History of Neurology

B.F. SKINNER PHD (1904-1990)

MARCH 6TH, 2017 NEUROLOGY RESIDENT MORNING REPORT

B. F. SKINNER PHD (1904-1990)

• B-Susquehanna, Pennsylvania • Hamilton College BA/Harvard PhD Psychology (1931) • Influenced by Watson • Research at Harvard till 1936 • Then U Minn, U of Indiana & back to Harvard 1948-1970 • Developed field of Radical Behaviorism

– All actions have consequences of environmental reinforcement – Humans react the same like rats in a reward/punishment experiment

30-Second Psychology

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B. F. SKINNER PHD (1904-1990)

• Skinner Box-operant behavior chamber • He put his daughter in Skinner Box • The Behavior of Organisms (1938) • Respondent behaviors

– are elicited by stimuli, modified by respondent conditioning called “Pavlovian conditioning" or "classical conditioning“

• Operant Behaviors – not induced by any particular stimulus, strengthened

through operant conditioning, occurrence of a response yields a reinforce sensation

B. F. SKINNER PHD HOW CAN COMPLEX & NOVEL BEHAVIORS BE EXPLAINED

• Darwinian answer: – Behavior of an individual varies from moment to moment; a

variation followed by reinforcement in others themed by becomes prominent in behavioral repertoire

• Walden Two-1948 – Utopian (?Dystopian) enclosed – Fictional experimental community in USA 1940’s – Productivity and happiness of citizens in this community

is great because residents practice scientific social planning and use operant conditioning for raising children.

• Followed by: Beyond Freedom & Dignity (1971) 1971

1948

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Who is this?

Karl Lashley PhD BF Skinner PhD

Skinner’s Publications

The Behavior of Organisms 1938

Walden Two 1948 Science and Human

Behavior 1951

About Behaviorism 1974

Particulars of My Life 1976

Reflections on Behaviorism and Society 1978