-Watson 1924
B.F. Skinner (1904 –1990)
• American psychologist - influential from the 1930’s -
60’s – developed operant conditioning
• Skinner was interested in education
– He believed that behavior is sustained by
reinforcements or rewards, not by free will.
• Famous for the skinner box & the teaching machine
• Often worked with pigeons
& rats and applied what he learned
with these animals to human learning
Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
R S
Skinner’s rat
Operant behavior:
occurs without an
observable external
stimulus
Operates on the
organism’s
environment
Presence of Behavior
Punishment Unpleasant Stimulus Decreases
Consequences for Behaviors