Burrhus Frederic (B.F) Skinner (1904-1990)

BURRHUS FREDERIC (B.
F)
SKINNER
(1904-1990)
 Burrhus Frederic (B.F) skinner (1904-1990) was an
American psychologist best-known for his influence on
behaviorism. He enjoyed building and inventing things
and during high school, he started to developed an
interest in scientific reasoning. In 1926 he received a
B.A in English literature and his Ph.D. in 1931. He
remained active even after his retirement in 1974. In
1990 he died of complications arising from leukemia at
age 86
SKINNER OPERANT
CONDITIONING
 Is a method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for
behavior. Through operant conditioning, an individual makes an
association between a particular behavior and a consequence.
 Four types of reinforcement
1 Positive reinforcement
2 Negative reinforcement
3 Punishment
4 Extinction
 Reinforcement is a term used in operant
conditioning to refer to anything that increases the
likelihood that a response will occur. Skinner note that
reinforcement is defined by the effect that it has on
behavior. It increases or strengthen the response
including specific tangible rewards, events and
situations. Types of reinforcement might include praise,
getting out of unwanted work, token rewards, candy,
playtime, and fun activities.
WHAT IS A SKINNER BOX
 A Skinner box is a small chamber that is used to conduct operant conditioning

researched with animals. Within the chamber, there is usually a lever or a key that
an individual animal can operate to obtain water and food within the chamber as a
reinforcer.
 B.F. Skinners experiment involve putting a rodent in a “Skinner Box” a small
cage with a bar on one wall that could be pushed to receive a food pellet. When
the rodent discovered that the bar produced a reward, it would go back, and push
it again. It had learned that the voluntary behavior of pushing the bar brought the
reward of food.
 Operant conditioning is also described as actions that are
followed by reinforcement will be strengthened and more
likely to occur in the future.
 Example:
if you tell funny story in class and everybody laughs, you

probably be more likely to tell that story again in the future.
 The work of Skinner was rooted in a view that classical conditioning
was far too simplistic to be a complete explanation of complex
human behavior. Skinner was regarded as the father of operant
conditioning, but this work was based on Thorndike's (1898) law of
effect.
 According to this principle: A behavior that is followed by a
pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and behavior
followed by unpleasant consequences is less likely to be repeated.
FOUR TYPES OF REINFORCEMENT
1 POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
 Strengthens a behavior by providing consequences an individuals
finds rewarding.
 Example:
If your teacher gives you additional points each time you complete
your homework (reward) you will be more likely to repeat this
behavior in the future.
2 NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT
 Is a response or behavior is strengthen by stopping, removing, or
avoiding negative outcome.
 Example:
- You engage in an action in order to avoid a negative result.
- Deciding to take an antacid before you indulge in a spicy meal.
3 PUNISHMENT IN OPERANT CONDITIONING
Punishment is the presentation of an adverse event or
outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it
follows. There are two kinds of punishment. Positive
and Negative punishment and in both of these cases,
the behavior decreases.
4 EXTINCTION IN OPERANT CONDITIONING
In operant conditioning, a behavior eventually becomes extinct if the
rewards no longer follows the behavior.
Example:
You take your sister or brother with you to the store. They ask for a toy,
buy you say no. They cry and you give in, and buy them a toy. The next
time you take them to the store, they immediately start having a
tantrum until you buy them a toy.
 Through operant conditioning, they’ve learned that
misbehaving this way brings them the reward of toy. If you
want this pattern to end, you need to stop buying the toy,
no matter how badly the child behaves. If the child never
gets the toy when they throw a feet eventually, they will
stop doing it. The learned behavioral response at the point
will be extinct.
WHAT IS BEHAVIORISM
 Was the guiding perspective on psychology around 1930s to the

1960s. The general idea behind behaviorism is that people ( and
animal) are heavily influenced and directed by outside factors.
Operant conditioning is built on the foundation of rewards and
punishment. When our behavior is rewarded, we are encourage to
repeat or continue that behavior, and when our behavior is punished,
we are discourage from repeating or continuing that behavior.
THANK YOU AND
GOD BLESS.

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BURRHUS FREDERIC (B.

 A Skinner box is a small chamber that is used to conduct operant conditioning

if you tell funny story in class and everybody laughs, you

 Was the guiding perspective on psychology around 1930s to the

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