THEORY OF

JOHN B. WATSON
and
BURRUS FREDERICK
SKINNER
Clariza S. Mendoza
JOHN B. WATSON
 LIFE AS PSYCHOLOGIST
• First American Psychologist to work with
Pavlov's ideas.
• Pioneer psychologist who played an important
role in developing behaviorism.
• Believes that psychology should primarily be
scientific observable behavior.
 INVOLVEMENT
He was initially involved in animal studies, then
later became involved in human behavior research.
 Experiment on Albert
A young child and a white rat.
 THE LITTLE ALBERT
Albert was not afraid of the rat; but
Watson made a sudden loud noise
each time Albert touched the rat.

Watson then "extinguished" or

made the child "unlearn" fear by
showing the rat without the loud
noise.
Burrhus Frederick
Skinner
 LIFE AS PSYCHOLOGIST
• He believed in the stimulus-response pattern of
conditioned behavior.
• On his book "Science and Human Behavior" in
which he pointed out how the principles of
operant conditioning function in social institutions
such as government, law, religion, economics and
education.
 INVOLVEMENT
• Skinner's work differs from that of the three
behaviorists before him in that he studied operant
behavior (voluntary behaviors used in operating
on the environment).
Operant
Conditioning A Reinforcement
Based upon the notion
that learning is a result the key element in Skinner's Stimulus -
of change in overt Response theory.
behavior.
Changes in behavior are B Reinforcer
the result of an
individual's response to
anything that strengthens the
events (stimuli) that
occur in the desired response.
environment.
 REINFORCER

POSITIVE NEGATIVE
REINFORCER REINFORCER
any stimulus that is any stimulus that
given or added to results in the
increase the increased frequency
response. of response when it is
withdrawn or
removed.
extinction or
non-reinforcement
Responses that are not
reinforced are not
likely to be repeated.
 Shaping of
Behavior
To accomplish such behavior, successive
approximation of the behavior are rewarded
until the animal learns the association
between the lever and the food reward.
 Behavioral
Chaining
comes about when a series of
steps are needed to be learned.
 Reinforcement
Schedules
Once the desired behavioral response is
accomplished, reinforcement does not have
to be 100%
 Fixed Interval
Schedules
Target response is reinforced after
a fixed amount of time has passed
since the last reinforced.
 Variable Interval
Schedules
Similar to fixed interval schedules
but the amount of time that must
pass between reinforcement
varies.
 Fixed Ratio
Schedules
A fixed number of correct responses
must occur before reinforcement may
recur.
 Variable Ratio
Schedules
number of correct repetitions of
the correct response for
reinforcement varies.
THANK YOU FOR
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