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READING MAIN IDEAS REFLECT: HOW TO INCOPORATE INTO YOUR

Name of Chapter/Journal Article
(APA formatted)
Time Magazine (1971), Skinner’s
1. Utopia: Panacea, or Path to Hell,
pp. 1-11
(Write key ideas or sentences in your own words; indicate page
number)
The science of human behavior does not concern itself with freedom
and must be replaced by behavior and culture (equity, constructive
behavior and freedom of jealousy and gossip), Skinner (p.1)
Skinner likens human behavior to that of animal behavior. ‘Men and
animals as machines.’ (p.1 and p.5)
Human behavior is affected by external environments, where it's more
outer than inner intention. The environment influences and determines
man (p. 2)
Behavioral technology aims to control environmental changes and,
therefore, people’s actions rather than people's feelings. (p. 2)
Punishment is an ineffective way to control human behavior of which
is a consequence of its surrounding environment. (p. 3)
“Build a world in which people are naturally good” by giving people,
with the inclination of doing wrong, worthwhile activities to refocus
their attention to good.
Freedom and free will are social constructs that are nothing more than
an illusion. (p.3)
Watson and Pavlov stated that human behavior is not coming from
their inner mind and emotions, but mainly comes from the outside
environment. (p. 3)
Behavior reinforcement is achieved by repeatedly rewarding, as a form
of conditioning, to achieve the desired behavior. (p. 5)
Albert Bandura was against Skinner's concept, stating "It's impossible
to control human behavior because people aren’t machines to follow
the instructions.” (p. 7)
Positive reinforcement is rewarding good behavior with points or other
incentives instead of punishment. The example of the prisoners
highlighted that their morale and behavior improved immensely. (p. 8)
Persuasion and conventional education is an effective tool we must
adapt for good purposes instead of bad ones. (p. 9)
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
(Describe how understanding these principles can improve your job.)
If I was to apply Skinner’s approach to my work setting, I imagine
emphasis would be on rewarding staff members and students with
positive reinforcement instead of punishing them for poor work or
negative behavior. A technique that is used today in many classrooms
is the reward chart incentive in which you reward students for good
behavior and academic achievement. This is reminiscent of the points
system from the article displayed in the male prison. No one can deny
the success of this technique and should be used for the betterment of
institutions.
In relation to Skinnerism, when applying it to my job, we should
redirect a troublesome student’s attention away from their negative
feelings and behavioral displays towards more positive and fulfilling
activities. This leads to me to question, after reading the article, who is
to blame for a student’s bad behavior. Is it the internal (their own
feelings) or the external (environment, which in this case is school)
that should be held accountable for determining their behavior? For
instance, is it possible that the student is acting improperly due to
being bored and uninspired?
Although I agree that there have been successful techniques borne out
of Skinner’s approach, I do not agree with his philosophy as a whole.
As critics have pointed out, not everyone will comply to his utopian
world. One technique will not work for all. Moreover, the moral
dilemma of controlling a people is unsettling at best.

2.