Skinner's Research - Operant Conditioning. Introduction to B.F. Skinner B.F. Skinner is responsible for expanding the field of behaviorism after the early work of E.L. Thorndike, and his law of effect . Skinner divided behaviorism into respondent conditioning and operant conditioning, the latter of which he defined as explaining how the consequence of a behavior controlled the future occurrence of that same behavior. He believed all behavior could be explained by an action performed and the valence of its consequence. B.F. Skinner's Research Skinner conducted most of his research in a special cumulative recorder, now referred to as a Skinner box, which was used to analyze behavioral responses from his test subjects. Rats and Pigeons Skinner completed his early research on rats and his later research on pigeons, as he found the latter to provide more extensive and more rapid feedback.
To prove this idea, he created a superstitious pigeon. Other Experiments. Operant Conditioning (Skinner) Summary: A behaviorist theory based on the fundamental idea that behaviors that are reinforced will tend to continue, while behaviors that are punished will eventually end. Originators and Key Contributors: B. F. Skinner, built upon Ivan Pavlov’s theories of classical conditioning. Keywords: response-stimulus, voluntary response, reinforcer Operant Conditioning (B. Operant conditioning can be described as a process that attempts to modify behavior through the use of positive and negative reinforcement. Example 1: Parents rewarding a child’s excellent grades with candy or some other prize.Example 2: A schoolteacher awards points to those students who are the most calm and well-behaved. The term “operant conditioning” originated by the behaviorist B. Reinforcement comes in two forms: positive and negative.
Positive and negative reinforcers Positive reinforcers are favorable events or outcomes that are given to the individual after the desired behavior. Positive and negative punishment. B. F. Skinner. Dr. C. George Boeree Biography Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born March 20, 1904, in the small Pennsylvania town of Susquehanna. His father was a lawyer, and his mother a strong and intelligent housewife. His upbringing was old-fashioned and hard-working. Burrhus was an active, out-going boy who loved the outdoors and building things, and actually enjoyed school.
Burrhus received his BA in English from Hamilton College in upstate New York. He wanted to be a writer and did try, sending off poetry and short stories. Ultimately, he resigned himself to writing newspaper articles on labor problems, and lived for a while in Greenwich Village in New York City as a “bohemian.” Also in that year, he moved to Minneapolis to teach at the University of Minnesota. Combination crib and playpen with glass sides and air conditioning, it looked too much like keeping a baby in an aquarium to catch on. In 1945, he became the chairman of the psychology department at Indiana University. August 18, 1990, B. B. B.F.Skinner and Operant Conditioning. B. F. Skinner (1904 - 1990)Operant ConditioningBiography Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born March 20, 1904, in Susquehanna Pennsylvania. Burrhus received his BA in English from Hamilton College in upstate New York. After some traveling, he decided to go back to school, and earned his masters in psychology in 1930 and his doctorate in 1931, both from Harvard University., and stayed there to do research until 1936.
In 1931 he moved to Minneapolis to teach at the University of Minnesota. August 18, 1990, B. Skinner accepted the model of classical conditioning as originated by Pavlov and elaborated on by Watson and Guthrie, but he thought this type of conditioning only explained a small portion of human and animal behavior.
Skinner's Theory: Operant Conditioning B. Independent variables: Type of reinforcement Schedule of reinforcement Dependent variables (measures of learning): • Acquisition rate- how rapidly an animal can be trained to a new operant behavior as a function of reinforcement.