B. F. Skinner: Psychology And Operant Conditioning

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The psychologist that I choose to write about is B. F. Skinner. B. F. Skinner full name is Burrhus Frederic Skinner, he was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher. Skinner was born on March 20, 1904 in Pennsylvania and died on August 18, 1990 in Massachusetts.

B. F. Skinner attended Harvard University to study psychology after failing to become a professional writer. While attending Harvard, Skinner was known for being smart, friendly, and helpful to others. Skinner wanted to study more on behavior and became famous for what is known as operant conditioning or Skinner Box.

The Skinner Box was used to conduct experiments using lab rats in attempts to modify behavior using positive and negative reinforcement. Skinner found it more productive to study …show more content…

Negative Reinforcement is a stimulus that helps avoid aversive stimuli or response by strengthening other responses. This type of reinforcement can cause escapism or avoidance learning.

Punishment is a procedure by which the application or removal of Stimulus decreases the strength of a behavior. There are 2 types of Punishment. Positive Punishment is a procedure in which the application aversive Stimulus decreases the strength of preceding behavior. Negative punishment is a procedure in which the removal of Stimulus (reinforcing stimulus) decreases the strength of preceding behavior (negative or undesired behavior). Extinction is defined as behavior being extinguished or stops occurring because the behavior is no longer being reinforced.

The behavior can be reinforced or extinguished by fixing a schedule of interval. There are 2 types of intervals: Continuous Reinforcement Schedule - In which the reward or punishment follows the behavior every time the behavior

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