Skinner’s Legacy
B. F. Skinner stirred a hornet’s nest with his outspoken beliefs. He repeatedly insisted that external influences, not internal thoughts and feelings, shape behavior. He argued that brain science isn’t needed for psychological science, saying that “a science of behavior is independent of neurology” (Skinner, 1938/1966, pp. 423–424). And he urged people to use operant conditioning principles to influence others’ behavior at school, work, and home. Knowing that behavior is shaped by its results, he argued that we should use rewards to evoke more desirable behavior.
B. F. Skinner “I am sometimes asked, ‘Do you think of yourself as you think of the organisms you study?’ The answer is yes. So far as I know, my behavior at any given moment has been nothing more than the product of my genetic endowment, my personal history, and the current setting” (1983).
Skinner’s critics objected, saying that he dehumanized people by neglecting their personal freedom and by seeking to control their actions. Skinner’s reply: External consequences already haphazardly control people’s behavior. Why not administer those consequences toward human betterment? Wouldn’t reinforcers be more humane than the punishments used in homes, schools, and prisons? And if it is humbling to think that our history has shaped us, doesn’t this very idea also give us hope that we can shape our future?