Skinner's Model: Conditioning and Reinforcer

              Regarding the primary model of pathology in behaviorism, conditioning and reinforcement are the key concepts to adjust negative behaviors. Thus, I’d like to describe the mechanism of conditioning and reinforcement in the following.

              In the first place, Frager & Fadiman (2002) explicates that “the conditioning that takes place depends on what occurs after the behavior has been completed” (p. 252). The following example illustrates the idea of the conditioning. I have one client who wants to break the habit of biting his nail. But it seems difficult for him to stop that quickly because he has this habit for many years. So, I decided to give him a cigarette which is his favorite thing when he wants to bite his nail. Once he was able to stop biting his nail, I gave him a cigarette. Gradually, his negative habit was modified by the cigarettes. This reward may not be desirable, but the conditioning (especially, operant conditioning) is roughly the above process. To explain more about the characteristics of the conditioning, there are mainly three points. The first is that “conditioning can and does take place without awareness” (Frager & Fadiman, 2002, p. 253). In other words, our recognitions are affected by our past perceptions, and we are not aware of learning to respond to a conditioned response in our daily life. The second is that “conditioning is maintained in spite of awareness” (p. 253). To put it another way, we can be conditioned even though we perceive the process of conditioning. In a sense, we may not resist the conditioned responses by using awareness. The last is that “conditioning is less effective when the subject is aware but uncooperative” (p. 253). This means that a positive cooperation is required to modify a negative conditioning to positive one.

              In the second place, this is Skinner’s view: our all behaviors are created by a mixture of positive and negative reinforcers. Here, I’d like to clarify the meaning of both positive and negative reinforcers. In a word, a positive reinforcer is a stimulus that serves to increase the likelihood of the response that produces it. For instance, ice cream could be a positive reinforcer when we feel hot, and if we eat it, we tend to behave in the same way again on similar occasions. On the other hand, a negative reinforcer is a stimulus that works for decreasing the likelihood of the response that produces it (Frager & Fadiman, 2002). For example, turning off the radio when we attempt to work, and if turning off the radio increases the quality of our work, the stimulus of turning off the radio is a negative reinforcer.

              As the above described, the mechanism of conditioning and reinforcement will be key when we modify a certain habit.  

Reference

1 Personality and Personal Growth (6th Edition)