The 55 best phrases of B. F. Skinner and behaviorism
B. F. Skinner has been one of the most important psychologists in the history of psychology. Maximum exponent of operant or instrumental conditioning, he is best known for his studies with mice and pigeons.
- You can learn more about his theory in our post: "B. F. Skinner: life and work of a radical behaviorist"
The best phrases of B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner has left a multitude of famous quotes for history. In this article you can find 55 of his best phrases.
1. Nobody asks how to motivate a baby. A baby naturally explores everything he can, unless he is prevented from doing so. And yet this trend does not die alone, it is annihilated
Interaction with the environment allows us to learn and develop.
2. The most significant fact of our time is the growing weakness of the family
A Skinner quote that talks about family.
3. Triumph over nature and over yourself. But never about the others
In his theory, Skinner talks about reinforcement and how it affects our behavior.
4. It is a surprising fact that those who most strongly oppose the manipulation of behavior, nevertheless make the most vigorous effort to manipulate minds.
Skinner, in his investigations, manipulated the environment in order to record the consequences of behavior.
5. You don't have to teach the great books; we must teach the love of reading. Knowing the content of some works of literature is a trivial achievement. Getting inclined to keep reading is a great achievement
A reflection that allows free interpretation.
6. What people feel is as important as what they do
Positive reinforcement causes us to repeat the behavior again.
7. Science is a willingness to accept facts, even when they oppose wishes
Skinner greatly influenced the development of psychology as a science.
8. The proposals and hypotheses of psychology must be verified exclusively through objective evidence
As a behaviorist, observable behavior is what has value in the study of psychology.
9. At this very moment huge numbers of men and women of goodwill are trying to build a better world. But problems arise faster than they can be solved
Skinner claims that the world changes very quickly.
10. I did not direct my life. I did not design it. I never made decisions. Things always came up and did them for me. That's what life is
Skinner was a behaviorist and, therefore, according to him, the environment shapes our behavior.
11. If freedom is a requirement for human happiness, then all that is necessary is to provide the illusion of freedom.
If we change the perception we have, we change what we feel.
12. Democracy is the spawn of despotism. And such a father, such a son. Democracy is the power and the rule. It is not the will of the people, he remembers; which is the will of the majority
Democracy refers to the will of the great part of the people.
13. There is no reason why a man cannot be taught to think
You also learn to think, explains Skinner
14. Education is what survives when everything learned is forgotten
Experiential learning has a greater effect than rote learning.
15. Society strikes early, when the individual can do nothing
Society have a great impact on our development.
16. Not everyone is willing to defend an "I don't know" position. There is no virtue in ignorance
Ignorance is associated with inferiority.
17. A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best thing to do in those circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying
Failure can actually be an opportunity to grow.
18. The concept of the mind is a human invention, not a discovery
Behaviorists like Skinner looked down on the mind. They did not attach great importance to it, at least when it came to studying human behavior.
19. The real problem is not whether machines think, but whether men do
A reflection of Skinner with a touch of irony.
20. Do not consider any practice as immutable. Change and be willing to change again. He did not accept the eternal truth. Try.
People can change through experience.
21. Men act on the world, modifying it and are in turn modified by the consequences of their action
In clear reference to the concept of reinforcing him.
22. We must not teach great books, we must teach a love of reading
Habits are learned. and reading, which brings many benefits to people, is a good habit.
23. Stable personal affection is more than a romantic rationalization of an economic unit
Affection is something that cannot be measured.
24. When something is pleasant to us, we are more likely to repeat it
In instrumental conditioning, the pleasant or unpleasant consequences cause us to repeat a behavior or not.
25. Men build society and society builds men
We act on the environment and the environment acts on us.
26. The consequences of an act affect the probability that it will occur again
Again, a mention of the impact consequences have on our behavior.
27. Science is above all a set of attitudes. It is a willingness to deal with facts rather than what someone has said about them... Science is a willingness to accept facts even when they are contrary to wishes
Science must be rigorous and objective, explains Skinner
28. The world is at a mediocre level. Any society that is free from hunger and violence looks brilliant in this context.
Human beings are treating the world badly.
29. There are striking similarities between natural selection, operant conditioning, and the evolution of the social environment. All three not only dispense with a prior creative design and a prior purpose, but also turn to the notion of survival as value. The good thing for the species is that it favors its survival. What is good for the individual is what promotes his well-being. What is good for culture is what allows it to solve its problems
Unlike classical conditioning, operant conditioning is not based on an automatic response to an environmental stimulus, but has a direction and purpose, reflecting the subject's knowledge of the consequences of its action.
30. We do not choose survival as a value, it is she who chooses us
The environment has a great influence on our lives.
31. The life of the mind is said to require and consume psychic energy. This is simply another way of representing the probability of behavior derived from supervisory or reinforcement contingencies.
For behaviorists, observable behavior has more value than mental processes.
32. The real problem is not whether machines think, but whether men do
There is a certain touch of humor in this quote from B. F. Skinner
33. The only geniuses are those produced by the chaos of society, they are the ones who do something about it. Chaos begets geniuses
Solving problems and adapting to the environment is what makes us smart.
34. The person is not a generating agent; a point at which many genetic and environmental conditions converge in a common effect. No one else (unless he has an identical twin) has his genetic endowment, and no one else, without exception, has his own personal history. Therefore, no one else will behave in exactly the same way.
The experiences mark our development and our personality
35. All people speak of the mind without hesitation, but are puzzled when asked to define it
Behaviorists like Skinner, Watson or Pavlov, underestimated the role of the mind in our behavior.
36. Each person is in contact with a small part of the universe contained within their own skin
A deep reflection that invites the reader to interpret it freely.
37. The main problem facing the world today can only be solved if we improve our understanding of human behavior
Understanding ourselves is essential to living in harmony.
38. A piece of music is an experience that must be taken on its own
Skinner highlights the value of this art.
39. Do not intervene between a person and the consequences of their actions
Skinner argued that the main learning process consisted in associating acts with their perceived consequences.
40. I don't believe in God so I'm not scared of dying
One of Skinner's phrases about your religious beliefs, or rather, the absence of them.
41. When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who controls whom
Skinner understood that human beings can intervene in the environment so that it influences themselves in the desired way, so control oneself It can mean doing it this way or, conversely, not worrying about influencing yourself and letting everything take its course without realizing the potential of operant conditioning.
42. My rats have taught me much more than I have taught them
This researcher developed most of his work by experimenting with animals.
43. The rat is always right
Rats express behavior that is not contaminated by biases
44. We have not yet seen what man can make of man
Another of Skinner's phrases in which he talks about the potential of behavioral modification technology.
45. Freedom is an illusion, but a valuable one
Skinner had a deterministic conception of nature.
46. Instead of building a world where you can live well, we should stop building one where you can't live at all
A phrase that reflects the pessimism that Skinner showed on certain issues.
47. Problem solving typically involves stimulus discrimination
Distinguishing between stimuli is necessary to draw conclusions about the experience.
48. One of the advantages of education is simply going to the end
Another of the critical phrases with the typical educational model.
49. If you are old, do not try to change yourself, change your environment
There is a point where it is better to concentrate efforts on changing the exterior.
50. A man who has been incarcerated for violent assault is not necessarily less prone to violence
Punishments don't have to work in any context.
51. Asking the citizen to take an oath is to lose some of the authentic loyalty that he could develop, since any loyal behavior will be attributed to the oath
A skillful observation based on the idea of operant conditioning.
52. The scientist may not be sure of the answer, but he is sure that he can find one.
A reflection on the attitude that scientists usually have.
53. What is love but another name for positive reinforcement? Or vice versa
One of B. F. Skinner with a touch more scathing and humorous at the same time.
54. Generally a disappointment is not an oversight; it could be the best that can be extracted from a specific situation. The wrong thing is to stop trying
Disappointments teach us to progress.
55. A permissive government is one that leaves control of society to other sources.
A somewhat dark vision of politics: less government does not mean more freedom.
