210-02 History of Psychology

Welcome to Seminar for Unit 7With Professor Kimberly Maring

Today’s Focus

• Three stages of Behaviorism

• Skinner and Bandura and their contributions

to the field.

3 Stages of Behaviorism• There are three stages in the progression of

the behaviorist school of thought:– Watson is foundational for the beginning of

behaviorism.

1.Watson’s Behaviorism (1915-1930)

3 Stages of Behaviorism

1. Watson’s Behaviorism (1915-1930)

2. Neobehaviorism (1930-1960)– Tolman Hull Skinner

Clark Leonard Hull(1884–1952)

B. F. Skinner(1904–1990)

Edward Chace Tolman (1886–1959)

3 Stages of Behaviorism

1. Watson’s Behaviorism (1915-1930)2. Neobehaviorism (1930-1960)

– Tolman, Hull, Skinner

3. Neo-neobehaviorism or sociobehaviorism (1960-1990)Social Cognitive Psychology

– Bandura, Rotter

Stage 2 of Behaviorism

Neobehaviorism

with Tollman and Skinner

Operationism• Percy W. Bridgeman (1882-1961)

– respected physicist – Nobel prize-winner from Harvard– Insisted on discarding “pseudo-problems”

(anything which cannot be measured; the soul; the conscience; the unseen)

– Finished the index to his 7-volume book– Shipped to publisher– Killed himself; an end to existence where there is

nothing beyond that which is material

Operationism

• A major characteristic of neobehaviorism

• Sought to rid psychology of pseudo-

problems

• Worked at making the language of

neobehaviorism precise, mathematical,

measurable.

Edward Chace Tolman (1886-1959)

• Purposive Behaviorism: Tolman’s system combined the objective study of behavior with the consideration of purposiveness or goal orientation in behavior.

• Tolman saw 5 variables which contributed to purposive behavior.

Purposive Behaviorism (Tolman)

• Behavior is a function of 5 variables:– Environmental stimuli– Physiological drives– Heredity– Previous training– Age

• Intervening Variables: Unobserved and inferred factors within the organism that are the actual determinants of behavior.

1869 -- 1959

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Skinner and Operant Conditioning

Skinner developed the Operant chamber, or the Skinner box, to study operant conditioning.

Pavlov studied respondent behavior – responses to conditioning

Baby in a Box

Air crib, also called Skinner’s Baby in a BoxRaised his second daughter in one88F, 50% humidityCanvas mattressAir filter systemPicture window

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Types of ReinforcersReinforcement: Any event that strengthens the

behavior it follows.

Schedules of Reinforcement

• Continuous reinforcement refers to reinforcement being administered to each instance of a response

• Intermittent reinforcement lies between continuous reinforcement and extinction

An Example of Continuous Reinforcement

• Each instance of a smile is reinforced

Continuous Reinforcement

Example of Fixed Ratio Reinforcement

• Every fourth instance of a smile is reinforced

Fixed Ratio of 4

Example of Variable Ratio Reinforcement

Random instances of the behavior are reinforced

Variable Ratio of 4

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Schedules of Reinforcement

Unpredictable (or variable) schedule produces more consistent responding than a fixed schedule.

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Punishment

An aversive event that decreases the behavior it follows.

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Punishment

Conveys no information to the organism; what not to do, rather than what to do.

Although there may be some justification for occasional punishment (Larzelaere & Baumrind, 2002), it usually leads to negative effects.

Stage 3 of Behaviorism

Neo-neobehaviorism

Social Cognitive Theory

with Bandura and Rotter

QUESTION

• What types of behaviors are acquired as a

result of observational learning?

• How is modeling used to change behavior?

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Bandura's Experiments: Social Learning Theory

Bandura's Bobo doll study (1961) indicated that

individuals (children) learn through imitating others who receive rewards and

punishments.

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Social Learning Theory

Bandura’s studies show that antisocial models

(family, neighborhood or TV) may have antisocial

effects.

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Television and Observational Learning

Gentile et al., (2004) shows that children in

elementary school who are exposed to violent television, videos, and video games express increased aggression.

What do you think?

Albert Bandura (1925 - )

• Vicarious reinforcement• Self-Efficacy: One’s sense

of self-esteem and competence in dealing with life’s problems.– To what degree do you feel

you have some effect over what happens in your life?

Julian B Rotter(1916 - )

Julian B. Rotter

BP = f(E & RV) • Behavior Potential is a function of expectancy and reinforcement value.• The likelihood of a person exhibiting a

specific behavior is a function of the probability that the behavior will lead to a given outcome and the desirability of that outcome.

Julian B. Rotter

1. Behavior potential

2. Expectancy

3. Reinforcement value

4. The psychological situation.

4 Main Components of Rotter’s Social Learning Theory

Rotter’s Locus of Control

• External Locus of ControlIndividual believes that his/her behavior is

guided by fate, luck, or other external circumstances

• Internal Locus of ControlIndividual believes that his/her behavior is

guided by his/her personal decisions and efforts.

Gestalt Principles of Perceptual Organization

•Max Wertheimer (1880–1943)•Phi Phenomenon

•Wolfgang Köhler (1887–1967)•Restructuring the perceptual field

•Kurt Lewin (1890–1947)•Life space: all events that influence a person’s behavior

Differences between Behaviorists and Gestalt Psychology

• Behaviorists

– Behaviorism refused

to acknowledge the

existence of

consciousness.

• Gestalt Psychologists

– Gestalt Psychology

accepted the study

of consciousness but

criticized the

attempt to analyze it

into elements.

Behaviorist’s Response to Gestalt Psychology

• Appreciated?– Nope!– “A prophet is not

appreciated in his home town.”

• Attacked– a lack of rigor in its

definitions– Gestalt

preoccupation with theory

– Gestalt qualitative results and lack of statistical analysis

Littell, T. (2009). Power Point Presentation of Kaplan University.

Schultz, D. P. & Schultz, S. E. (2011). A history of modern psychology (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth- Cengage Learning.

References