Operant Conditioning and B. F. Skinner

Modern Behaviorism

     B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) was an incredibly influential American psychologist who completely revolutionized the study of behavior. He didn’t just study people’s actions; he created an entire philosophy called radical behaviorism. This school of thought insisted that internal mental events like thoughts, feelings, or intentions were too subjective to be studied scientifically. For Skinner, the real key to understanding why we do what we do lies outside of us, in the environment and the consequences of our actions.

Skinner’s Core Theory: Operant Conditioning

     Skinner’s greatest contribution to psychology is the theory of operant conditioning. It’s basically a learning process where the likelihood of voluntary behavior is determined by what happens after that behavior occurs. He showed that you could “operate” on the environment to bring about certain results, which would then “condition” future behavior.

1. Reinforcement (The Great Motivator)

     Reinforcement raises the likelihood that behavior will recur. Positive Reinforcement is what a subject gets when they do something good (a desirable stimulus is added). Think of a child getting a sticker for cleaning their room. They’ll probably clean it again.  Negative Reinforcement occurs when something bad is taken away (an aversive stimulus is removed). Imagine you buckling your seatbelt and the irritating beeping stops. You’ve been negatively reinforced to buckle up.

2. Punishment (The Discourager)

     Punishment is what decreases the probability of a behavior being repeated. In the case of Positive Punishment something bad is added. For example, getting a ticket for driving too fast. Negative Punishment occurs when something good is removed. Like taking a teenager’s phone away after they break curfew. Crucially, Skinner believed that positive reinforcement was far more effective and ethical than punishment for shaping long-term behavior. Skinner’s theory contributes to the concept of mind, body, and society interaction.