behaviorism chapter 11
TRANSCRIPT
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