
Origins of Behaviorism:

Skinner's "radical behaviorism" Skinner believed behavior is

Behaviorism, founded by E.L.
focuses on studying only determined by
Thorndike, John Watson, and
observable behaviors, including environmental factors, not
advanced by B.F. Skinner,
private events like thinking, and free will. He argued that
focuses on observable
avoids non-observable behavior is shaped by
behaviors and rejects theories
constructs, emphasizing reinforcement and stimuli,
like Freud's psychoanalysis.
empirical analysis of behavior rejecting the idea of
shaped by external factors. independent volition.
 Scientific Behaviorism

• Skinner's advocate for studying human behavior objectively,

without reference to internal motives, needs, or instincts. He argues
that just as natural phenomena can be understood without attributing
intention, so too can human behavior. For example, hunger is an
unobservable condition; instead of assuming it drives eating,
psychologists should focus on observable factors like food deprivation
that influence behavior. Skinner acknowledges that internal states
exist but insists they should not be used as explanations for behavior,
as this limits the scientific study of psychology. He believes that
psychology should emulate other sciences by focusing on observable
physical events.
 Philosophy of Science

• Scientific behaviorism allows for the interpretation of behavior

but does not provide explanations for its causes. Skinner
emphasized that scientists can generalize from simple learning
conditions to more complex ones, using principles derived from
animal studies to understand human behavior. However, he
cautioned against confusing interpretation with explanations of
why people behave in certain ways.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF SCIENCE

•SEARCH FOR ORDER AND

•VALUES EMPIRICAL LAWFUL
•SCIENCE IS CUMULATIVE OBSERVATION Science aims to identify
It values observation general principles through
Science builds on previous observation and prediction.
over authority,
findings, evolving over time. Skinner believed human
demands honesty, and
behavior follows predictable
requires caution in
laws, which can be controlled
reporting results. through operant conditioning.
 CONDITIONING
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING OPERANT CONDITIONING
Respondent conditioning Skinnerian conditioning
a response drawn out of a behavior is made more
the organism by specific, likely to recur when it is
identifiable stimulus immediately reinforced
Behavior is elicited from Behavior is emitted or one
the organism or is drawn that simply appears
from the organism History of
reinforcement
evolutionary history
 A. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
• Conditioned Stimulus
-Stimulus that becomes able to produce a learned response by
being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus.
• Unconditioned Stimulus
-stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a response.
• Conditioned Response
-a learned reflex response to the conditioned stimulus.
• Unconditioned Response
-an involuntary response to a naturally occurring or
unconditioned stimulus.
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
Key to Operant conditioning
immediate reinforcement of a response
organism first does something and then is reinforced by the
environment
Reinforcement
increases the probability that the same behavior will occur
again
does not cause the behavior, but increases the likelihood
that it will be repeated
Operant conditioning
changes the frequency of a response to occur
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
SHAPING
a procedure in which the experimenter or the
environment first rewards gross approximations of the
behavior, then closer approximations, and finally the
desired behavior itself — Successive approximations
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
3 CONDITIONS PRESENT IN
OPERANT CONDITIONING
A. Antecedent
environment or setting in which the behavior takes place
B. Behavior
response that must not be interfered by competing or
antagonist behaviors
C. Consequence
reward
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
BEHAVIOR IS NOT DISCRETE, BUT CONTINUOUS
behavior occurs as an ongoing stream of
interactions between the organism and its
environment
behavior is influenced by a continous interplay of
environmental stimuli, past reinforcement
histories, and current state of the organism
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING

OPERANT DISCRIMINATION
consequence of our reinforcement history

STIMULUS GENERALIZATION
a response to a similar environment in the absence
of previous reinforcement
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
REINFORCEMENT
1. Strengthens the behavior
2. Rewards the person

Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement

any positive consequence Subtracting a negative
that when added to a consequence from a
situation increases the situation that increases the
probability that a given probability that a given
behavior will occur behavior will occur
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
PUNISHMENT
Presentation or addition of aversive consequence

EFFECTS:
1. Suppress behavior
2. Conditioning of a negative feeling
3. Spread of its effects
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
FOUR TYPES OF CONSEQUENCES IN OPERANT CONDITIONING

Reinforcement (Increases behavior) Punishment (Decreases behavor

Add a positive
Add a negative
Positive (Add) Being taken out to dinner in recognition
Getting ticket for speeding
of your all-A’s report card

Subtract a negative Subtract a positive

Negative
Doing yoga to calm your feelings of Having your smart phone taken away
(subtract)
anxiety because you defied curfew
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
Conditioned vs Generalized Reinforcers
1. Conditioned Reinforcers (Secondary Reinforcers)
those environmental stimuli that are not by nature
satisfying but become so because they are associated with
unlearned or primary reinforcers (food, water, sex, physical
comfort)
2. Generalized reinforcer
a. Attention. d. Submission of others
b. Approval. e. Tokens (money)
c. Affection
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
Schedules of Reinforcement
1. Continuous schedule
organism is reinforced for every response
increases the frequency of a response but is an inneficient use of
the reinforcer

2. Intermittent Schedules
a. Fixed-ratio — according to the number of response it makes
b. Variable-ratio — after every nth response
c. Fixed-interval — following a designated period of time
d. Variable-interval — after the lapse of random or varied periods
of time
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING

EXTINCTION
Operant Extinction
takes place when an experimenter systematically
withholds reinforcement of a previously learned
response until the probability of that response
diminishes to zero
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
Rate of operant extinction
depends largely on the schedule of reinforcement under
which learning occured
Behavior trained on an intermittent schedule is much more
resistant to extinction
the higher the rate if responses per reinforcement, the
slower the rate of extinction
the fewer responses or the shorter the time between
reinforcers, the more extinction will occur
 B. OPERANT CONDITIONING
EXTINCTION
Once learned, responses can be lost for at least 4 reasons:
1. Simply forgotten during the passage of time
2. Due to the interference of preceding or subsequent
learning
3. Due to punishment
4. Weakened upon nonreinforcement
 THE HUMAN ORGANISM

NATURAL SELECTION CULTURAL EVOLUTION INNER STATES

As a species, our Cultural practices Skinner did not ignore
behavior is shaped by evolve because they various inner states, such
as self-awareness, drives,
the contingencies of helped groups survive
emotions, and purposes
survival, that is, those in the past, but not all
and intentions, but he
behaviors (e.g., sex and practices are rejected explanations of
aggression) that were necessarily beneficial behavior in terms of any
beneficial to the human today. Some practices nonobservable
species tended to may have started out hypothetical construct.

survive, whereas those as helpful but have

Self- awareness
that did not tended to become harmful or
Drives
drop out. irrelevant over time. Emotions
Purpose and Intention
 THE HUMAN ORGANISM

COMPLEX BEHAVIOR CONTROL OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

Skinner believed that even the Ultimately, an individual’s
most complex human behaviors, behavior is controlled by
like creativity, dreams, or environmental contingencies.
reasoning, are shaped by natural Those contingencies may have
selection, culture, and personal been erected by society, by
experiences. He acknowledged another individual, or by
higher mental processes but
oneself; but the environment,
explained them through
not free will, is responsible for
environmental and
behavior.
reinforcement histories.

Higher Mental Processes Social Control

Creativity Self-Control
Unconscious Behavior
Dreams
Social Behavior
 THE UNHEALTHY
PERSONALITY
Counteracting Strategies Inappropriate Behaviors

When social control is excessive, people Unhealthy behaviors arise when attempts to
can use three basic strategies for counteract social control or manage self-control
counteracting it fail.

•escape •excessively vigorous behavior

•revolt •blocking out reality to block
•passive resistance aversive stimuli
•Defective Self-knowledge
•Self-punishment
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