MANIPAL INTERNATIONAL

UNIVERSITY

MPU 2063
PSYCHOLOGY
Famous Behaviorism Theory:
Operant Conditioning by B.F. Skinner

PREPARED BY:
Mohammed Ridzuwan Bin Abdul Rahaman
(930221055461)
Degree in Science (Biotechnology)

TABLE OF CONTENT

NO

CONTENT

PAGE

INTRODUCTION

OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY

FOUNDER OF THE THEORY

COMPONENT OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

SKINNERS BOX

10

MY OPINION ON THEORY

12

CONCLUSION

13

REFERENCE

14

INTRODUCTION

Behaviorism is a basic term in field of psychology that combines three elements

which is philosophy, methodology, and theory. Behaviorism is not an internal psychological
processes such as thinking, feeling, or knowing but its more concern to reaction of a person
to stimuli, person and environment which is external psychological process. Behaviorism is
naturalistic. This means man has no soul and no mind, only a brain that responds to external
stimuli such as environment and natural laws to adapt themselves. Behaviorism views
behavior as the product of conditioning which is reaction to stimuli not through thoughts,
feelings, intentions, and mental processes. Consistently, behaviorism teaches that we are
not responsible for our actions. We just reacting to stimuli and adapt on our environment to
survive, then anything we do is inevitable. Behaviorism is manipulative which is can be
changed and controlled by certain methods and can be understand by certain theories.
During the early 20th - century, field of psychology changed dramatically because of
new thought known as behaviorism has introduced. Behaviorism reject the previous theory
which emphasis the conscious and unconscious mind. Instead, behaviorism improve
psychology more to scientific discipline by just observing

behavior. Ivan Pavlov is the

earliest Russian psychologist who started work on behaviorism. Pavlov's research on the
digestive systems of dogs led to his discovery of the classical conditioning process, which
demonstrated that behaviors could be learned via conditioned associations. Pavlov
demonstrated that this learning process could be used to make an association between and
environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus.

In 1913, John B. Watson proposed an alternative: classical S R behaviorism.

According to Watson, behaviour was a subject matter in its own right, to be studied by the
observational methods common to all sciences. Unfortunately, by around 1930, Watsons
behaviorism had proved inadequate. Many researchers and theorists then adopted a view in
which various organismic entities were inferred to mediate the relation between S and R:
meditational S O R neobehaviorism. This general view has remained influential, although
the details of the various versions have differed over the years.
The behavior analysis of B. F. Skinner took an entirely different approach.
Particularly important was the study of verbal behavior. Psychologist B.F. Skinner furthered
the behaviorist perspective with his concept of operant conditioning, which demonstrated the
effect of punishment and reinforcement on behavior. Although behaviorism is often
conventionally defined as an approach that seeks to explain behavior without directly
appealing to mental or cognitive processes, this definition needs considerable clarification,
especially as it pertains to Skinners behavior analysis and his view of behaviorism as a
philosophy of science.
While behaviorism eventually lost its hold on psychology, the basic principles of
behavioral psychology are still widely in use today. Therapeutic techniques such as behavior
analysis, behavioral modification and token economies are often utilized to help children
learn new skills and overcome maladaptive behaviors, while conditioning is used in many
situations ranging from parenting to education.

OPERANT CONDITIONING THEORY

Operant conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is controlled or changed by

some consequences. The term "operant" was used by Skinner in order to give us a good
overview of his theory. In other words, Skinner's theory explained how we acquire the range
of learned behaviors we exhibit each and every day. By this term, he meant that this type of
conditioning involves only external factors that affect behavior and its consequences. In this
theory skinner believe that studying observable behavior is more useful rather than internal
mental process. Skinner believed that the best way to understand behavior is to look at the
causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning.
Skinner is regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning, but his work was based on
Thorndikes work (1905). Edward Thorndike studied learning in animals using a puzzle box
to propose the theory known as the 'Law of Effect'. According to this principle, actions that
are followed by desirable outcomes are more likely to be repeated while those followed by
undesirable outcomes are less likely to be repeated. Skinner introduced a new term into the
Law of Effect - Reinforcement. Behavior which is reinforced tends to be repeated or
strengthened and behavior which is not reinforced tends to extinguished or weakened.
Skinner (1948) studied operant conditioning by conducting experiments using animals which
he placed in a 'Skinner Box' which was similar to Thorndikes puzzle box. B.F. Skinner
(1938) coined the term operant conditioning; it means roughly changing of behavior by the
use of reinforcement which is given after the desired response.
Skinner identified three types of responses or operant that can follow behavior which
is neutral operants, reinforces, and punishers. Neutral operant make the behavior of a
person either increase or decrease according to the probability of a particular behavior being
repeated due to responses from the environment. Reinforces are the responses from the
environment that increase the probability of a behavior being repeated and can be either

negative or positive reinforcement. Responses from the environment that decrease the
likelihood of a behavior being repeated and weakens the behavior is known as punishers.
Punishments can be either positive or negative.
Operant conditioning depends on a simple principle where actions that are followed
by reinforcement will be strengthened and more likely to occur again in the future. If you tell
a horror story in class and everybody scared, you will probably be more likely to tell that
story again in the future. Conversely, actions that result in punishment or undesirable
consequences will be weakened and less likely to occur again in the future. If you tell the
same story again in another class but nobody scared this time, you will be less likely to
repeat the story again in the future.

FOUNDER OF THE THEORY

B.F. Skinner (Burrhus Frederic Skinner) is a American psychology, best known for
developing the theory of behaviorism, and for his utopian novel Walden Two (1948). He
was born on March 20, 1904, in the small town of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, where he
also grew up. His father was a lawyer and his mother stayed home to care for Skinner and
his younger brother. As a student at Hamilton College, B.F. Skinner developed a passion for
writing. He tried to become a professional writer after graduating in 1926, but with little
success. Two years later, Skinner decided to pursue a new direction for his life. He enrolled
at Harvard University to study psychology.
At Harvard, B.F. Skinner looked for a more objective and measured way to study
behavior. He developed what he called an operant conditioning apparatus to do this, which
became better known as the Skinner box. With this device, Skinner could study an animal
interacting with its environment. He first studied rats in his experiments, and continue with
pigeons. After finishing his doctorate degree and working as a researcher at Harvard,
Skinner published the results of his operant conditioning experiments in The Behavior of
Organisms (1938). His work drew comparisons to Ivan Pavlov, but Skinner's work involved
learned responses to an environment rather than involuntary responses to stimuli.

While teaching at University of Minnesota, Skinner tried to train pigeons to serve as

guides for bombing runs during World War II. This project was cancelled, but he was able to
teach them how to play ping pong. In 1945, Skinner became the chair of the psychology
department at Indiana University. But he left two years later to return to Harvard as a
lecturer. Skinner received a professorship there in 1948 where he remained for the rest of
his career. As his children grew, he became interested in education. Skinner developed a
teaching machine to study learning in children. He later wrote The Technology of Teaching
(1968). Skinner presented a fictional interpretation of some of his views in the 1948 novel
Walden Two, which proposed a type of utopian society. In the late 1960s and early '70s,
Skinner wrote several works applying his behavioral theories to society, including Beyond
Freedom and Dignity (1971). He drew fire for seemingly implying that humans had no free
will or individual consciousness. Noam Chomsky was among Skinner's critics. In 1974,
Skinner tried to set the record straight regarding any misinterpretations of his work with
About Behaviorism.
In his later years, B.F. Skinner took to chronicling his life and research in a series of
autobiographies. He also continued to be active in the field of behavioral psychology field
he helped popularize. In 1989, Skinner was diagnosed with leukemia. He succumbed to the
disease the following year, dying at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on August 18,
1990. While many of his behavioral theories have fallen out of favor, Skinner's identification
of the importance of reinforcement remains a critical discovery. He believed that positive
reinforcement was a great tool for shaping behavior, an idea still valued in numerous
settings including schools today. Skinner's beliefs are still being promoted by the B.F.
Skinner Foundation, which is headed by his daughter, Julie S. Vargas.

COMPONENT IN OPERANT CONDITIONING

There are two main components or key concepts in operant conditioning theory,
which are reinforcement and punishment. Those two components are divided into positive
and negative key concepts. As a summary, positive punishment and positive reinforcement
is a method which adding something to decrease or increase likelihood of behavior. While,
negative punishment and negative reinforcement is a method which removing something to
decrease or increase likelihood of behavior. In other word, punishment is a method which
decreases likelihood of behavior by addition or removal something. While, reinforcement is a
method which increases likelihood of behavior by addition or removal something.

Reinforcement
Reinforcement is an operant conditioning process (or procedure) in which behavior is
strengthened by its consequences or stimulus. The response - strengthening effects of
reinforcement typically involve an increase in the future rate of occurrence of the response,
although other changes in behavior may also be indicative of a reinforcement effect. The
event that intensifies the likelihood of the behavior to be repeated is called a reinforcer.
There are two types of reinforce, positive reinforce and negative reinforce.
Positive reinforce is encouragement that are given after the behavior and strengthens
the behavior by means of the addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward.
Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner
box. The box contained a lever in the side and as the rat moved about the box it would
accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a container
next to the lever. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being
put in the box. The consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured that they

would repeat the action again and again. Example of positive reinforcement in daily life is
when you won in a sport competition, your dad rewards you by gift you a pair of new sport
shoes. After this, on next competition you practice hard again and also won in that
competition. Now your mom rewards you by gift you a jersey shirt that you like. For your next
competitions, you will practice hard once more. Other examples are such as, going to work
every day and punch card on time to receive the full salary without any excision, receiving
praise after a dance performance would increase the amount that you perform, and a
teacher complimenting students with sweets or chocolates when they answer correctly will
increase that behavior.
In negative reinforcement, the behavior or response is activated by the removal of
something and strengthen the behavior. Negative reinforcement strengthens behavior
because it stops or removes an unpleasant experience. Skinner showed how negative
reinforcement worked by placing a rat in his Skinner box and then subjecting it to an
unpleasant electric current which caused it some discomfort. As the rat moved about the box
it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so the electric current would be
switched off. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put
in the box. The consequence of escaping the electric current ensured that they would repeat
the action again and again. One of example of negative reinforcement in daily life is, if you
speak in Malay language in English class, you have to give 50 sens to your teacher. So, next
time you will never speak in other language in your English class to avoid paying, thus
strengthening the behavior of speaking in English. Other examples are such as, a lecturer
deduct student's assignment marks if they did plagiarism. So, the teacher is taking away
something unpleasant to increase behavior. And in a mathematics class, students who
managed to get more than 10 correct answer on the quiz did not have to stay back for extra
class. The similarity between the two type of reinforcements is, in both the behaviour is
increased.

Punishment
Punishment is an operant conditioning process (or procedure) in which behavior is
weakened by a stimulus is presented after the behavior and causes to weaken in the
likelihood of behavior to occur. Punishment is also defined as opposite of reinforcement
because it is weaken or extinguish a response rather than increase it. There are two types of
punishments, positive and negative.
Positive punishment is the addition of something which will reduce in repeating the
behavior that was shown. Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment by
request, involves the presentation of an unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken
the response it follows. Examples of positive punishment is, a child pee on the bed, the
mother spanked him on his buttocks because of this. The child will never pee on the bed
again. Other than that, A boy gets a spanking when he touches things in a shop. And in a
television game show, the competitor received a slight punch when they got an answer
wrong.
Negative punishment is a method which decreases likelihood of behavior by
removing something pleasant after the behavior. Examples of negative punishment are such
as, a teenager is caught when smokes, his parents then reduce his pocket money. The
teenager does not smoke after that. Other than that, an employee is habitually late for work,
so he has no time to take his breakfast and he feel hungry while working. The behavior will
decrease because of losing a breakfast. And a boy doesn't study well so the parents hijack
his playstation for a certain time. The parents took away something pleasant to decrease
behavior.

SKINNERS BOX

Skinner (e.g., 1938) demonstrated that hungry rats confined in small chambers could
easily be trained to depress levers located on the chambers' walls when such responses
produced food when a tone present and electric current when light is on.
If lever presses produced food when a tone was present, but not when it was absent,
most lever pressing came to be confined to periods when the tone was present. The
consequences of receiving food (a desirable stimulus) for lever pressing when a tone
present ensured that it would repeat the action. Skinner was initially using a continuous
positive reinforcement schedule. Initially behavior was random, but can inadvertently tripped
lever and was rewarded with a food pellet.

Rat was subjected to unpleasant electric current, so electric current is used in the
skinner box as a negative reinforcement. When electric current switched on and a light also
on subsequently, the rat accidentally press the liver and the current switched off. The
consequence of escaping the electric current (an aversive stimulus) ensured that it would
repeat the action (of lever pressing) and pressing lever after the light on.
This example demonstrates the three term contingency that describes stimulus
response- stimulus relations in time. The three term contingency is central to operant
conditioning and often is summarized by the mnemonic A B C: antecedent stimulus (A)
operant behavior (B) consequence (C).

MY OPINION ON THEORY

According to my own opinion, I did not fully believe to the behaviorism theory as
researched by B.F. Skinner. This is because, I believe that the behavior of a person is
depends on own thinking and feelings, so will be not same with others. But according to the
B.F. Skinners research, he assume that all the people will react same as others to a certain
reinforcement or punishment. In other hand, the psychologist also predict that behavior
which form by reinforcement and punishment will be repeated on future. But I disagree with
the approach because in my point of view any behavior that forms by reinforcement or
punishment can be diminished after a certain time. This is because people memory power is
limited, can forget easily any action they did in past. Moreover, B.F. Skinner has come out
with this theory by using rat in his experiment. Im not convince with the experiment because
animal (rat) will not think or feel as human being, so the action will not same with human.
And also I feel that people reaction or behavior change time to time according to the
surrounding environment. But skinner just did his studies in a box (Skinners box), so how it
can show the behavior of a person in different environment. Last but not least, I also believe
that peoples behavior not just influenced by feeling and thinking but it is matter of how
people react with environment using their knowledge and inner feelings and ritual believe.

CONCLUSION

Behaviorism is the philosophy of science underlying the science of behavior.

Behavior taken as a subject matter into own right, and applies some principles and methods
of other natural sciences to develop theories and explanations. A common statement about
behaviorism is that because it deals with behavior rather than the mind. Throughout the
history of behaviorism development, behavior modification has emphasized the use of
operant conditioning principles to improve the quality of life for individuals and for society as
a whole. Behavior therapists actively support efforts to educate the public in the ethical use
of operant techniques for social betterment. Looking at Skinner's classic studies rat's
behavior we can identify some of the major assumptions of the behaviorist approach.
Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events
like thinking and emotion. Note that Skinner did not say that the rats learned to press a lever
because they wanted food. He instead concentrated on describing the easily observed
behavior that the rats acquired. The major influence on human behavior is learning from our
environment. In the Skinner study, because food followed a particular behavior the rats
learned to repeat that behavior, as operant conditioning. Behaviorism and its offshoots tend
to be among the most scientific of the psychological perspectives. We are all constantly
learning new behaviors and how to modify our existing behavior. Behavioral psychology is
the psychological approach that focuses on how this learning takes place. We can find
examples of operant conditioning at work all around us. The promise or possibility of rewards
causes an increase in behavior, but operant conditioning can also be used to decrease a
behavior by the removal of a desirable outcome or the application of a negative outcome can
be used to decrease or prevent undesirable behaviors. So as a result, we can follow the
method shown in behaviorism theories to improve individuals or a societys behavior
although there is some misunderstanding and unsatisfaction on the theories, just purely to
get a good change on peoples behavior.

REFERENCES

Skinner B.F. Science and human behavior. New York: Macmillan; 1953.

Skinner B.F. Verbal behavior. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts; 1957.

Skinner B.F. Cumulative record (Enlarged ed., pp. 272286) New York: AppletonCentury-Crofts. Originally published in 1945; 1961/1945. The operational analysis of
psychological terms.

Skinner, B. F. (1938). The behavior of organisms. New York: Appleton-Century-

Crofts.

Weiner, H. (1970). Instructional control of human operant responding during

extinction following fixed-ratio conditioning. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of

Beiiavior, 13, 391-394.

Domjan, M. (2003). The Principles of Learning and Behavior, Fifth Edition. Belmont,
CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Skinner, B. F. (1938). The Behavior of Organisms: An Experimental Analysis.

Cambridge, Massachusetts: B.F. Skinner Foundation.