Burrhus Frederic Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born March 20th, 1904 in small town named Susquehanna located in central Pennsylvania. Son of a lawyer and educated housewife, Skinner was always encouraged to do well in school. He rather enjoyed his studies and eventually attended Hamilton College in upstate New York. Burrhus Skinner chose not to attend school football games or parties. He found solace in writing for the school paper and faculty until he graduated with a BA English. Skinner used his degree to seek out employment for a newspaper in which he wrote columns on labor issues. Unsatisfied with his occupation, Skinner decided to go back to college in 1925, this time the school would be Harvard. After 5 years of studies, Burrhus achieved his masters in psychology; a year later he received
…show more content…
There is also the form that is known as variable schedule. This means that you change the factor of "x" every time, making the reinforcement not as consistent. In the case of the rats, they can no longer "pace" themselves because both intervals have changed and they can no longer establish what the time will be between behavior and reward. Both of these schedules are resistant to extinction. According to Skinner, this is a method of gambling. You may not win very often but you never know when you win again. It could be the very next time, and if you don't take that bet then you could lose your chance at the possible reward. Negative reinforcement is the taking away of something subjectively bad to increase a behavior. For example, if you turn off the electricity when the rat stands in its hind legs, then it is more likely to stand knowing the there is no punishment or aversive stimulus involved. However, some forms of positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement are hard to distinguish between each
There is also the form that is known as variable schedule. This means that you change the factor of "x" every time, making the reinforcement not as consistent. In the case of the rats, they can no longer "pace" themselves because both intervals have changed and they can no longer establish what the time will be between behavior and reward. Both of these schedules are resistant to extinction. According to Skinner, this is a method of gambling. You may not win very often but you never know when you win again. It could be the very next time, and if you don't take that bet then you could lose your chance at the possible reward. Negative reinforcement is the taking away of something subjectively bad to increase a behavior. For example, if you turn off the electricity when the rat stands in its hind legs, then it is more likely to stand knowing the there is no punishment or aversive stimulus involved. However, some forms of positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement are hard to distinguish between each