B. F. Skinner was a well-known psychologist, a behaviorist, who developed the theory of ‘operant conditioning’. Skinner believed that behaviors which are supported tend to be carried on while those that lead to a punishment end eventually. His theory states that behavior can be modified or changed based on the kind of reinforcement, either positive or negative. A person is able to associate a kind of behavior to the consequences that come with it. For example, a person will pass exams if he or she studies or one will be rewarded if a certain task is performed. The rewards or the consequences make a person perform that certain task. Skinner further explains that a person should concentrate on the external rewards of behavior rather than the unseen motivations or thoughts (McLeod, 2015).
Since behavior is reinforced, there are two kinds of reinforcers according to Skinner, positive and negative reinforcers. The negative reinforcers are those that are removed or abandoned after a certain desirable behavior has been shown. They tend to pull back an individual or stop a person from behaving in a way that is encouraged. Positive reinforcers are those things that come when a person behaves in a certain way. They come as an encouragement and can be given in terms of gifts or praises. The main goal of reinforcing a behavior is for it to increase. For the person to continue behaving in the same way. On the contrary, punishments are given to weaken the undesired behavior and hence not the same as negative reinforcers.In addition, Skinner developed a scientific philosophy named ‘radical behaviorism’ that was first published in his book ‘Behavior of Organisms’. This philosophy assumes that a person behaves in a certain way because of the reinforcers that exist in the environment of that person. It works together with the theory(McLeod, 2015).
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On further research, Skinner discovered that the behavior will be maintained only if the reinforcers follow a certain pattern. That is when he discovered the ‘schedules of reinforcement’. The schedules that he concentrated on were; continuous, interval which constituted the fixed and variable and lastly ratio which also has fixed and variable. In continuous reinforcement, a reinforcer is given whenever a person behaves in a certain way. This reinforcement is good especially when a person is learning new behavior. Secondly, the interval reinforcement is all about time between one reinforcement and another. In fixed interval reinforcement, the time between one reinforcement and the other remains the same while in variable interval reinforcement, the time varies. Lastly, in ratio reinforcement, a certain behavior is reinforced after it occurs for a number of times. In fixed ratio reinforcement, there are fixed number of times that behavior should take place while in variable ratio the number of times before a behavioris reinforced vary.
Apart from his theory, Skinner came up with other inventions. One of his inventions was the ‘operant conditioning chamber’ which was also referred to as ‘Skinner Box’. This instrument was used in experiments to analyze the behavior of animals. The instrument was used in a number of experiments like in studying the reinforcement schedules, punishment, memory and discriminated control. It delivered food to the study population which was the rats and pigeons. This apparatus was used together with other variables like light and electric shock. The chamber has been of great importance to many scientific studies. Repeatable response was discovered through the use of the chamber.
Furthermore, Skinner made another instrument that was to be used with the operant conditioning chamber, ‘Cumulative Recorder’. This instrument helped record repeated response by use of ink and pen. It was very convenient because it recorded each response making it easier for the researcher to trace back and make conclusions. There was a sheet of paper that unrolled over a cylinder and a pen made markings on it from one end to the other making a graph. Skinner utilized this tool when studying behavior and was later adopted by the other scientists. Most of his books contain graphs made by the cumulative recorder. With the great advancement in technology, the cumulative recorder has been replaced by the computers.
Skinner did not stop at that, he went further to invent the ‘Air Crib’. He made to make work easier for his wife when taking care of the baby. It made the baby more comfortable by increasing movement and preventing the baby rash. This invention received so much criticism because it seemed humiliating. Some companies adopted it but it failed later. After his invention failing, he went on to discover a ‘Teaching Machine’(Smith & Woodward, 1996).
The teaching machine assisted teachers in delivering the curriculum in a certain order. The machine made significant contribution to education. The machine was made in way that it housed questions and showed them one at a time. The learners had a way of responding to the questions. Upon delivering the correct answer, the learner had to be encouraged through being given a reward. Skinner championed for the use of the tool at different levels of learning. It made teaching easier and had a way of being adjusted to fit each student. Currently, the computers have replaced such machines and researchers are not coming up with such machines.
The other contribution that Skinner made was coming up with the ‘Pigeon Guided Missile’. The U.S Army needed an effective weapon that could attack ships during the 2 nd World War. Skinner came up with the ‘Project Pigeon’ that gave an effective and simple way. It divided a missile in to and could be guided from a screen till it hits the target. The invention was later abandoned too and more sophisticated methods used because people did not believe so much in it.
Finally, Skinner discovered the ‘Verbal Summator’. People were able to listen to incomprehensible words but got some meaning out of it. It was briefly used by Skinner in studying verbal behavior. It was later adopted by other researchers to come up with other tests. Skinner as a psychologist made significant impact to psychology as a field and science as a whole with the inventions he came up with (Smith & Woodward, 1996).
References
Smith, L. D. and Woodward, W. R. (1996). B. F. Skinner and Behaviorism in American Culture. Bethlehem, PA: Lehigh University Press.
McLeod, S. A. (2015). Skinner-Operant Conditioning. Retrieved October 25, 2016 from www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
