BEHAVIORAL

ANALYSIS
ARON V. DE LEON
MA – GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING
What Is Behavior Analysis?
 Behavior analysis is a natural science that seeks to
understand the behavior of individuals.
 That is, behavior analysts study how biological,
pharmacological, and experiential factors influence the
behavior of humans and nonhuman animals. Recognizing
that behavior is something that individuals do, behavior
analysts place special emphasis on studying factors that
reliably influence the behavior of individuals, an emphasis
that works well when the goal is to acquire adaptive behavior
or ameliorate problem behavior.
 Behaviorism was largely established through the influential work of three
theorists:
 Ivan Pavlov
 John B. Watson
 B.F. Skinner
 Pavlov discovered the conditioning reflex during his studies with dogs,
establishing classical conditioning as a learning method. His research
demonstrated that an environmental stimulus (i.e. ringing bell) could be used to
stimulate a conditioned response (i.e. salivating at the sound of the ringing bell).
 John B. Watson extended Pavlov's theory to apply to human behavior, publishing
his landmark article Psychology as the Behaviorist View It in 1913 and
establishing behaviorism as a major school of thought.
Burrhus Frederic Skinner
 B.F. Skinner later introduced the concept of
operant conditioning in which reinforcement
leads to the desired behavior. These concepts
continue to play influential roles in behavior
analysis, behavior modification, and
psychotherapy.
 Behaviorism was once a very prominent school
of thought within psychology, although its
dominance began to decline during the 1950s as
psychologists became more interested in
humanistic and cognitive approaches. However,
behavioral techniques are still widely used
today in psychotherapy, counseling, education,
and even in parenting.
Awards and Recognitions
1966 Edward Lee Thorndike Award, American Psychological
Association
1968 - National Medal of Science from President Lyndon B.
Johnson
1971 - Gold Medal of the American Psychological Foundation
1972 - Human of the Year Award
1990 - Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to
Psychology
Best Known For
Operant conditioning
Schedules of Reinforcement
Skinner Box
Cumulative Recorder
Radical Behaviorism
Among his many discoveries, inventions, and
accomplishments were the creation of the operant
conditioning chamber (aka the Skinner Box), his research
on schedules of reinforcement, the introduction of
response rates as a dependent variable in research, and
the creation of the cumulative recorder to track these
response rates.
In one survey, Skinner was named the
most influential psychologist of the twentieth-century.
 Inventions
 During his time at Harvard, Skinner became interested in studying human behavior in
an objective and scientific way. He developed what he referred to as an operant
conditioning apparatus, which later become known as a "Skinner box." The device
was a chamber that contained a bar or key that an animal could press in order to
receive food, water, or some other form of reinforcement.
 It was during this time at Harvard that he also invented the cumulative recorder, a
device that recorded responses as a sloped line. By looking at the slope of the line,
which indicated the rate of response, Skinner was able to see that response rates
depended upon what happened after the animal pressed the bar. That is, higher
response rates followed rewards while lower response rates followed a lack of
rewards. The device also allowed Skinner to see that the schedule of reinforcement
that was used also influenced the rate of response.
 Usingthis device, he found that behavior did not
depend on the preceding stimulus as Watson and
Pavlov maintained. Instead, Skinner found that
behaviors were dependent on what
happens after the response. Skinner called this
operant behavior.
  Project Pigeon
 Skinner took a teaching position at the University of Minnesota following
his marriage. While teaching at the University of Minnesota and during
the height of World War II, Skinner became interested in helping with the
war effort. He received funding for a project that involved training
pigeons to guide bombs since no missile guidance systems existed at the
time.
 In "Project Pigeon," as it was called, pigeons were placed in the nose cone
of a missile and were trained to peck at a target that would then direct the
missile toward the intended target. The project never came to fruition,
since the development of radar was also underway, although Skinner had
considerable success working with the pigeons. While the project was
eventually canceled, it did lead to some interesting findings and Skinner
was even able to teach the pigeons to play ping-pong.
  The Baby Tender
 In 1943, B.F. Skinner also invented the "baby tender" at the request of his wife. It is
important to note that the baby tender is not the same as the "Skinner box," which was
used in Skinner's experimental research. He created the enclosed heated crib with a
plexiglass window in response to his wife's request for a safer alternative to traditional
cribs. Ladies Home Journal printed an article on the crib with the title "Baby in a
Box," contributing in part to some misunderstanding over the crib's intended use.
 A later incident also led to further misunderstandings over Skinner's baby crib. In her
2004 book Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychology Experiments of the Twentieth
Century, author Lauren Slater mentioned the oft-cited rumor that the baby tender was
actually used as an experimental device. The rumors were that Skinner's daughter had
served as a subject and that she had committed suicide as a result. Slater's book
pointed out that this was nothing more than a rumor, but a later review of the book
mistakenly stated that her book supported the claims. This led to an angry and
passionate rebuttal of the rumors by Skinner's very much alive and well daughter
Deborah.
In1945, Skinner moved to Bloomington, Indiana and
became Psychology Department Chair and the
University of Indiana. In 1948, he joined the
psychology department at Harvard University where he
remained for the rest of his life.
 Operant Conditioning
 In Skinner's operant conditioning process, an operant referred to any
behavior that acts on the environment and leads to consequences. He
contrasted operant behaviors (the actions under our control) with
respondent behaviors, which he described as anything that occurs
reflexively or automatically such as jerking your finger back when you
accidentally touch a hot pan.
 Skinner identified reinforcement as any event that strengthens the
behavior it follows. The two types of reinforcement he identified were
positive reinforcement (favorable outcomes such as reward or praise) and
negative reinforcement (the removal of unfavorable outcomes).
 Punishment can also play an important role in the operant conditioning process.
According to Skinner, punishment is the application of an adverse outcome that
decreases or weakens the behavior it follows. Positive punishment involves presenting
an unfavorable outcome (prison, spanking, scolding) while negative punishment
involves removing a favorable outcome following a behavior (taking away a favorite
toy, getting grounded).
 Schedules of Reinforcement
 In his research on operant conditioning, Skinner also discovered and described
schedules of reinforcement:
 Fixed-ratio schedules
 Variable-ratio schedules
 Fixed-interval schedules
 Variable-interval schedules
 Teaching Machines
 Skinner also developed an interest in education and teaching after attending his
daughter math class in 1953. Skinner noted that none of the students received any
sort of immediate feedback on their performance. Some students struggled and were
unable to complete the problems while others finished quickly but really didn't learn
anything new. Instead, Skinner believed that the best approach would be to create
some sort of device that would shape behavior, offering incremental feedback until a
desired response was achieved.
 He started by developing a math teaching machine that offered immediate feedback
after each problem. However, this initial device did not actually teach new skills.
Eventually, he was able to develop a machine that delivered incremental feedback
and presented material in a series of small steps until students acquired new skills, a
process known as programmed instruction. Skinner later published a collection of his
writings on teaching and education titled The Technology of Teaching.
Techniques and Strategies
 Some of the techniques used by behavior analysts include:
 Chaining: This behavior technique involves breaking a task down into smaller
components. The simplest or first task in the process is taught first. Once that task
has been learned, the next task can be taught. This continues until the entire
sequence is successfully chained together.
 Prompting: This approach involves using some type of prompt to trigger the
desired response. This might involve issues a verbal cue, such as telling the person
what to do, or a visual cue, such as displaying a picture designed to cue the
response.

Shaping: This strategy involves gradually altering a behavior, rewarding closer and
closer approximations of the desired behavior.
Applications of Behavior Analysis
Behavior analysis has proven to be a particularly
effective learning tool for helping children with autism
or developmental delays acquire and maintain new
skills. These treatments include the Lovaas Method and
ABA (applied behavior analysis) and utilize techniques
such as discrete trial training. The basic principles of
behavior medication are often adapted for use in
educational settings, the workplace, and childcare.
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