A school of thought that maintains that behaviors can be described scientifically without recourse either to internal physiological events or to hypothetical constructs such as the mind.
12
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2answers
326 views
Do we understand the non-subjective mechanisms behind pleasure and pain?
If we are to view pleasure and pain as being essentially synonymous with the more mechanistic concept of reward and punishment (i.e. as a part of learning and motivation system) then do we understand ...
12
votes
3answers
3k views
Positive and negative reinforcement and punishment effectiveness
According to Skinner, positive reinforcement is superior to punishment in altering behavior.
As Skinner discussed, positive reinforcement is superior to punishment
in altering behavior. He ...
10
votes
1answer
197 views
Is Behaviorism incompatible with Cognitive Psychology?
Both disciplines have historically been at each other's throats, and Radical Behaviorists like B.F. Skinner often completely reject cognitive psychology at a philosophical level.
It seems that today ...
8
votes
1answer
125 views
Are there additional animal studies about superstitions?
In one particular case, Skinner decided to go random on his hungry
pigeons. He dropped food into the box at completely random times,
independent of any behavior on the part of the pigeons. But ...
8
votes
1answer
207 views
Why are most people right handed?
How did right handedness win over left handedness in numbers?
Is it only a coincidence that there are more right handed people than left handed ones? Or, has some effect in nature explicitly made ...
7
votes
2answers
230 views
Behaviorist interpretations of decision field theory
Decision field theory is usually presented as a dynamic cognitive model of decision making. However, in its basic form, the theory seems to only be concerned with behavior (decisions) and stimuli ...
7
votes
0answers
277 views
How does goal-tracking and sign-tracking behaviour vary across species?
In Pavlonian (Classical) Conditioning, conditioned responses of an animal may vary. Some animals focus on the unconditioned stimulus (ie. food / location of food) while others may focus on the ...
6
votes
1answer
77 views
What type of behaviour is showing, but withholding, a reward?
A specific example of what I mean is: when you go shopping at a supermarket with a loyalty card system, and you do not participate, the receipt say something along the lines of
If you had a ...
6
votes
0answers
70 views
Is there a “foreplay” equivalent, priming activity for thinking or conversation?
I've noticed the following phenomenon and am trying to find out if it is indeed true and if there is a scientific term for it:
When I think about ideas, I notice that I can rarely jump straight into ...
6
votes
0answers
153 views
Refinements of Rescorla-Wagner model of classical conditioning
The Rescorla-Wagner model is one of the most commonly discussed mathematical models of classical conditioning. It was wildly popular when it came out in 1972, and very successful. The same math, is ...
5
votes
1answer
75 views
Which type of stimulus results in an optimal learning curve for rats and mice?
When using operant conditioning to train mice or rats, what type of stimulus is most effective? For example, does a negative reinforcement of a loud noise have a more profound effect than a negative ...
5
votes
1answer
211 views
Is stimulus generalization acquired due to inability to discriminate stimuli?
The classic case of Stimulus Generalization is Little Albert. The About.com link also explains it in terms of dogs. I note that in both cases, it seems highly likely that the subject (dog or infant) ...
4
votes
1answer
46 views
How can the aversion response be explained neurologically?
If Dopamine and Dopamine D2 receptor is involved in craving, wanting and clinging towards something or incentive salience
Dopamine is closely associated with reward-seeking behaviors, such as
...
1
vote
1answer
63 views
Deception and nose touching - does it work for things that are about to be said in prepared speeches?
I'm not sure if nose touching is a scientifically-validated signature of deception or internal conflict. For the purposes of this question I would assume that it's fairly common knowledge in ...
