Reflections on Behaviorism and Society

Reflections on Behaviorism and Society PDF Author: Burrhus Frederic Skinner
Publisher: Prentice Hall
ISBN:
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
B.F. Skinner presents his views on behavior modification and the role of behaviorism in society, education, and future attainment of the goals of humanism.

Reflections on Behaviorism and Society

Reflections on Behaviorism and Society PDF Author: Burrhus Frederic Skinner
Publisher: Prentice Hall
ISBN:
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
B.F. Skinner presents his views on behavior modification and the role of behaviorism in society, education, and future attainment of the goals of humanism.

Certainties and Doubts

Certainties and Doubts PDF Author: George Caspar Homans
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 9781412819268
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
George Caspar Homans, one of America's leading intellectual figures, presents here his collected papers, covering twenty-three years of work, on the nature of sound theory in social science. Subjects addressed include social structure, power, distributive justice, ethnomethodology, and behaviorism, all issues of concerns as well as continuing professional controversy. Homans also offers social histories that deal with social organization, political design, and the behavior of men and women in a time of fierce ideological conflict. He concludes by developing his viewpoint on the rightful place of general theory within social science. Homans' career has spanned many of the key periods in the development of twentieth century social science. His own work has been central to this process. He was the first and major sociologist to appreciate the sociologist implications of psychologists' work on learning and behavior theory. His contributions to modern sociology have had a major impact on the study of small groups, the problem of theory and methods of theory construction, and the study of basic characteristics of social behavior. George Casper Homans is a professor of sociology emeritus, Harvard University. He has taught at the Universities of Manchester, Cambridge, and Kent. He is the author of Coming to My Senses: The Autobiography of a Sociologist, (Transaction, 1984); The Human Group; Social Behavior; along with numerous other works on social behavior and social theory.

Schedules of Reinforcement

Schedules of Reinforcement PDF Author: B. F. Skinner
Publisher: B. F. Skinner Foundation
ISBN: 0989983951
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 794

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Book Description
The contingent relationship between actions and their consequences lies at the heart of Skinner’s experimental analysis of behavior. Particular patterns of behavior emerge depending upon the contingencies established. Ferster and Skinner examined the effects of different schedules of reinforcement on behavior. An extraordinary work, Schedules of Reinforcement represents over 70,000 hours of research primarily with pigeons, though the principles have now been experimentally verified with many species including human beings. At first glance, the book appears to be an atlas of schedules. And so it is, the most exhaustive in existence. But it is also a reminder of the power of describing and explaining behavior through an analysis of measurable and manipulative behavior-environment relations without appealing to physiological mechanisms in the brain. As en exemplar and source for the further study of behavioral phenomena, the book illustrates the scientific philosophy that Skinner and Ferster adopted: that a science is best built from the ground up, from a firm foundation of facts that can eventually be summarized as scientific laws.

The Technology of Teaching

The Technology of Teaching PDF Author: B. F. Skinner
Publisher: B. F. Skinner Foundation
ISBN: 099645392X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
On Parent's Day, in 1952, B. F. Skinner visited his daughter's fourth grade math class. As he watched the lesson, he became increasingly uncomfortable. Almost every principle of effective teaching that he had studied for more than 20 years was being violated in that classroom. Yet it was a typical class. The teacher showed how to solve the day's problems, then gave the students a worksheet to do. Some children began to work readily while others shifted uncomfortably in their chairs, or raised their hands for help. The teacher went from desk to desk, giving help and feedback. Skinner knew what was needed. Each student should be given a problem tailored precisely to his or her skill level, not to the class average, and every answer needed to be assessed immediately to determine the next step. The task was clearly impossible for one teacher. That afternoon, Skinner set to work on a teaching machine. Today's computers have made the mechanical machine obsolete, but the principles of how to design instruction in steps that lead from a basic level to competent performance are as valid today as they were in the 20th century. This book brings together Skinner's writings on education during the years he was most involved in improving education.

Walden Two

Walden Two PDF Author: B. F. Skinner
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
ISBN: 1603840362
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
A reprint of the 1976 Macmillan edition. This fictional outline of a modern utopia has been a center of controversy ever since its publication in 1948. Set in the United States, it pictures a society in which human problems are solved by a scientific technology of human conduct.

The Psychology of B F Skinner

The Psychology of B F Skinner PDF Author: William O′Donohue
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1506317782
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
"The authors provide a concise overview of the basic principles and methods used by modern behavior analysts, as well as a thorough discussion of the difference between reward and reinforcement and elicited and emitted behavior." —THE PSYCHOLOGICAL RECORD "O′Donohue and Ferguson provide an exceptionally clear picture of the breadth, scientific importance, and value to society of the work of the late B.F. Skinner. They include reasons that his work has been criticized and misunderstood. A substantial index, an attractive cover and typeface, and a readable style are bonuses to this exceptionally well-researched, accurate, and fair description of Skinner′s work. All collections."— CHOICE In The Psychology of B. F. Skinner, William T. O′Donohue and Kyle E. Ferguson not only introduce the life of one of the most influential psychologist of the past century but also put that life into historical and philosophical context. In so doing, they illuminate Skinner′s contributions to psychology, his philosophy of science, his experimental research program, and the behavioral principles and applied aspects that emerged from it. They also rebut criticism of Skinner′s work, including radical behaviorism, and discuss key developments others have derived from it. Behaviorists, or more precisely Skinnerians, commonly consider Skinner′s work to have been misrepresented, misunderstood, and, to some extent, even defamed. The authors take great care in accurately representing both the strengths and the weaknesses of his positions. They also attempt to correct misinterpretations of his work. Finally, they guide students through Skinner′s theories and demonstrate their applications and usefulness via extensive examples and illustrations.

Rule-Governed Behavior

Rule-Governed Behavior PDF Author: Steven C. Hayes
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 147570447X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
Animal learning and human learning traditions have been distinguishable within psychology since the start of the discipline and are to this day. The human learning wing was interested in the development of psychological functions in human organisms and proceeded directly to their examination. The animal learning wing was not distinguished by a corresponding interest in animal behavior per se. Rather, the animal learners studied animal behavior in order to identify principles of behavior of relevance to humans as well as other organisms. The two traditions, in other words, did not differ so much on goals as on strategies. It is not by accident that so many techniques of modem applied psychol ogy have emerged from the animal laboratory. That was one of the ultimate purposes of this work from the very beginning. The envisioned extension to humans was not just technological, however. Many animal researchers, B. F. Skinner most prominently among them, recognized that direct basic research with humans might ultimately be needed in certain areas but that it was wise first to build a strong foundation in the controlled environment of the animal laboratory. In a sense, animal learning was always in part a human research program in development.

B F Skinner

B F Skinner PDF Author: Marc N. Richelle
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 1317716124
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
B.F. Skinner died in August 1990. He had been praised as one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, but was also attacked by a variety of opponents within and outside the field of psychology. This introduction to his work is first of all a guide to a correct reading of his writings, a reading devoid of the distortions and misinterpretations often conveyed by many commentators, including psychologists. It frames Skinner's contributions with reference to major European traditions in psychological sciences, namely Pavlov, Freud, Lorenz and Piaget. Crucial aspects of Skinner's theory and methodological stands are discussed in the context of contemporary debates: special attention is devoted to the relationship of psychology with biology and the neurosciences, to the cognitivist movement, to the status of language and to the explanation of novelty and creativity in human behaviour.; Finally, Skinner's social and political philosophy is presented with an emphasis on the provocative aspects of an analysis of current social practices which fail to solve most of the urgent problems humankind is confronted with today. Both in science proper and in human affairs at large, Skinner's thought is shown to be not behind, as is often claimed, but ahead of the times, be it in his interactive view of linguistic communication, in his very modern use of the evolutionary analogy to explain the dynamics of behaviour, or in his vision of ecological constraints.

Behavior Analysis and Learning

Behavior Analysis and Learning PDF Author: W. David Pierce
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 1135811350
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
Behavior Analysis and Learning, Fourth Edition is an essential textbook covering the basic principles in the field of behavior analysis and learned behaviors, as pioneered by B. F. Skinner. The textbook provides an advanced introduction to operant conditioning from a very consistent Skinnerian perspective. It covers a range of principles from basic respondent conditioning through applied behavior analysis into cultural design. Elaborating on Darwinian components and biological connections with behavior, the book treats the topic from a consistent worldview of selectionism. The functional relations between the organism and the environment are described, and their application in accounting for old behavior and generating new behavior is illustrated. Expanding on concepts of past editions, the fourth edition provides updated coverage of recent literature and the latest findings. There is increased inclusion of biological and neuroscience material, as well as more data correlating behavior with neurological and genetic factors. The material presented in this book provides the reader with the best available foundation in behavior science and is a valuable resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in psychology or other behavior-based disciplines. In addition, a website of supplemental resources for instructors and students makes this new edition even more accessible and student-friendly.

Psychology, Fourth Edition

Psychology, Fourth Edition PDF Author: Peter O. Gray
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780716751625
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 844

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Book Description
The new edition of Gray's acclaimed text, featuring dramatic new coverage of sensation and perception and new media tools that actively involve students in psychological research.