Answer to Question 1
ANS: Skinner did not offer a personality theory that can easily be contrasted and compared with others. In fact, Skinner did not offer a personality theory at all, nor did his research deal specifically with personality. His work attempted to account for all behavior, not just personality, in factual, descriptive terms. Skinner argued that psychologists must restrict their investigations to facts, to only what they can see, manipulate, and measure in the laboratory. That meant an exclusive emphasis on the overt responses a subject makes and nothing more. Skinner's contention was that psychology is the science of behavior, of what an organism does. His study of behavior was the antithesis of the psychoanalytic, trait, life-span, cognitive, and humanistic approaches, differing not only in subject matter but in methodology and aims.
In explaining personality, most other theorists look inside the person for clues. The causes, motives, and drivesthe forces that direct our development and behaviororiginate within each of us. In contrast, Skinner made no reference to internal, subjective states to account for behavior. Unconscious influences, defense mechanisms, traits, and other driving forces cannot be seen, he argued, and therefore they have no place in a scientific psychology.
Skinner did not deny the existence of internal forces, only their usefulness for science. Skinner applied similar reasoning to physiological processes, which are not overtly observable and so have no relevance for science. He saw no need to look inside the organism for some form of inner activity. To Skinner, human beings are empty organisms, by which he meant that there is nothing inside us that can explain behavior in scientific terms.
Another way Skinner differed from other theorists is in his choice of experimental subject. Some personality theorists focus on emotionally disturbed persons, others on normal or average individuals. Although Skinner's ideas about behavior have been applied to people, the research for his behavioral approach used rats and pigeons. Responding to stimuli is something animals do well, sometimes better than people do. Thus, he chose animal behavior because it is simpler than human behavior.
Answer to Question 2
ANS: F
FEEDBACK: Negative reinforcement does not always work, whereas positive reinforcement is more consistently effective. Skinner opposed using noxious stimuli to modify behavior, noting that the consequences were not as predictable as with positive reinforcement.
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The Skinner Box