Behaviorism

Chapter 11

http://www.psywww.com/intropsych/ch08_animals/08raccoon.jpghttp://www.behavior.org/animals/images/KellerMarian.jpg

Three stages of behaviorism

1913-1930: Watsonian behaviorism

1930-1960: Neobehaviorism

1960-present: Sociobehaviorism

What is Operationism?

The idea that the terminology in a science must be precise

A concept must have a physical referent A concept is defined by how it is measured

(the operation or process)

“pseudo-problems” must be discarded

Neobehaviorism

2nd form of behaviorism Skinner (Tolman, Hull)

The rat as an important research subject Assumption that one could generalize from

rats to other animals and humans Simple, easy to study, readily available

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/genome/guide/img/rat2.jpg

Clark Leonard Hull (1884-1952)

Drives Motivation

A state of bodily need Arises from a deviation from optimal biological

conditions Drive reduction is the only basis of

reinforcement

Primary drives Arise from a state of physical need Are vital to the organism’s survival

Secondary drives Are learned Are situations or environmental stimuli

associated with the reduction of primary drives As a result of the association with primary

drives, become drives themselves

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

One of the most influential psychologists in the 20th century Originally wanted to be a writer Became depressed after

deciding he had “nothing to say”

Began graduate studies in psychology

1938: wrote book, initially not very successful

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)

However, people began to realize Skinner’s ideas had applied uses

Beginning in 1950’s, he became the major embodiment of behaviorism

Large and loyal group of followers

1972: Humanist of the Year Award

Principle SkinnerFrom The Simpson

Dealt only with observable behavior No presumptions about internal entities

The “empty organism” approach Internal physiological and mental events exist but

not useful to science Skinner advocated a system with no

theoretical framework Not averse to all theorizing Warned against premature theorizing Large numbers of subjects / statistics not necessary

Skinner’s behaviorism

Operant conditioning

Operant behavior Response occurs b/c of a reinforcement Occurs without an observable external

stimulus Behavior is voluntary

Contrasted with respondent (Pavlovian) conditioning, which is elicited by a specific stimulus

Skinner box

http://www.theculturebeat.com/wp-content/photos/Skinner_Box.jpg

Law of acquisition: “the strength of an operant behavior

increases when it is followed by the presentation of a reinforcing stimulus”

Key variable: reinforcement Differs from Thorndike's position

Thorndike: explanatory Skinner: strictly descriptive

Operant conditioning

Schedules of reinforcement Original experiments:

Rat received reinforcement every time it performed certain behavior

Later experiments manipulated: When reinforcement occurred (how many responses

required) How often reinforcement occurred (time period after

responses before reinforcement given)

Operant conditioning

Successive approximation

Operant conditioning

Applied Ideas

1945: aircrib Brought skinner public notoriety Mechanized environment invented to

relieve menial labor Not commercially successful Daughter reared in it with no ill effects

http://www.coedu.usf.edu/abatutorial/rtorres/baby%20in%20box.jpg

Teaching machine Invented in the 1920’s by Pressey Promoted by Skinner Not enthusiastically received

Surplus of teachers No public pressure to improve learning

Applied Ideas

Resurgence of interest in 1950’s when Skinner promoted similar device

Excess of students Public pressure to improve education so U.S. could

compete with Soviet Union space program After the 1960s, computer-assisted instructional

methods became dominant

Applied Ideas

Pigeon-guided missiles Developed by Skinner during WWII

Guidance system to steer bombs from warplanes to ground targets

Pigeons housed in missile nose-cones Trained through prior conditioning to peck at

target image Pecking affected angles of missile’s fins Resultant adjustments kept missile on target Pigeons very accurate Military not impressed

Applied Ideas

Walden Two (1948)—a behavioristic society Novel of a 1,000-member rural community Program of behavioral control through positive reinforcement

Behavior modification Uses positive reinforcement Applied in a variety of settings Works with people in same manner as with animals, by

reinforcing desired behavior and extinguishing undesired behavior

Problem: usually only effective within environment where training occurred

Operant conditioning

Criticisms of Skinner’s behaviorism

His extreme view that only observable behavior could be studied

His opposition to theory His willingness to extrapolate

beyond the data to possible real life solutions

The narrow range of behavior studied

His position that all behaviors are learned

Animal Training Circus acts Problem:

Innate behaviors stronger than learned behaviors (instinctive drift)

Ex. pigs trained to pick up a coin and drop it into a bank

Pigs would start burying coin

Criticisms of Skinner’s behaviorism

Sociobehaviorism: the cognitive challenge

Sociobehaviorism Combination of behaviorism and

cognitive theory Studies humans in social situations The third form of behaviorism

Albert Bandura (1925-)

Social cognitive theory Research focus: observation of the behavior of

humans in interaction Emphasizes the role of reinforcement in learning

and behavior modification Reinforcer effective if

Person is consciously aware of what is being reinforced

Person anticipates the same reinforcer if the behavior is repeated

Observational Learning Bobo Doll study

Vicarious reinforcement learning by watching other people’s behavior seeing the consequences of their behavior

Assumption: Humans anticipate outcomes Behavior can be regulated by

Imagining consequences, and Making a conscious selection of the behavior to

manifest

Albert Bandura (1925-)

Self-Efficacy One’s sense of self-esteem and

competency

Affects how a person approaches problems and difficulties

Albert Bandura (1925-)

Greater emphasis on cognitive processes than Bandura

Four cognitive principles determine behaviors

Expectation of amount and kind of reinforcement

Estimation of probability the behavior will lead to a particular reinforcement

Differential values of reinforcers and assessment of their relative worth

Different people place different values on the same reinforcer

Julian Rotter (1916-)

“beliefs about the source of our reinforcers”

Internal locus of control: belief that reinforcement depends on one’s own behavior

External locus of control: belief that reinforcement depends on outside forces such as fate, luck, or the actions of other people

Is learned in childhood from the ways one is treated

Locus of control

The fate of behaviorism

Cognitive challenge to behaviorism from within modified the behaviorist movement

Sociobehaviorists still consider themselves behaviorists Are contrasted with radical behaviorists like Watson and skinner

who do not deal with presumed internal states Skinnerian behaviorism peaked in the 1980s Declined after skinner’s death in 1990

Today’s behaviorism, particularly in applied psychology, is different from forms it took from 1913 (Watson) to 1990 (Skinner)

In an evolutionary sense, the spirit of behaviorism still lives