The first response is that the question should read ‘What Would Skinner SAY’, since he would be the first to point out that actually changing social contingencies would be beyond his power. He would analyze the situation (that’s why we call the field Behavior Analysis) to identify the likely reinforcements controlling the relevant behaviors. He might note the necessity of jobs to provide the generalized conditioned reinforcers (money, credit) necessary for home ownership and maintenance. He might note that a significant proportion of the homeless are in fact employed, and conclude that we need both more jobs and higher pay. He might conclude that part of the problem is the current increasing economic inequity in the United States, but I’m not sure that he would have an easy direct way of changing it. I’ve asked him what he might do about such social problems; at times his answer was simply that if society were to survive (and remember that he was a selectionist) it would have to come up with an answer; he didn’t have a simply and practicable one available. One specific question I asked him was how he would counter Lord Acton’s dictum “All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
For a provisional look at how Skinner might structure a more equitable society, read Walden Two. Skinner was not a simple socialist. He knew that the reinforcement principle was both necessary for a species’ survival and a guarantee that individuals would try to get more than their share, and that some would succeed. Thus he believed that a successful society would required structural counter controls to mitigate the effects of reinforcement run wild. For current behavior analytic discussion, see the journal Behavior and Social Issues. And for another relevant )if not explicitly behavioral reading, try George Orwell’s 'Animal Farm’. In its way it’s scarier than 1984. On Jan 10, 2015, at 7:51 AM, Michael Britt <[email protected]> wrote: > The Daily Show did an interesting piece on a program in Salt Lake City Utah > in which they are giving homes to the homeless in order to reduce the > homelessness problem. As you can imagine, the idea of giving homes to the > homeless raises the ire of many people (“You’re not incentivizing the > homeless to make their lives better”, to “hit bottom” and then “raise > themselves up by their own bootstraps”, etc.). The short video be good > fodder for class discussion when it comes to talking about either > learning/behaviorism/motivation. I was, in effect, left wondering what > Skinner would do. > > http://youtu.be/jlZKeKQ8yX0 > > > I assume he would ask what contingencies were in place to either reinforce > homelessness (probably not many)? Or what contingencies were not yet in place > to reward this “raising of oneself by one’s bootstraps” - why wasn’t it > happening? If students were, let’s say, the mayor of Salt Lake City, what > plans would they put in place to reward this behavior? > > Along these same lines…it appeared to me that once the homeless were placed > in these free homes there weren’t any programs in place to reward them for > creating their own lives (getting a job, etc.). The video implies that once > you put homeless people in these homes it will have a positive effect on them > which might encourage them to build their lives back. Will simply changing > your environment in this way cause internal changes (more respect for > themselves, more pride) that will result in the homeless person doing things > to change their lives for the better? Is it best to have a “wait and see” > attitude? I think Skinner would say no. What might Skinner suggest we do > once people are in these new homes to encourage them to rebuild their lives? > > Michael Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato [email protected] --- 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=41476 or send a blank email to leave-41476-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
