History-wk 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History-wk 6 - Essay Example In other words, like a computer, the individual assumes "garbage in, garbage out" (DeMar, 1989, p. 1). The final assumption is that Behaviorism is manipulative in that it seeks to control and predict human behavior instead of understanding it (DeMar, 1989). Skinner felt that behavior could be shaped through controlling a system of rewards and punishments. Done correctly, an individual could control patients, professors could control students, and an individual could control entire nations (DeMar, 1989). He believed that this would lead to the ability to shape behavior in any way that was necessary. Skinner did not seem to care what others thought about his work because he was confident about his experiments and his writing. He made "confident assertions" about "economic, social, political and religious issues (Reeve, 2009, p. 343). He made many people angry but they still used his methods to dispute his claims. As an example, the Brelands experiments found the concept of "instinctive drift" (Reeve, p. 342). Their experiments included pigs and other animals that were able to use their instincts instead of reinforced behaviors whether they used food to reinforce behavior or they used other types of reinforcement. Skinner contributed many things to psychology. Between the 1950s and 1980s he shaped American Psychology more directly than other psychologists. He received several prestigious medals and recognitions for his work because he was most interested in improving human lives and society as a whole. His only regret was that people did not adopt his methods as easily or quickly as he thought they would do. Malone (2003) gives many ways in which Skinners work influenced contemporary psychology. One influence was that behavior is a choice rather than conditioned. In order to understand consequences or behaviors, researchers (and others) had to take into consideration what the behavior was