Radical Behaviorism-Personality

B. F. Skinner
Type of psychology: Personality
Fields of study: Behavioral and cognitive models; instrumental
conditioning
Radical behaviorism describes the views of Skinner, an influential figure in American
psychology since the 1930’s. Skinner argued that most behavior is controlled by its consequences;
he invented an apparatus for observing the effects of consequences, advocated
a technology of behavior control, and believed that everyday views about the
causes of behavior were an obstacle to its true understanding.

Key concepts
• contingency of reinforcement
• discriminative stimulus
• experimental analysis of behavior
• mentalism
• operant
• private events
• rule-governed behavior
• shaping
According to B. F. Skinner (1904-1990), the behavior of an organism is a
product of current and past environmental consequences and genetic endowment.
Because little can be done, at least by psychology, about genetic
endowment, Skinner focused on those things that could be changed or controlled:
the immediate consequences of behavior. By consequences, Skinner
meant the results or effects that a particular behavior (a class of responses,
or “operant”) produces. There are many ways to open a door, for example,
but because each one allows a person to walk to the next room, one would
speak of a “door-opening” operant. The consequences not only define the
class of responses but also determine how often members of the class are
likely to occur in the future. This was termed the Law of Effect by early twentieth
century American psychologist Edward L. Thorndike, whose work
Skinner refined.
Skinner analyzed behavior by examining the antecedents and consequences
which control any specific class of responses in the individual organism.
From this view, he elaborated a psychology that encompassed all aspects
of animal and human behavior, including language. By the late 1970’s,
historians of psychology ranked Skinner’s work as the second most significant
development in psychology since World War II; the general growth of
the field was ranked first. Three journals arose to publish work in the
Skinnerian tradition: Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Journal of
Applied Behavior Analysis, and Behaviorism. Moreover, an international organization, the Association for Behavior Analysis, was formed, with its own
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