Skinner

Curious about how we can modify our behaviors and actions by altering the environment around us? This episode is a deep exploration into the world of B F Skinner, a pioneer in the field of psychology. We unpack his groundbreaking work in radical behaviorism, a thought-provoking approach that focuses solely on observable behavior. We dissect Skinner's theories and delve into his unique experiments with the operant conditioning chamber, also known as the Skinner box.

The journey doesn't stop there, we unravel the fascinating concepts of positive and negative reinforcement, respondent behavior, and shaping. Bringing these theories to life, we discuss a real-world case of reducing neck ticks in a young boy, Josiah, by applying Skinner's principles in a clinical setting. This episode offers an exciting exploration into the impact of environment on our behaviors and actions. Prepare to view psychology from a whole new perspective!

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Transcript

Eric: 0:04

Welcome to another episode covering an area you need to know. I'm Eric and I've got an interesting topic for today. Today we're diving deep into the world of B F Skinner. B F Skinner was one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century. He developed a school of thought known as radical behaviorism, which focused exclusively on observing and measuring outward overt behaviors, rather than speculating about internal mental states or cognitive processes. This approach is known as methodological or psychological behaviorism. Skinner rejected theories that attributed behavior to hypothetical constructs like personality traits or stages, and instead developed the philosophy of radical behaviorism, based on the premise that the study of behavior should be a natural science akin to chemistry or biology, without reference to unobservable mental states involving sense, experience, pleasure, pain, satisfaction or such. The role of the environment in controlling, shaping and maintaining behavior through reinforcement was core to his theories. Skinner developed experimental research methods, including a specialized box known as an operant conditioning chamber or Skinner box, to study changes in observable behavior as a function of environmental changes. He focused extensively on studying operant conditioning, which involves reinforcing voluntary responses and actions, in contrast to classical pavlovian conditioning, which focuses on involuntary reflex responses.

Eric: 1:45

Basic assumption Radical behaviorism makes several basic assumptions Psychology should be the science of behavior, not of internal mental states, which are subjective. Behavior is shaped by positive and negative reinforcements in the environment which increase, strengthen or decrease weakened future behavior likelihood. Mental terms and cognitive processes do not explain behavior or provide verifiable causes. They speculate about inner mechanisms. Studying outer functional relationships, experimental control and manipulation of environmental variables is essential to show functional relationships with behavior. Environmental histories of reinforcement shape an organism's behavioral repertoire over time. Key concepts Radical behaviorism centers on key interrelated concepts in understanding and analyzing behavior.

Eric: 2:53

Reinforcement Reinforcement strengthens operant behavior and the likelihood that an instrumental response preceding reinforcement will be repeated by an organism in the future. Positive reinforcement involves presenting a stimulus after a response, whereas negative reinforcement involves removing or avoiding an aversive stimulus. Skinner studied various schedules of reinforcement, showing how rates of responding are modified by consequences. Respondent behavior is operant behavior. Respondent behavior is elicited automatically by antecedent stimuli, whereas operant behavior is emitted and involves reinforcement. Consequences shaping future voluntary behaviors Operants involve an active organism operating on its environment, whereas classical conditioning involves involuntary responses. Shaping Skinner demonstrated shaping by differentially reinforcing successive approximations towards a target behavior. Complex skills can be taught through gradual, stepwise reinforcement without needing punishment or aversive control. Target behaviors are broken down into small, achievable steps. Conditioning operant conditioning differs from classical SR conditioning by involving reinforcement punishment consequences following voluntary operant responses. Operants are voluntarily emitted by an organism, not due to preceding stimuli Consequences influence future probability of operant responses. Control Stimuli associated with past reinforcement punishment. Acquire the ability to control behavior by evoking responses previously associated with those consequences. Discriminative stimuli signal likely reinforcement V's non-reinforcement and exert control over relevant behavior in their presence.

Eric: 5:08

Case study reducing neck ticks through differential reinforcement. Skinner's principles have implications for applied behavior analysis and modification in clinical settings. As an example case, consider Josiah, a nine-year-old boy who engages in frequent neck ticks, especially when under stress, josiah exhibits repetitive jerking ticks of his neck, roughly one per minute. This causes muscle tension, fatigue, peer teasing and interference with his ability to focus during class. The goal is to reduce Josiah's neck tick frequency through behavioral modification. After consultation with parents and teachers, josiah is started on a daily tracking system using an electronic timer attached to his shirt to record the frequency and timing of his ticks throughout school days. Baseline data indicates they average 60 ticks per six hour school day. Using principles of operant conditioning, a structured behavioral intervention will be utilized to differentially reinforce lower rates of neck ticks and teach replacement behavior through alternative, non-tick movements. Josiah collaborates on setting a goal of achieving less than 30 neck ticks per day to reduce fatigue and interference with concentration. For each school day under 30 ticks, josiah earns five preferred Pokemon cards. Even larger rewards are given if he achieves 5, 10, and eventually 20 tick free hours as successive goals. The intervention involves no punishment, only incrementally moving reinforcement criteria as Josiah's tick rate gradually improves. Josiah also learns to engage in alternative, competing responses when he feels urged to tick, such as looking left or right repeatedly or slowly moving his head down to his chest and back. These subtle movements replace the more overt neck ticks. Over a six-week intervention, josiah reaches an average below 15 ticks per day, meeting his initial goal. Analysis indicates the differential reinforcement and alternative response training successfully reduced interfering neck ticks substantially compared to baseline, without need for punishment or unwarranted diagnosis of neurological pathology.

Eric: 7:36

Ongoing reinforcement helps ensure long-term maintenance of therapeutic gains. This case example demonstrates Skinner's principles of reinforcement shaping new behavioral repertoires, stimulus control through alternative responses, data-driven analysis rather than diagnostic labels, and focus on environmentally mediated behavior change. In summary, the key terms you need to know are reinforcement, any stimulus change immediately following an operant response which increases the future probability of that response Can involve presenting aversive stimuli or removing a patative stimuli, shaping incrementally, reinforcing successive approximations to gradually obtain a desired terminal behavior that lacks an initial reinforcement history. And, in summary, the key terms you need to know are the desired terminal behavior that lacks an initial reinforcement history. Extinction, withholding reinforcement for a previously reinforced response leading to a decreased rate or eventual cessation of responding. Discriminative Stimulus, an antecedent stimulus that signals likely reinforcement will follow a specific operant response in its presence but not its absence. Exerts Stimulus Control over Differential Responding. Schedule of Reinforcement Rule specifying the parameters determining reinforcement delivery following operant responses, based on ratio, interval or other criteria. Pattern of reinforcement presentation following responses. Operant conditioning chamber. Experimental apparatus and Skinner box containing a small enclosure for animal subjects with devices to deliver reinforcements, present stimuli and record target operant responses, such as lever presses.

Eric: 9:54

Radical behaviorism the philosophy initiated by Skinner that psychology should experimentally study observable behavior in relation to environmental histories rather than appealing to hypothetical inner mechanisms, mental states or mediating cognitions. Methodological Behaviorism Approach maintaining psychology should restrict itself to studying objectively observable behavior without speculating about subjective internal experiences that cannot be objectively measured or experimentally manipulated. Experimental Analysis of Behavior Skinner's term for measuring quantifiable relationships between modification of environmental variables and effects on rates or forms of measurable operant behavior exhibited by subjects deriving functional relations through replicable experiments. This concludes an overview of Skinner's radical behaviorism.