Chapter 14: Behavioral Analysis (BF Skinner) Flashcards
(42 cards)
Two of the early pioneers of behaviorism were _____.
E. L. Thorndike and John Watson
But the person most often associated with the behaviorist position is _____, whose behavioral analysis is a clear departure from the highly speculative psychodynamic theories.
B. F. Skinner
Skinner minimized speculation and focused almost entirely on _____ behavior.
observable
However, he did not claim that observable behavior is limited to external events. Such private behaviors as thinking, remembering, and anticipating are all observable—by the person experiencing them.
Skinner
Skinner’s strict adherence to observable behavior earned his approach the label _____, a doctrine that avoids all hypothetical constructs, such as ego, traits, drives, needs, hunger, and so forth.
radical behaviorism
In addition to being a radical behaviorist, Skinner can rightfully be regarded as a _____ and an _____.
determinist, environmentalist
As a _____, he rejected the notion of volition or free will. Human behavior does not stem from an act of the will, but like any observable phenomenon, it is lawfully determined and can be studied scientifically.
determinist
As an _____, Skinner held that psychology must not explain behavior on the basis of the physiological or constitutional components of the organism but rather on the basis of environmental stimuli.
environmentalist
The first psychologist to systematically study the consequences of behavior was _____, who worked originally with animals and then later with humans
Edward L. Thorndike
Thorndike observed that learning takes place mostly because of the effects that follow a response, and he called this observation the _____.
law of effect
As originally conceived by Thorndike, the law of effect had two parts. The first stated that responses to stimuli that are followed immediately by a satisfier tend to be _____; the second held that responses to stimuli that are followed immediately by an annoyer tend to be _____.
“stamped in”, “stamped out”
Whereas _____ (satisfiers) strengthen the connection between a stimulus and a response, _____ (annoyers) do not usually weaken this connection. That is, punishing a behavior merely inhibits that behavior; it does not “stamp it out”
rewards, punishments
A second and more direct influence on Skinner was the work of _____.
John B. Watson
Watson had studied both animals and humans and became convinced that the concepts of _____ and introspection must play no role in the scientific study of human behavior.
consciousness
In Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It, Watson argued that human behavior, like the behavior of animals and machines, can be studied _____.
objectively
Scientific behaviorism allows for an interpretation of behavior but not an explanation of its _____.
causes
Skinner recognized two kinds of conditioning, _____.
Classical and Operant
With classical conditioning (which Skinner called _____ conditioning), a response is drawn out of the organism by a specific, identifiable stimulus.
respondent
With operant conditioning (also called _____ conditioning), a behavior is made more likely to recur when it is immediately reinforced.
Skinnerian
Schedules of Reinforcement:
continuous schedule
intermittent schedules
Fixed-Ratio
Variable-Ratio
Fixed-Interval
Variable-Interval
Four basic intermittent schedules
With a _____ schedule, the organism is reinforced intermittently according to the number of responses it makes. Ratio refers to the ratio of responses to reinforcers.
Extremely high fixed-ratio schedules, like 200 to 1, must begin at a low rate of responses and gradually build to a higher one
fixed-ratio
With a _____ schedule, the organism is reinforced after every nth response. With the _____ schedule, it is reinforced after the nth response on the average.
Slot machines
fixed-ratio
With the _____ schedule, the organism is reinforced for the first response following a designated period of time.
Employees working for salary or wages
fixed-interval
