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B.F Skinner, a leading 20th century psychologist who hypothesized that behavior was caused only by external factors, not by thoughts or emotions, was a controversial figure in a field that tends to attract controversial figures. In a realm of science that has given us Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Jean Piaget, Skinner stands out by sheer quirkiness. After all, he is the scientist who trained rats to pull levers and push buttons and taught pigeons to read and play ping-pong.

Besides Freud, Skinner is arguably the most famous psychologist of the 20th century. Today, his work is basic study in introductory psychology classes across the country. But what drives a man to teach his children's cats to play piano and instruct his beagle on how to play hide and seek? Last year, Norwegian researchers dove into his past to figure it out. The team combed through biographies, archival material and interviews with those who knew him, then tested Skinner on a common personality scale.

They found Skinner, who would be 109 years old today, was highly conscientious, extroverted and somewhat neurotic—a trait shared by as many as 45 percent of leading scientists. The analysis revealed him to be a tireless worker, one who introduced a new approach to behavioral science by building on the theories of Ivan Pavlov and John Watson.

Skinner wasn't interested in understanding the human mind and its mental processes—his field of study, known as behaviorism, was primarily concerned with observable actions and how they arose from environmental factors. He believed that our actions are shaped by our experience of reward and punishment, an approach that he called operant conditioning. The term 'operant' refers to an animal or person 'operating' on their environment to affect change while learning a new behavior.

We put the FUN in FUNK. 10325 Followers. Stream Tracks and Playlists from Pigeons Playing Ping Pong on your desktop or mobile device. Skinner used shaping to teach pigeons not only such relatively simple behaviors as pecking a disk in a Skinner box, but also many unusual and entertaining behaviors, such as turning in circles, walking in figure eights, and even playing ping pong; the technique is commonly used by animal trainers today.

Operant conditioning breaks down a task into increments. If you want to teach a pigeon to turn in a circle to the left, you give it a reward for any small movement it makes in that direction. Soon, the pigeon catches onto this and makes larger movements to the left, which garner more rewards, until the bird completes the full circle. Skinner believed that this type of learning even relates to language and the way we learn to speak. Children are rewarded, through their parents' verbal encouragement and affection, for making a sound that resembles a certain word until they can actually say that word.

Skinner's approach introduced a new term into the literature: reinforcement. Behavior that is reinforced, like a mother excitedly drawing out the sounds of 'mama' as a baby coos, tends to be repeated, and behavior that's not reinforced tends to weaken and die out. 'Positive' refers to the practice of encouraging a behavior by adding to it, such as rewarding a dog with a treat, and 'negative' refers to encouraging a behavior by taking something away. For example, when a driver absentmindedly continues to sit in front of a green light, the driver waiting behind them honks his car horn. The first person is reinforced for moving when the honking stops. The phenomenon of reinforcement extends beyond babies and pigeons: we're rewarded for going to work each day with a paycheck every two weeks, and likely wouldn't step inside the office once they were taken away.

Today, the spotlight has shifted from such behavior analysis to cognitive theories, but some of Skinner's contributions continue to hold water, from teaching dogs to roll over to convincing kids to clean their rooms. Here are a few:

1. The Skinner box. To show how reinforcement works in a controlled environment, Skinner placed a hungry rat into a box that contained a lever. As the rat scurried around inside the box, it would accidentally press the lever, causing a food pellet to drop into the box. After several such runs, the rat quickly learned that upon entering the box, running straight toward the lever and pressing down meant receiving a tasty snack. The rat learned how to use a lever to its benefit in an unpleasant situation too: in another box that administered small electric shocks, pressing the lever caused the unpleasant zapping to stop.

2. Project Pigeon. During World War II, the military invested Skinner's project to train pigeons to guide missiles through the skies. The psychologist used a device that emitted a clicking noise to train pigeons to peck at a small, moving point underneath a glass screen. Skinner posited that the birds, situated in front of a screen inside of a missile, would see enemy torpedoes as specks on the glass, and rapidly begin pecking at it. Their movements would then be used to steer the missile toward the enemy: Pecks at the center of the screen would direct the rocket to fly straight, while off-center pecks would cause it to tilt and change course. Skinner managed to teach one bird to peck at a spot more than 10,000 times in 45 minutes, but the prospect of pigeon-guided missiles, along with adequate funding, eventually lost luster.

3. The Air-Crib. Skinner tried to mechanize childcare through the use of this 'baby box,' which maintained the temperature of a child's environment. Humorously known as an 'heir conditioner,' the crib was completely humidity- and temperate-controlled, a feature Skinner believed would keep his second daughter from getting cold at night and crying. A fan pushed air from the outside through a linen-like surface, adjusting the temperature throughout the night. The air-crib failed commercially, and although his daughter only slept inside at night, many of Skinner's critics believed it was a cruel and experimental way to raise a child.

4. The teaching box. Skinner believed using his teaching machine to break down material bit by bit, offering rewards along the way for correct responses, could serve almost like a private tutor for students. Material was presented in sequence, and the machine provided hints and suggestions until students verbally explained a response to a problem (Skinner didn't believe in multiple choice answers). The device wouldn't allow students to move on in a lesson until they understood the material, and when students got any part of it right, the machine would spit out positive feedback until they reached the solution. The teaching box didn't stick in a school setting, but many computer-based self-instruction programs today use the same idea.

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5. The Verbal Summator. An auditory version of the Rorschach inkblot test, this tool allowed participants to project subconscious thoughts through sound. Skinner quickly abandoned this endeavor as personality assessment didn't interest him, but the technology spawned several other types of auditory perception tests.

In discussing operant conditioning, we use several everyday words—positive, negative, reinforcement, and punishment—in a specialized manner. In operant conditioning, positive and negative do not mean good and bad. Instead, positive means you are adding something, and negative means you are taking something away. Reinforcement means you are increasing a behavior, and punishment means you are decreasing a behavior. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, and punishment can also be positive or negative. All reinforcers (positive or negative) increase the likelihood of a behavioral response. All punishers (positive or negative) decrease the likelihood of a behavioral response. Now let's combine these four terms: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment.

Positive and Negative Reinforcement and PunishmentReinforcement PunishmentPositive Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Something is added to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.Negative Something is removed to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

Today, the spotlight has shifted from such behavior analysis to cognitive theories, but some of Skinner's contributions continue to hold water, from teaching dogs to roll over to convincing kids to clean their rooms. Here are a few:

1. The Skinner box. To show how reinforcement works in a controlled environment, Skinner placed a hungry rat into a box that contained a lever. As the rat scurried around inside the box, it would accidentally press the lever, causing a food pellet to drop into the box. After several such runs, the rat quickly learned that upon entering the box, running straight toward the lever and pressing down meant receiving a tasty snack. The rat learned how to use a lever to its benefit in an unpleasant situation too: in another box that administered small electric shocks, pressing the lever caused the unpleasant zapping to stop.

2. Project Pigeon. During World War II, the military invested Skinner's project to train pigeons to guide missiles through the skies. The psychologist used a device that emitted a clicking noise to train pigeons to peck at a small, moving point underneath a glass screen. Skinner posited that the birds, situated in front of a screen inside of a missile, would see enemy torpedoes as specks on the glass, and rapidly begin pecking at it. Their movements would then be used to steer the missile toward the enemy: Pecks at the center of the screen would direct the rocket to fly straight, while off-center pecks would cause it to tilt and change course. Skinner managed to teach one bird to peck at a spot more than 10,000 times in 45 minutes, but the prospect of pigeon-guided missiles, along with adequate funding, eventually lost luster.

3. The Air-Crib. Skinner tried to mechanize childcare through the use of this 'baby box,' which maintained the temperature of a child's environment. Humorously known as an 'heir conditioner,' the crib was completely humidity- and temperate-controlled, a feature Skinner believed would keep his second daughter from getting cold at night and crying. A fan pushed air from the outside through a linen-like surface, adjusting the temperature throughout the night. The air-crib failed commercially, and although his daughter only slept inside at night, many of Skinner's critics believed it was a cruel and experimental way to raise a child.

4. The teaching box. Skinner believed using his teaching machine to break down material bit by bit, offering rewards along the way for correct responses, could serve almost like a private tutor for students. Material was presented in sequence, and the machine provided hints and suggestions until students verbally explained a response to a problem (Skinner didn't believe in multiple choice answers). The device wouldn't allow students to move on in a lesson until they understood the material, and when students got any part of it right, the machine would spit out positive feedback until they reached the solution. The teaching box didn't stick in a school setting, but many computer-based self-instruction programs today use the same idea.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Psychology Free Download Windows 10

5. The Verbal Summator. An auditory version of the Rorschach inkblot test, this tool allowed participants to project subconscious thoughts through sound. Skinner quickly abandoned this endeavor as personality assessment didn't interest him, but the technology spawned several other types of auditory perception tests.

In discussing operant conditioning, we use several everyday words—positive, negative, reinforcement, and punishment—in a specialized manner. In operant conditioning, positive and negative do not mean good and bad. Instead, positive means you are adding something, and negative means you are taking something away. Reinforcement means you are increasing a behavior, and punishment means you are decreasing a behavior. Reinforcement can be positive or negative, and punishment can also be positive or negative. All reinforcers (positive or negative) increase the likelihood of a behavioral response. All punishers (positive or negative) decrease the likelihood of a behavioral response. Now let's combine these four terms: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment.

Positive and Negative Reinforcement and PunishmentReinforcement PunishmentPositive Something is added to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Something is added to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.Negative Something is removed to increase the likelihood of a behavior. Something is removed to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

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• 2Punishment

Reinforcement

The most effective way to teach a person or animal a new behavior is with positive reinforcement. In positive reinforcement, a desirable stimulus is added to increase a behavior.

For example, you tell your five-year-old son, Jerome, that if he cleans his room, he will get a toy. Jerome quickly cleans his room because he wants a new art set. Let's pause for a moment. Some people might say, 'Why should I reward my child for doing what is expected?' But in fact we are constantly and consistently rewarded in our lives. Our paychecks are rewards, as are high grades and acceptance into our preferred school. Being praised for doing a good job and for passing a driver's test is also a reward. Positive reinforcement as a learning tool is extremely effective. It has been found that one of the most effective ways to increase achievement in school districts with below-average reading scores was to pay the children to read. Specifically, second-grade students in Dallas were paid $2 each time they read a book and passed a short quiz about the book. The result was a significant increase in reading comprehension (Fryer, 2010^[1]). What do you think about this program? If Skinner were alive today, he would probably think this was a great idea. He was a strong proponent of using operant conditioning principles to influence students' behavior at school. In fact, in addition to the Skinner box, he also invented what he called a teaching machine that was designed to reward small steps in learning (Skinner, 1961^[2])—an early forerunner of computer-assisted learning. His teaching machine tested students' knowledge as they worked through various school subjects. If students answered questions correctly, they received immediate positive reinforcement and could continue; if they answered incorrectly, they did not receive any reinforcement. The idea was that students would spend additional time studying the material to increase their chance of being reinforced the next time (Skinner, 1961^[3]).

In negative reinforcement, an undesirable stimulus is removed to increase a behavior. For example, car manufacturers use the principles of negative reinforcement in their seatbelt systems, which go 'beep, beep, beep' until you fasten your seatbelt. The annoying sound stops when you exhibit the desired behavior, increasing the likelihood that you will buckle up in the future. Negative reinforcement is also used frequently in horse training. Riders apply pressure—by pulling the reins or squeezing their legs—and then remove the pressure when the horse performs the desired behavior, such as turning or speeding up. The pressure is the negative stimulus that the horse wants to remove.

Punishment

Many people confuse negative reinforcement with punishment in operant conditioning, but they are two very different mechanisms. Remember that reinforcement, even when it is negative, always increases a behavior. In contrast, punishment always decreases a behavior. In positive punishment, you add an undesirable stimulus to decrease a behavior. An example of positive punishment is scolding a student to get the student to stop texting in class. In this case, a stimulus (the reprimand) is added in order to decrease the behavior (texting in class). In negative punishment, you remove an aversive stimulus to decrease behavior. For example, when a child misbehaves, a parent can take away a favorite toy. In this case, a stimulus (the toy) is removed in order to decrease the behavior.

Punishment, especially when it is immediate, is one way to decrease undesirable behavior. For example, imagine your four-year-old son, Brandon, hit his younger brother. You have Brandon write 100 times 'I will not hit my brother' (positive punishment). Chances are he won't repeat this behavior. While strategies like this are common today, in the past children were often subject to physical punishment, such as spanking. It's important to be aware of some of the drawbacks in using physical punishment on children. First, punishment may teach fear. Brandon may become fearful of the street, but he also may become fearful of the person who delivered the punishment—you, his parent. Similarly, children who are punished by teachers may come to fear the teacher and try to avoid school (Gershoff et al., 2010^[4]). Consequently, most schools in the United States have banned corporal punishment. Second, punishment may cause children to become more aggressive and prone to antisocial behavior and delinquency (Gershoff, 2002^[5]). They see their parents resort to spanking when they become angry and frustrated, so, in turn, they may act out this same behavior when they become angry and frustrated. For example, because you spank Brenda when you are angry with her for her misbehavior, she might start hitting her friends when they won't share their toys.

While positive punishment can be effective in some cases, Skinner suggested that the use of punishment should be weighed against the possible negative effects. Today's psychologists and parenting experts favor reinforcement over punishment—they recommend that you catch your child doing something good and reward her for it.

Shaping

In his operant conditioning experiments, Skinner often used an approach called shaping. Instead of rewarding only the target behavior, in shaping, we reward successive approximations of a target behavior. Why is shaping needed? Remember that in order for reinforcement to work, the organism must first display the behavior. Shaping is needed because it is extremely unlikely that an organism will display anything but the simplest of behaviors spontaneously. In shaping, behaviors are broken down into many small, achievable steps. The specific steps used in the process are the following:

1. Reinforce any response that resembles the desired behavior.
2. Then reinforce the response that more closely resembles the desired behavior. You will no longer reinforce the previously reinforced response.
3. Next, begin to reinforce the response that even more closely resembles the desired behavior.
4. Continue to reinforce closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior.
5. Finally, only reinforce the desired behavior.

Shaping is often used in teaching a complex behavior or chain of behaviors. Skinner used shaping to teach pigeons not only such relatively simple behaviors as pecking a disk in a Skinner box, but also many unusual and entertaining behaviors, such as turning in circles, walking in figure eights, and even playing ping pong; the technique is commonly used by animal trainers today. An important part of shaping is stimulus discrimination. Recall Pavlov's dogs—he trained them to respond to the tone of a bell, and not to similar tones or sounds. This discrimination is also important in operant conditioning and in shaping behavior.

Here is a brief video of Skinner's pigeons playing ping pong.

It's easy to see how shaping is effective in teaching behaviors to animals, but how does shaping work with humans? Let's consider parents whose goal is to have their child learn to clean his room. They use shaping to help him master steps toward the goal. Instead of performing the entire task, they set up these steps and reinforce each step. First, he cleans up one toy. Second, he cleans up five toys. Third, he chooses whether to pick up ten toys or put his books and clothes away. Fourth, he cleans up everything except two toys. Finally, he cleans his entire room.

1. What is the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment?
2. What is shaping and how would you use shaping to teach a dog to roll over?
3. Think of a behavior that you have that you would like to change. How could you use behavior modification, specifically positive reinforcement, to change your behavior? What is your positive reinforcer?

References

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1. ↑Fryer, R. G., Jr. (2010, April). Financial incentives and student achievement: Evidence from randomized trials. National Bureau of Economic Research [NBER] Working Paper, No. 15898. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w15898
2. ↑Skinner, B. F. (1961). Cumulative record: A selection of papers. New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
3. ↑Skinner, B. F. (1961). Cumulative record: A selection of papers. New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
4. ↑Gershoff, E.T., Grogan-Kaylor, A., Lansford, J. E., Chang, L., Zelli, A., Deater-Deckard, K., & Dodge, K. A. (2010). Parent discipline practices in an international sample: Associations with child behaviors and moderation by perceived normativeness. Child Development, 81(2), 487–502.
5. ↑Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128(4), 539–579. doi:10.1037//0033-2909.128.4.539

Source

This page was proudly adapted from Psychology published by OpenStax CNX. Oct 31, 2016 under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/4abf04bf-93a0-45c3-9cbc-2cefd46e68cc@5.52.

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