SKINNER: Behavioral Analysis
Overview
 Behavioral analysis is a clear departure
from the highly speculative
psychodynamic theories
 Skinner’s strict adherence to observable
behavior earned his approach the label
radical behaviorism, a doctrine that
avoids all hypothetical constructs, such
as ego, traits, drives, needs, hunger,
and so forth
 As an environmentalist, Skinner held
that psychology must not explain
behavior on the basis of the
physiological or constitutional
components of the organism but rather
on the basis of environmental stimuli
Biography
Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born on March 20,
1904, in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, the first
child of William Skinner and Grace Mange
Burrhus Skinner. His father was a lawyer and an
aspiring politician while his mother stayed
home to care for their two children.
On August 18, 1990, Skinner died of leukemia.
One week before his death, he delivered an
emotional address to the American
Psychological Association (APA) convention in
which he continued his advocacy of radical
behaviorism.
Precursors to Skinner’s Scientific Behaviorism
Law of Effect (Two parts: The first stated that
responses to stimuli that are followed
immediately by a satisfier tend to be “stamped
in”; the second held that responses to stimuli
that are followed immediately by an annoyer
tend to be “stamped out.”)
Scientific Behaviorism
Skinner insisted that human behavior should be
studied scientifically. His scientific behaviorism
holds that behavior can best be studied without
reference to needs, instincts, or motives.
Philosophy of Science
Scientific behaviorism allows for an
interpretation of behavior but not an
explanation of its causes. Interpretation permits
a scientist to generalize from a simple learning
condition to a more complex one.
Characteristics of Science
According to Skinner (1953), science has three
main characteristics: First, science is
cumulative; second, it is an attitude that values
empirical observation; and third, science is a
search for order and lawful relationships
Conditioning
Skinner (1953) recognized two kinds of
conditioning, classical and operant.
(One distinction between classical and operant
conditioning is that, in classical conditioning,
behavior is elicited from the organism, whereas
in operant conditioning, behavior is emitted. An
elicited response is drawn from the organism,
whereas an emitted response is one that simply
appears)
 Classical Conditioning- a response is
drawn out of the organism by a specific,
identifiable stimulus. a neutral
(conditioned) stimulus is paired with—
that is, immediately precedes—an
unconditioned stimulus a number of
times until it is capable of bringing
about a previously unconditioned
response, now called the conditioned
response.
 Operant Conditioning- a behavior is
made more likely to recur when it is
immediately reinforced. The key to
operant conditioning is the immediate
reinforcement of a response. The
organism first does something and then
is reinforced by the environment.
Reinforcement, in turn, increases the
probability that the same behavior will
occur again.
1. Shaping- is 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. (A
response to a similar environment
in the absence of previous
reinforcement is called stimulus
generalization.)
2. Reinforcement- reinforcement has
two effects: It strengthens the
behavior and it rewards the person.
Reinforcers exist in the
environment and are not something
felt by the person.
a. Positive Reinforcement- Any
stimulus that, when added to a
situation, increases the
 probability that a given
behavior will occur is termed a
positive reinforcer. Food,
water, sex, money, social
approval, and physical comfort
usually are examples of positive
reinforcers.
b. Negative Reinforcement- The
removal of an aversive stimulus
from a situation also increases
the probability that the
preceding behavior will occur.
This removal results in negative
reinforcement. The reduction
or avoidance of loud noises,
shocks, and hunger pangs
would be negatively reinforcing
because they strengthen the
behavior immediately
preceding them.
3. Punishment- Negative reinforcers
remove, reduce, or avoid aversive
stimuli, whereas punishment is the
presentation of an aversive
stimulus, such as an electric shock,
or the removal of a positive one,
such as disconnecting an
adolescent’s telephone.
a. Effects of Punishment- The
effects of punishment are not
opposite those of
reinforcement. When the
contingencies of reinforcement
are strictly controlled, behavior
can be precisely shaped and
accurately predicted. With
punishment, however, no such
accuracy is possible. The reason
for this discrepancy is simple.
Punishment ordinarily is
imposed to prevent people
from acting in a particular way.
b. Punishment and Reinforcement
Compared- both punishment
and reinforcement are means
of controlling behavior,
whether the control is by design
or by accident.
4. Conditioned and Generalized
Reinforcers- Conditioned reinforcers
(sometimes called secondary
reinforcers) are those
environmental stimuli that are not
by nature satisfying but become so
because they are associated with
such unlearned or primary
reinforcers as food, water, sex, or
physical comfort. Money is a
conditioned reinforcer because it
can be exchanged for a great
variety of primary reinforcers. In
addition, it is a generalized
reinforcer because it is associated
with more than one primary
reinforcer
5. Schedules of Reinforcement-
The frequency of that behavior,
however, is subject to the
conditions under which training
occurred, more specifically, to
the various schedules of
reinforcement.
*Continuous Schedule- the
organism is reinforced for
every response. This type of
schedule increases the
frequency of a response but
is an inefficient use of the
reinforcer
*Intermittent Schedules-
Skinner preferred
intermittent schedules not
only because they make
more efficient use of the
reinforcer but because they
produce responses that are
more resistant to extinction
a. Fixed-Ratio- the organism is
reinforced intermittently according
to the number of responses it
makes. Ratio refers to the ratio of
responses to reinforcers
b. Variable-Ratio- it is reinforced
after the nth response on the
average
c. Fixed-interval- the organism is
reinforced for the first response
following a designated period.
d. Variable-Interval- is one in which
the organism is reinforced after the
lapse of random or varied periods of
time.
6. Extinction- defined as the
tendency of a previously acquired
response to become progressively
weakened upon nonreinforcement.
a. Operant Extinction- takes place
when an experimenter
systematically withholds
 reinforcement of a previously corresponding probability that
learned response until the the organism will respond.
probability of that response c. Emotions- He accounted for
diminishes to zero. emotions by the contingencies of
survival and the contingencies of
The Human Organism
reinforcement.
According to Skinner (1987a), human d. Purpose and Intention- Purpose
behavior (and human personality) is shaped and intention exist within the
by three forces: (1) natural selection, (2) skin, but they are not subject to
cultural practices, and (3) the individual’s direct outside scrutiny
history of reinforcement
Complex Behavior
1. Natural Extinction- Human
Human behavior can be exceedingly
personality is the product of a long
complex, yet Skinner believed that even the
evolutionary history. As individuals,
most abstract and complex behavior is
our behavior is determined by
shaped by natural selection, cultural
genetic composition and especially
evolution, or the individual’s history of
by our personal histories of
reinforcement
reinforcement. As a species,
however, we are shaped by the 1. Higher Mental Processes- Skinner
contingencies of survival. Natural (1974) admitted that human
selection plays an important part in thought is the most difficult of all
human personality behaviors to analyze; but
2. Cultural Evolution- Cultural practices potentially, at least, it can be
such as toolmaking and verbal understood if one does not resort to
behavior began when an individual a hypothetical fiction such as
was reinforced for using a tool or “mind.”
uttering a distinctive sound. 2. Creativity- Creative writers change
Eventually, a cultural practice their environment, thus producing
evolved that was reinforcing to the responses that have some chance of
group, although not necessarily to being reinforced. When their
the individual. Both toolmaking and “creativity dries up,” they may move
verbal behavior have survival value to a different location, travel, read,
for a group, but few people now talk to others, put words on their
make tools and even fewer invent computer with little expectancy that
new languages. they will be the finished product, or
3. Inner States- Internal states can be try out various words, sentences,
studied just as any other behavior, and ideas covertly.
but their observation is, of course, 3. Unconscious Behavior- In a more
limited. limited sense, behavior is labeled
a. Self-awareness- Skinner (1974) unconscious when people no longer
believed that humans not only think about it because it has been
have consciousness but are also suppressed through punishment.
aware of their consciousness; 4. Dreams- Skinner (1953) saw dreams
they are not only aware of their as covert and symbolic forms of
environment but are also aware behavior that are subject to the
of themselves as part of their same contingencies of
environment; they not only reinforcement as other behaviors
observe external stimuli but are are. He agreed with Freud that
also aware of themselves dreams may serve a wish-fulfillment
observing that stimuli. purpose. Dream behavior is
b. Drives- drives simply refer to the reinforcing when repressed sexual
effects of deprivation and or aggressive stimuli are allowed
satiation and to the expression.
 5. Social Behavior- Groups do not
behave; only individuals do.
Individuals establish groups because
they have been rewarded for doing
so
Control Behavior
1. Social Control- Individuals act to
form social groups because such
behavior tends to be reinforcing.
Groups, in turn, exercise control
over their members by formulating
written or unwritten laws, rules, and
customs that have physical
existence beyond the lives of
individuals
2. Self-control- The contingencies of
self-control, however, do not reside
within the individual and cannot be
freely chosen. When people control
their own behavior, they do so by
manipulating the same variables
that they would use in controlling
someone else’s behavior, and
ultimately these variables lie outside
themselves.
The Unhealthy Personality
1. Counteracting Strategies- When
social control is excessive, people
can use three basic strategies for
counteracting it—they can escape,
revolt, or use passive resistance
a. Escape- people withdraw from
the controlling agent either
physically or psychologically.
b. Revolt- People who revolt
against society’s controls behave
more actively, counterattacking
the controlling agent. People can
rebel through vandalizing public
property, tormenting teachers,
verbally abusing other people,
pilfering equipment from
employers, provoking the police,
or overthrowing established
organizations such as religions or
governments.
c. Passive Resistance- People who
counteract control through
passive resistance are subtler
than those who rebel and more
irritating to the controllers than
those who rely on escape.
Skinner (1953) believed that
passive resistance is most likely
to be used where escape and
revolt have failed
Inappropriate Behaviors
Inappropriate behaviors follow from self-
defeating techniques of counteracting social
control or from unsuccessful attempts at
self-control, especially when either of these
failures is accompanied by strong emotion
Psychotherapy
Skinner (1987b) believed that
psychotherapy is one of the chief obstacles
blocking psychology’s attempt to become
scientific. Nevertheless, his ideas on shaping
behavior not only have had a significant
impact on behavior therapy but also extend
to a description of how all therapy works.
- A therapist molds desirable behavior
by reinforcing slightly improved
changes in behavior.
- The nonbehavioral therapist may
affect behavior accidentally or
unknowingly, whereas the
behavioral therapist attends
specifically to this technique
- Traditional therapists generally
explain behaviors by resorting to a
variety of fictional constructs such as
defense mechanisms, striving for
superiority, collective unconscious,
and self-actualization needs
- Behavior therapists have developed
a variety of techniques over the
years, most based on operant
conditioning. These therapists play
an active role in the treatment
process, pointing out the positive
consequences of certain behaviors
and the aversive effects of others
and suggesting behaviors that, over
the long haul, will result in positive
reinforcement.
Critique of Skinner
- First, because the theory has
spawned a great quantity of
research, we rate the theory very
 high on its ability to generate
research.
- Second, most of Skinner’s ideas can
be either falsified or verified, so we
rate the theory high on falsifiability.
- Third, on its ability to organize all
that is known about human
personality, we give the theory only
a moderate rating
- Fourth, as a guide to action, we rate
Skinner’s theory very high.
- The fifth criterion of a useful theory
is internal consistency, and judged
by this standard, we rate Skinnerian
theory very high.
- Is the theory parsimonious? On this
final criterion, Skinner’s theory is
difficult to rate. On one hand, the
theory is free from cumbersome
hypothetical constructs, but on the
other, it demands a novel expression
of everyday phrases.