Chapter 1: Opening Skinner’s Box
Summary:
The author discusses the ideas of B. F. Skinner. She states that many dislike the work done by Skinner because it suggests that everything we do is simply in response to some type of reinforcement. This conflicts with the comforting thought of free will. She describes some of his experiments and ends with a conversation she had with Skinner's daughter in the house Skinner lived in before he passed away.
Discussion:
I found Skinner's experiments truly fascinating. I cannot decide whether I agree with the fact that everything we do is due to conditioning. While I can see the point of the professor who jumped under his desk and claimed he was never conditioned to do that, could it not be true he was conditioned to win arguments and that jumping under the desk could lead to that goal?
No comments:
Post a Comment