Talk:Behaviorism

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Skinner's Radical Behaviorism

I am a behaviorist so I thought I'd mention that, while Pavlov had important historical findings, Skinner is really the big name in the field. The difference between Pavlov and Skinner is pretty big: Pavlov was a medical doctor studying biology, while Skinner was a psychologist studying psychology. Also, before Skinner, behvaiorism said that what happened 'before' behavior is what evoked that behavior - so Pavlov's dogs salavated at the bell because a ringing bell had been paired with presentation of food. However, Skinner was very influential in changed the view to what happens 'after' behavior determines if it will happen again, as summarized in Thorndike's Law of Effect (simplified form): "The Effects of our actions determine whether we will repeat them" Rebent (talk) 13:39, 4 March 2011 (UTC)

Skinner had all the pigeons pecking at coloured disks, right? Please feel free to improve our content. People who know what they are talking about are always welcome. Jack Hughes (talk) 13:43, 4 March 2011 (UTC)