B. F. Skinner's Theory: The Aspects Of The Theory Of Conforcement

In accordance with the definition given by Michael, 2004, p.30, the principle of reinforcement is defined as follows: ‘’When a type of behaviour (R) is followed by reinforcement (Sr) there will be an increased future frequency of that type of behaviour’’. Following this definition, we can say that a child’s cries at night after being put to bed by his parents is reinforced when the parents come to comfort him in the room to calm him down and so the child’s cries become more probable, as it has as a direct consequence the parents’ attention. Throughout this assignment we will cover some important aspects of the phenomenon of reinforcement, including his history, the three terms contingency, primary and secondary reinforcers, the Premack principle
Skinner in the 1930s conducted other numerous studies on reinforcement on animals in the so-called ‘’Skinner Box’’: ‘’ It is not correct to say the operant reinforcement ‘strengthens the response which precedes it’ the response has already occurred and cannot be changed. What is changed is the future probability of responses in the same class. It is the operant as a class of behaviour, rather than the response as a particular instance, which is conditioned. ‘’ (Skinner, 1953, p.87). Skinner also contributed to Thorndike’s discoveries by illustrating the phenomenon of reinforcement on human beings (in his famous book Science and Human Behaviour, 1953). A quote by Vollmer and Hackenberg, 2011, p.241 describes accurately the remarkable importance of Skinner’s work: ‘’ It is safe to say that without Skinner’s detailed laboratory analysis of reinforcement (Skinner, 1938), there would be no field of ’Applied Behaviour Analysis’ today, least as we know
‘’Premack described this reduction as ‘’characteristic and ‘’nearly inevitable’’, remarking however that, although its relation to the reinforcing effectiveness of high- rate responding was ‘’necessary’’, the reduction was not in itself sufficient’’ (Kevin p. Klatt and Edward K. Morris from the University of Kansas: The Premack Principle, Response Deprivation, and Establishing Operations The Behavior Analyst, 2001, 24, 173-180 No.2). What Alison