Behavior
BF Skinner Internal Dialog of Behavior
Wesley Thurman MS Ed
17 June, 2022It is incredible what we can learn from the rats and pigeons in the lab. How does a rat decide to press the bar and get his food pellet? What process does he go through to look for food? BF Skinner introduced operant conditioning and a time delay between pressing the bar and receiving food. BF Skinner’s internal behavior dialog was his interpretation of what was happening inside the rat’s mind.
BF Skinner Internal Dialog of Behavior
In the late 1940s, BF Skinner developed a theory of verbal behavior based on his operant conditioning studies. He believed that people engage in internal conversations with themselves and that these conversations are an essential factor in behavior.
Skinner’s theory suggests that the verbal behavior we engage in is not random but somewhat shaped by our previous experiences. The internal dialog we have with ourselves results from reinforcement or punishment for specific behaviors. These past experiences have led us to develop a belief system about what is acceptable and not acceptable in our culture.
According to Skinner, when we engage in verbal behavior, we often ask ourselves questions about what we are doing or what someone else is doing: “Is this appropriate?” “Should I be doing this?” “What would happen if…”
In other words, we talk to ourselves about our actions and those of others and how we feel about those actions.
We may also talk about what other people think about us and how they might react if they knew what we were thinking or doing at any given moment.
According to BF Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning, an individual’s thoughts and actions are influenced by cognitive factors. In his book, “About Behaviorism,” Skinner argues that most human behavior is controlled by environmental factors rather than internal ones. However, he also believes that some people are capable of altering their environments in a way that causes them to behave differently. These individuals can decide how they want their life to go and then change their environment, so those decisions come true.
To understand how this works, we need to look at the concept of internal dialogues. According to Skinner, internal dialogues are conversations between a person and themselves. The purpose of these conversations is to help us decide what we should do next in any given situation. If we’re unsure about how we feel about something or if we’re uncertain about what action we should take next, then our internal dialogue helps us make a decision based on what’s going on right then and there — not based on anything else that may have happened in the past or might happen in the future.
When it comes time to decide what action we should take next, our brain starts asking questions that result in certain behaviors.
Behaviorism is a school of psychology that focuses on observable behaviors to explain thoughts, feelings, and other internal processes. It rejects introspection as unscientific and unverifiable. Behaviorists focus on studying behavior in animals and humans, using concepts that can be tested in controlled laboratory experiments.
Behaviorism differs from cognitive psychology because it does not include references to mental processes or internal experiences when explaining behavior. Behaviorists use scientific methods such as observation and experimentation to determine how environmental stimuli affect behavior. They also believe that all organisms can learn simple behaviors without prior experience; however, complex behaviors require many trials before they can be mastered.