B.F. Skinner and Behaviorism

Early forms of behaviorism included the work of Watson, Tolman, Hull, and Skinner. Skinner presented radical behaviorism, introducing the operationism mechanism (operant conditioning), which remains in experimental psychology today. For Skinner's theory, the organism operates on the environment, encountering a stimulus or reinforcing stimulus (reinforcer) and this stimulus has the effect of increasing the operant or the behavior that takes place prior to the reinforcer. Thus for operant conditioning a behavior is followed by a consequence which modifies the organism's tendency to repeat the behavior. The schedule of reinforcement determines repeat behavior. Continuous reinforcement refers to an operant receiving a reinforcer after each action. Alternate schedules include fixed ratio, fixed interval, and variable schedules. Skinner noted that behavior is shaped with successive approximations. Reinforcement of a behavior can be accomplished with positive reinforcement (receives of positive reinforcer) or negative reinforcement (removal of aversive or puni