I think what sparked by email on this topic was that I was looking through Archive.org and I found an television interview/conversation that featured Skinner. The show was called "The Open Mind". Skinner discusses free will with two other people I don't know (Charles Frankl and Eugene Kennedy):
http://archive.org/details/openmind_ep1313 If I was teaching a graduate course I would have students watch the video (about 30 min) and write some kind of reaction paper. It's an interesting discussion, but too "difficult" to watch for today's audience I think. Skinner comes off as shy but there's a certain charm in his shyness. Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. [email protected] http://www.ThePsychFiles.com Twitter: mbritt On May 24, 2012, at 1:52 AM, Jim Clark wrote: > Hi > > Another fundamental consequence of behaviorism for psychology was (is), I > believe the emphasis psychology places on observable events (i.e., behavior, > including verbal reports) in conceptualizing and testing models of > psychological events. This has helped psychology to avoid some of the > pitfalls of over-theorizing that have afflicted other social sciences, and > perhaps is one reason why psychology is often separated from the social > sciences when there are attacks on the credibility and scientific nature of > those disciplines. > > Take care > Jim > > > James M. Clark > Professor of Psychology > 204-786-9757 > 204-774-4134 Fax > [email protected] > >>>> "Joan Warmbold" <[email protected]> 24-May-12 3:52 am >>> > Michael, > > My initial response is what took you so long to see the true way, lol? I > don't think age is a factor as I have been a faithful and true believer of > the science of behaviorism as studied by Skinner, Pavlov and Bandura since > my years as an undergraduate. To the contrary, I always have been > perplexed and saddened by the strong appeal of the plethora of > unscientific theories of personality that are based only on authoritative > evidence. > > Not that I don't understand the intrigue of the theories of Freud and Jung > as they both incorporate many intellectually complex and fascinating ideas > about the human psyche. And as I have told my students from day one, if > we had a popularity contest among the various theories, Carl Rogers > humanistic theory would win hands down. I mean, gee whiz, how can we not > want to embrace a theory that supports so many desirable and ego-boosting > perspectives about our nature, including the notion that we have free-will > and an inborn drive to self-actualize. The fact that Rogers' views never > had empirical support was of little concern. They reinforced our (naive) > view of ourselves and that was that. Meanwhile, that steely-eyed Skinner > guy kept insisting that we don't have free-will and that our experiences > played a crucial role in shaping our behaviors and choices. Poor B.F. was > done in by one of the basic elements of his research on operant > conditioning. His scientifically supported conclusions were simply too > punishing for many to hear. > > > But within recent years it cannot be ignored that just about every where > we turn, the learning principles discovered by the big three, Pavlov, > Skinner and Bandura, are enabling therapists to use behavioral strategies > that provide dramatic and amazing assistance to many we thought were > beyond our reach--like autistic children; veterans with PSTD; expanding > the movement capabilities of people who have had a stroke, MS or cerebral > palsy (see Edward Taub's use of shaping); people dealing with advanced OCD > or many years of dealing with panic attacks. > > So, though many still might prefer the ideas and theories of Freud, Jung, > Rogers, they have not truly advanced our ability to improve the lives of > those dealing with serious dysfunctions. We would have to be both blind > and dumb to not accept that it was the research of Skinner on operant > conditioning as well as Pavlov's work on classical conditioning and > Bandura's work on observational learning that have enabled therapists to > help patients make dramatic improvements in the lives of so very many. > > > Joan > > >> My graduate advisor once said to me - and he was in his 70s at the time - >> that "when you're young you're a democrat and when you're older you're a >> republican". I think the expression is also known as, "A democrat is just >> a republican who hasn't been mugged yet." >> >> Well, this change in political party hasn't happened to me yet, but I was >> wondering if I'm becoming more behavioristic as I grow older. I remember >> when I was an impressionistic lad I was all over Maslow/Rogers theory. >> Now I've grown somewhat pessimistic about the efficacy of all that talk >> therapy and I wonder if changing our circumstances is, in the end, more >> important in our lives than all that talk. >> >> Thoughts? >> >> Michael >> >> >> Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. >> [email protected] >> http://www.ThePsychFiles.com >> >> >> >> >> >> > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=17994 > > or send a blank email to > leave-17994-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13405.0125141592fa9ededc665c55d9958f69&n=T&l=tips&o=18004 > or send a blank email to > leave-18004-13405.0125141592fa9ededc665c55d9958...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=18025 or send a blank email to leave-18025-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
