Skinnner's Legacy
Education
Mental Health
Society
Education
Skinner's views on education are still relevant today. He believed that the use
of reinforcement, with the aid of teaching machines and programmed instruction,
would enhance effective teaching. Skinner also viewed the usefulness of what
is taught and the likelihood of behaviours acquired in school being reinforced,
as important considerations in education (Nye, 1992).
Mental Health
The application of operant conditioning principles has been demonstrated as
effective in the treatment of severely retarded patients. A 'token economy' was
used to reinforce desirable behaviour in these patients. A 'token economy' is
a system whereby people receive a token when they behave appropriately, which
they can then exhange for a range of benefits.Sophisticated
techniques based on operant conditioning principles are now successfully used
in the treatment of a range of mental disorders, including disorders that
involve self-mutiliation. Behaviour modification is also used in the treatment
of other health problems, such as obesity, addiction, and relationship problems
(Richelle, 1993).
Society
Skinner's book
Walden Two
is a fictional presentation of his idea of an ideal society.
Behavioural science forms the basis of these ideas. In the community of
Walden Two
,
environmental conditions are manipulated to control activities such as
childrearing, work, and leisure. The objective of this is to benefit the
community as a whole. In his book
Beyond Freedom and Dignity,
Skinner suggests that the survival of our culture would be ensured by
replacing punitive controls with positive controls. He made a direct attempt
to extend his ideas to address social issues in these two books.
