What are Skinner's theories?

The American psychologist and social scientist B.F. Skinner was one the most influential psychologists of the 20th century. Skinner pioneered the science of behaviorism, discovered the power of positive reinforcement in education, invented the Skinner Box, as well as designed the foremost psychological experiments that gave predictable and quantitatively repeatable outcomes.

During the 1930s, B. F. Skinner proposed the theory of operant conditioning, which states that behavior change and learning occur as the outcomes or effects of punishment and reinforcement. A response is strengthened by reinforcement, as it increases the likelihood that a  desired behaviour will be repeated again in the future.

B. F. Skinner believes that learning involves shift in overt behavior. A change in human behavior occurs as the outcome of an person’s response to stimuli (events) that take place in the surrounding. A response creates an outcome such as solving a mathematical problem, or explaining a word.

When an individual is rewarded for a specific Stimulus-Response pattern, he is conditioned to react. The unique aspect of operant conditioning by Frederic Skinner compared to previous types of behaviorism (for example: drive reduction or connectionism) is that the individual may emit responses rather than only eliciting a reaction because of an external stimulus.

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Positive Reinforcement Theory

Reinforcement is the main component of B. F. Skinner’s Stimulus-Response theory. Anything that reinforces the a specific response is a reinforcer.

It might be in the form of a good percentage, verbal praise, or satisfaction or accomplishment. The operant conditioning theory by Frederic Skinner also includes negative reinforcers — any impulse that leads to the high occurrence of a reaction after its withdrawal (unlike negative stimulus — punishment — that leads to a decreased response).

Behavior analysis is a key component of Skinner's theory of positive reinforcement. By analyzing the behavior of individuals, Skinner believed that it was possible to identify the positive reinforcers that would lead to increased occurrence of that behavior.

This analysis can be used to develop effective strategies for shaping behavior in individuals, as well as in groups and organizations. By focusing on positive reinforcement and identifying the behaviors that lead to success, Skinner's theory can be a powerful tool for creating positive change in a wide range of contexts.

 One unique aspect of B.F. Skinner’s theory is that it explains behavioral science and explanations for cognitive development and phenomena. For instance, Skinner described drive (motivation) with respect to reinforcement and deprivation schedules.

Skinner (1957) explained language and verbal learning in terms of the operant conditioning paradigm, but his explanations were strongly criticized by psycholinguists and linguists. B. F. Skinner (1971) also explained the issues of social control and free will.

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Applying Skinner's Operant conditioning theory

1. Skinner’s theory of Operant conditioning is widely used in teaching (for example: instructional development and classroom management); and clinical settings (for example: behavior therapy or human behavior modification).
2. Skinner concentrated on classical conditioning (i.e. operant conditioning) to observe overt behavior of children.

B.F. Skinner suggested the following 5 steps to implement behavior change:

Step 1: Behavioral Goal Setting

It is necessary to first define the behavior a teacher wants to see in students. For instance, a teacher’s students may be perpetually rowdy at the start of class and the teacher wants students to get focused and settle down more quickly.

Step 2: Determine reasonable ways for a behavior reinforcement

Of course, no teacher wants to give punishments or yell at the start of each class. Therefore, a teacher must think about how to give incentives or reward students for behaving appropriately (positive reinforcement ) or for refraining from negative behavior (negative reinforcements).

Step 3: Select techniques to change behaviors

After deciding which positive and negative reinforcers a teacher would apply, it is essential to decide how to apply them. For instance, if a teacher wants to reward high-performing students with gold stars or points (positive reinforcement or strengthening of behavior ), one must define what it means to be “a high-performer” and how students may demonstrate that behavior to earn the reward. Or if the teacher wants to apply a negative reinforcer such as allowing high-performing students to skip a test in the next week, the teacher must find a way to keep record of how students performed each day of the current week.

Step 4: Select a technique to change a behavior

Apply the selected techniques and record the results. According to Behavior Science experts, not every reinforcement brings results on each student. After introducing a different reinforcement technique, a teacher needs to assess how quickly the class improves performance and how many learners demonstrate the desired behavior without additional reinforcements or reminders from the teacher.

Step 5: Evaluate and improve if needed

If a reinforcement technique does not bring results, it is better to change it. A teacher may try something new the following week and repeat the technique until finding the most effective one that works for the type.

There is very little evidence to show the positive effects of punishment on individuals. Skinner B.F. explained many negative effects of punishment in his operant conditioning theory. First of the many effects of punishment is, punishment mostly fails to create a permanent impact.

It may even increase the occurrence of the undesirable behavior. The last of many effects of punishment is the attention gained by the offender, which may even serve as a reward for the offender more than the punishment.

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Skinner's Learning Theory

The Behavioral Psychologist B. F. Skinner's learning theory states that a person is exposed to a stimulus, which evokes a response, and then the response is reinforced (stimulus creates response, and then reinforcement). This finally leads to the human behavior conditioning.

Skinner’s theory that learning is the outcome of consequences is based on psychologist Edward Thorndike’s law of effect.

According to the law of effect, when a behavioral response results in a satisfying outcome, it is most likely to turn out to be an established pattern and to occur again in case of receiving the same stimulus.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner was in favour of using the teaching machines for a broad range of learners (for example, from early childhood students to adult students) and teaching practices (for example: music and reading). However, teaching machines do not support Multiple-choice formats as they may lead to an uncontrollable contingencies of reinforcement and increase in student mistakes.

Skinner's views on Behaviorism

According to Behavioral Psychologist B. F. Skinner's theory, a learned response and its outcomes motivate human behavior. This is called external motivation as it involves things outside one’s personal thoughts and experiences reinforcing it. It is something one may observe.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner or B.F Skinner thought that human behavior is determined by the environment. In B. F. Skinner’s viewpoint, individuals have uniform behavior patterns depending on their particular kind of Response Tendencies. Hence, individuals learn to behave in different ways with the passage of time. Behavior Science experts believe that behaviors with negative consequences are likely to decrease, whereas behaviors with positive outcomes tend to increase.

Skinner did not think that people’s personalities are affected by their life or that childhood played an especially important role in shaping personality. Rather, he believed that personality of an individual continues to develop throughout life.

Skinner B.F. has explained negative reinforcement to be interchangeable with an aversive stimulus as a negative reinforcement strengthens the behavior by removing an aversive stimulus or through punishment.

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Impact of Skinner's theories on psychology

Skinner's theory of operant conditioning influenced thinking about child development and that behavior of a child could be changed through positive reinforcement or strengthening of behavior and negative reinforcement. Skinner's theory of operant conditioning also contributed towards the behavioral theory of personality, stating that people respond in specific ways depending on their learned experiences.

Like Watson, Skinner B.F. was a behaviorist, and he focused on behavior therapy and how behavior is affected by its outcomes. B.F. Skinner’s specific behavior brand was labelled by himself as radical behaviorism, which seeks to view behavior as an outcome of environmental histories of reinforcement. Skinner’s radical behaviourism believes that private events such as unobservable emotions, perceptions, and thinking, has no effect on causal account of an individual’s behaviour.

Skinner invented his operant conditioning chamber (Skinner box) during his research at Harvard University and used this to analyze organisms' responses (most commonly pigeons and rats) and their orderly interactions with their surroundings. The Skinner box has a food tray and a lever, and a starving rat in the box may get food conveyed to the tray after pressing the lever. Skinner reported that when a rat was first placed into the box, the rat wandered around, exploring and sniffing, and would mostly accidently press the bar, after that a food pellet would be delivered to the tray.

After some time, number of bar pressing would dramatically increase and remain high until the rat’s tummy was full. In the field of psychology, the operant conditioning box has played a crucial role to study behavior. B. F. Skinner’s research involving the Skinner Box led to the principle of reinforcement, which states that the likelihood of occurrence of something depends on the consequences of behavior.

In fact, reinforcement theory declares that (a) when individuals are rewarded for a specific behavior, the likelihood of occurrence of this behavior will increase, (b) if individuals are provided with the opportunity to escape adverse situations, they will be motivated to act accordingly, and (c) if certain behaviors are not reinforced, they are less likely to be reiterated.

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Educational Applications of Skinners Theory

Drawing from the principles of B.F. Skinner's theory, here are seven key applications that can be utilized in an educational setting:

1. Positive Reinforcement

In the classroom, teachers can use positive reinforcement to increase the likelihood of desirable behaviors. For instance, praising a student for their active participation in class can encourage them to continue participating. This application is supported by the concept of 'Primary Reinforcer' in Skinner's theory, which refers to the use of naturally reinforcing stimuli, such as food or water. In the educational context, praise, recognition, or rewards can serve as primary reinforcers.

2. Negative Reinforcement

Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unpleasant stimulus to increase a behavior. For example, if students complete their homework on time, they might be exempt from a less desirable task. This strategy can motivate students to engage in positive behaviors to avoid negative outcomes.

3. Punishment

Both positive and negative punishment can be used to decrease undesirable behaviors. Positive punishment involves adding an unpleasant consequence after a behavior, while negative punishment involves taking away something desirable. For instance, a teacher might give extra homework (positive punishment) or take away free time (negative punishment) if a student misbehaves.

4. Shaping Behavior

Skinner's theory suggests that complex behaviors can be learned through the process of shaping, which involves reinforcing successive approximations of the desired behavior. For example, a teacher might first praise a student for simply raising their hand, then only reinforce when the student raises their hand and waits to be called on, and finally only reinforce when the student raises their hand, waits to be called on, and provides a correct answer.

5. Continuous Reinforcement

Continuous reinforcement involves providing a reinforcement every time a specific behavior occurs. This can be particularly effective in the initial stages of learning a new behavior. For example, a teacher might provide praise every time a student uses a new vocabulary word correctly.

6. Intermittent Reinforcement

Once a behavior has been established, intermittent reinforcement (reinforcing the behavior only some of the time) can be used to maintain the behavior over time. This can help to prevent 'satiation' to the reinforcer, making the behavior more resistant to extinction.

7. Use of Secondary Reinforcers

Secondary reinforcers are stimuli that have become reinforcing through their association with primary reinforcers. In a classroom, grades, tokens, or points can serve as secondary reinforcers. For example, a teacher might use a token economy system, where students earn tokens for positive behaviors that they can later exchange for rewards.

As an example, a study conducted by Al-Rawi (2020) found that the use of social media applications (SMAs) in learning design in higher education may offer diverse educational advantages. The study found that the perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) of SMAs help learners to become more understanding, active, and engage with peers and lecturers.

As Skinner once said, "Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten." This quote emphasizes the lasting impact of education and the importance of using effective teaching strategies, such as those derived from Skinner's theory, to foster learning.

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Key Papers on Skinner's Theories

These papers collectively provide a comprehensive overview of Skinner's contribution to education, exploring how his work on operant conditioning, schedules of reinforcement, and observable behavior has shaped modern educational practices.

1) A Science for e-Learning: Understanding B.F. Skinner's Work in Today's Education" by J. Vargas (2010)

Summary: This paper highlights how B.F. Skinner's principles can enhance online teaching quality, incorporating his operant conditioning concepts into e-learning platforms.

2) The Contributions of B. F. Skinner’s Work to my Life" by S. Axelrod (2004)

Summary: Axelrod reflects on how Skinner's work, particularly principles of operant conditioning, has shaped his academic career and effective child-rearing strategies.

3) B. F. Skinner: A Life" by J. H. Capshew, Daniel W. Bjork (1993)

Summary: This biography of B.F. Skinner explores how his work transformed education and child-rearing, emphasizing his role as a key element in the development of observable behavior analysis.

4) B. F. Skinner: Myth and Misperception" by C. Debell, Debra K. Harless (1992)

Summary: The paper addresses common myths about Skinner's work, especially in the context of classical conditioning and its application in education.

5) The impact of B. F. Skinner’s science of operant learning on early childhood research, theory, treatment, and care" by H. Schlinger (2021)

Summary: Schlinger discusses Skinner's significant influence on early childhood education, highlighting operant learning as a fundamental aspect of desirable stimulus and reinforcement schedules.

6) ANÁLISE DE UMA POLÍTICA NACIONAL DE EDUCAÇÃO SEGUNDO SKINNER" by N. Matheus, Maria Eliza Mazzilli Pereira (2019)

Summary: This study evaluates how a Brazilian education decree, inspired by Skinner's propositions, may contribute to behavior analysis in public policy, emphasizing schedules of reinforcement and discriminative stimuli.

7) SKINNER'S PROGRAMMED LEARNING VERSUS CONVENTIONAL TEACHING METHOD IN MEDICAL EDUCATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY" by P. Mukadam, S. Vyas, H. Nayak (2014)

Summary: This research compares Skinner's programmed learning method to conventional teaching in medical education, highlighting the effectiveness of operant conditioning principles and the role of aversive and unconditioned stimuli.

These papers collectively provide a comprehensive overview of Skinner's contribution to education, exploring how his work on operant conditioning, schedules of reinforcement, and observable behavior has shaped modern educational practices.

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What is the B.F. Skinner Foundation?

The B.F. Skinner Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the ideas and work of B.F. Skinner, a renowned psychologist and behaviorist who developed the reinforcement theory mentioned in the previous paragraph. The foundation was established in 1987, and its mission is to advance the science of behavior and to promote the principles of behaviorism.

The foundation offers a variety of resources, including books, articles, and videos, to help individuals better understand Skinner's theories and how they can be applied in various settings. Additionally, the foundation provides funding for research and education related to behaviorism and Skinner's work.

Behavior therapists are among the professionals who can benefit from the resources and funding provided by the B.F. Skinner Foundation. Skinner's theories and principles have been widely applied in the field of psychology, particularly in the treatment of various behavioral disorders.

By utilizing the foundation's resources, behavior therapists can gain a deeper understanding of Skinner's work and how it can be applied in their practice. The foundation also offers grants and scholarships to support research and education in behaviorism, which can further advance the field of behavioral therapy.

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