Mesa, Kyla V.

BSPSYC-3D Competency Appraisal 1

Case Study 2 (Skinner)
1. What motivates our behavior, according to Skinner’s theory? Is it internally or
externally motivated?
According to Skinner’s theory our behavior was externally motivated, he believes that
we are motivated to reach our goals came from the outside or our environment. Skinner also
believed that the reinforcement is the way to control our behavior, it motivates us to perform
well or not. In Yolanda’s case the cause of her succeeding in school is because of the positive
reinforcement she gets from her environment such as in her teachers and parents. Yolanda
being fond of all the praise and recognition that she gets, she repeated her actions and kept on
getting good grades.

2. How could Yolanda’s early success in school be explained by radical behaviorism?

Radical Behavior emphasizes the importance of reinforcement and the relationships
between observable stimuli and response. In Yolanda’s case her early success in school is
because of the positive reinforcement that she gets from her teachers and parents. In grade
school she always earned A’s and B’s that’s why her teachers always spoke highly with her in
parents-teacher conference and also her parents always repeat the positive remarks that she get.
In high school she is academically excellent, she took advance subjects, a honor roll each
semester and achieving higher than 90 percent average that’s why she was commented
positively by her teacher. Yolanda’s getting positive remarks helps her to achieve superior
grades; it is the response for the positive reinforcement that her environment from her
environment.

3. How could radical behaviorism explain Yolanda’s dropping out of college?

Yolanda’s dropping out of college is because throughout her grade school and high
school she is getting positive reinforcement from her teachers and parents. But when she gets to
college although she worked hard and earned excellent grade, she no longer get certificate and
trophies. Also, she doesn’t get the attention of her professor for being one of top student like in
grade school and high school because she was attending a large state university; most of her
classes took in a large lecture hall with 300 students. This lead her to drop her GPA and decide
to drop out for college. Positive reinforcement are important for Yolanda, getting recognition
and acknowledgement for others helps her to perform well in class without positive
reinforcement Yolanda couldn’t perform well.

4. How could Skinner’s theory explain Yolanda’s decision to go back to college?

Yolanda’s decision to bring back is because of the negative reinforcement that she
experiencing in her work as well as how the environment influenced her thinking that she
should get back to college. When she was working she didn’t get much money as well as she is
tired of rude and inconsiderate customers. Also she feels embarrassed when she told to her old
high school friends that she no longer attending college, she feels that they are looking down to
her because of that and also she feels that she disappointed her parents because she drop out of
college despite that they always remind her to be successful to prove that even though they are
African-American they can be achieve something they want. She went back to college to strive
to fulfill her goals and make her parents proud.

5. How could Skinner’s theory explain Yolanda’s success in college the second time and
in graduate school?
When Yolanda went back to college, she chooses to apply in a smaller college close to
home where there are small number of student and be a person that professors talked. This time
around she did well in her course and the professors know her, sooner she is known as the
rising star of the psychology department. Yolanda’s professor’s talks to her, listed to her ideas
and questions and guided her toward graduate school. Her adviser tell her that she can conduct
a research if she is interesting to attend graduate school, she began her research second semester
of her junior year and completed it on the first semester of senior year, her research is accepted
by the Eastern Psychological Association as a poster presentation. Yolanda’s superior college
grades, good graduate record exam and research presentation help her to get admitted in
clinical psychology graduate program at prestigious university and as well as earning her Ph.D.
This achievements are results of the positive reinforcement that she get for the professors, in
Yolanda’s case the environment is the one who affects her behavior without the praises and
recognition that she gets when she have excellent grades she cannot perform well. The stimulus
of this case is the praises she gets for the people around her and the response is to perform well
in the class. All the reinforcement helped her to attain her goals and became well known in
psychology department for all the things she achieve.