BF Skinner

Prepared By: Mary Joyce L. Guevarra, RN

Objectives:
After 15 minutes of lecture the students would be able to: Have insights about BF Skinner Enumerate the 2 main concepts of BF Skinner

Biography
BURRHUS FREDERICK SKINNER

father of Operant Conditioning

Born on March 20, 1904 at Susquehanna, Pennsylvania Died on August 18, 1990 at the age of 86 at Cambridge, Massachussetts

Biography
American behaviourist

Author
Inventor Social Philosopher Poet

Skinner believed that the best way to understand behaviour is to look at the causes of an action and its consequences. He called this approach operant conditioning.

Skinner's theory of operant conditioning was based on the work of Thorndike(1905). Edward Thorndike studied learning in animals using a puzzle box to propose the theory known as the 'Law of Effect'

Operant Conditioning
Behavior is a function of its consequences

A type of learning in which future behaviour is determined by the consequences of past behaviour. In general, if a behaviour results in something that the organism finds pleasant, it is likely to be repeated. Conversely, if behaviour is followed by unpleasant consequences, then it is unlikely to be repeated

Reinforcement
A reinforcement is a consequence that strengthens a behaviour or makes it likely to be repeated. Note that reinforcement is not always the same as a reward. A reward is an example of positive reinforcement (the presentation of a pleasant stimulus). However, behaviour can also be strengthened if it leads to the removal of something unpleasant (negative reinforcement

References
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/159546662/BF-Skinner McLeod, S. A. (2007). Skinner - Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html http://www.simplypsychology.org/Operant%20Conditioning.pdf Organizational Behaviors 13th edition Stephen D. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge p. 90, 225