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What Is B.F. Skinner Really Saying?
Seeks to overcome the common misconceptions and oversimplification of Skinnerian psychology and explore the underlying theories and principles of behaviorism, its relationship to Freudian and humanistic psychology, and its relevance to today's world
- GenresPsychology
198 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 29, 2025
A SYMPATHETIC PERSPECTIVE AND SUMMARY OF THE FAMED BEHAVIORIST
Author Robert Nye wrote in the Introduction of this 1980 book, “B.F. Skinner and the radical behaviorism that he advocates are very controversial. He has a large and loyal following, but he also has many opponents who enthusiastically counter his view… My own position … is this: I’m not a completely devoted disciple, but much of what he says makes good sense to me… My thinking about Skinnerian psychology has changed over the years. Intensive exposure to this approach… has resulted in an increased appreciation of Skinner’s concepts… two major thoughts accompanied the writing of this book: a growing sense of the importance of Skinner‘s work, and the awareness that his ideas are often misjudged… My intention is to inform readers about B.F. Skinner and his approach in a RELATIVELY quick and easy (but accurate) way.”
He states three fundamental assumptions of Skinner: “1. Behavior is lawful: it is determined and controlled by systematic and consistent ways by genetic and environmental factors. 2. Genetic endowment determines certain aspects of behavior… however, environmental factors determine many details of behavior and can be observed and altered more directly… 3. The role of psychology is to discover the ‘cause-and-effect’ relationships between environmental factors and behavior… 4. The best method for determining critical relationships is to control specific environmental conditions (‘causes’) and observe the resulting behavioral outcomes (‘effects’)… 5. Studies of lower animals are useful in determining basic behavioral concepts that can then be tested out at the human level… 6. Behavioral concepts derived from the experimental study of relationships between environmental factors and behaviors can be applied to human problems… 7. It is unnecessary and misleading to speculate about feelings, thoughts, or other ‘inner states’ as causes of behavior.” (Pg. 23-25)
He notes, “Although giving so-called ‘rewards’ MAY be reinforcing , the important point is that they do not necessarily strengthen the behaviors they follow.” (Pg. 30) Later, he adds, “Through evolution… members of the human species are perhaps inherently reinforced by their effective behaviors… much of what we do may occur partly because … there doesn’t have to be any direct or obvious gain in what we do, but rather our behavior may be positively reinforced simply by producing an effect.” (Pg. 38)
He acknowledges, “Skinner admits that he doesn’t have all the answers about how to cope with annoying, dangerous, destructive, or otherwise harmful activities. However, he… advises using a method that reinforces INCOMPATIBLE behavior.” (Pg. 48)
He states, “Sometimes it is difficult to understand how the reinforcement of specific responses can lead to activities such as playing the piano, walking to a restaurant through a maze of city streets, telling a long story, or going through the process of getting ready for school or work in the morning. In Skinner’s view, these complex behavior patterns are made up of separate responses joined together in chains.” (Pg. 62-63)
He says, “For Skinner, there is no developing ego or self that eventually is able to take over and give deliberate, conscious, rational direction to our lives. In other words, the individual is not able, even with maturity, to wrestle control away from external factors and become removed from environmental control. We remain, in Skinner’s eyes, under the influence of our environments from birth to death. This is a foreign and aggravating opinion to many people. Who wants to believe that he or she can’t rise above surrounding circumstances and be free and autonomous? This is a cherished hope and belief that Skinnerian psychology tampers with, and those who hold it get impatient, annoyed, or angry when it is challenged.” (Pg. 71)
He notes, “The assumption frequently made is that Skinner doesn’t deal with human feelings and thoughts and that he has nothing to say about complex behaviors such as those displayed in creative activities. Even persons who know that he does discuss these matters often are not satisfied with his explanations. In either case, whether it is believed that Skinner avoids such issues or that his formulations are inadequate, there is cause for strong reactions. He has been accused of pushing a system that ignores the full meaning of being human.” (Pg. 75)
He notes that some people “feel that widespread acceptance of Skinner’s ideas would bring on a rash of irresponsible and criminal behaviors by people who would say, ‘I’m not responsible for what I do… Don’t blame me.’ Two points need to be made here. First, this type of excuse is [already] used by many delinquents, criminals, and others who behave in antisocial ways. Skinner provides no new excuse for them. Second, our present system … is not notably successful.” (Pg. 80)
He admits, “As Skinner has suggested, to say that we live completely DETERMINED lives doesn’t lead to the conclusion that we live completely PREDICTABLE lives… The same can be said about the environment. Even when a great deal is known about one’s environment, it isn’t possible to know everything…. so it isn’t possible (with presently existing techniques) to make COMPLETELY accurate predictions about behavioral outcomes.” (Pg. 81)
He also acknowledges, “[Skinner’s] successes derive mainly from behavior-modification programs carried out in situations, and under circumstances, that are quite specific and limited when compared with the extent and complexity of major political, legal, economic, and other social institutions. It is debatable, despite the evidence that has accumulated since the 1950s, that Skinner’s behavioral techniques would be effective if applied on a massive scale. Also, too little is known about the possible dangers and drawbacks of society-wide application. Perhaps he is being premature in advocating total acceptance of his approach.” (Pg. 89)
He argues, “it must be admitted that it is very hard to disprove the idea that conscious decisions lie behind most human behaviors. However, if time and again it can be shown that particular environmental events have predictable behavioral outcomes, are there any good reasons to assume that human behavior is guided by thought? Thinking may be going on, but is it this thinking or the environmental event that determines the behavior… Skinner votes for the environmental event and says that the accompanying thought processes are not influential. In fact, they too are influenced by what is occurring environmentally.” (Pg. 90)
He explains, “[Skinner] acknowledges that we experience these [mental] states, but he doesn’t see them as being in the causal chain. They are EFFECTS, not CAUSES… Skinner has pointed out two major problems that arise if mentalistic concepts are considered as explanations of behavior. First, how can mental states be observed?... Second, how can mental states be altered directly?” (Pg. 112-113)
Nevertheless, he notes that Skinner “wants people to FEEL free even though they actually can never BE free from the effects of environmental factors.”(Pg. 135) Later, he adds, “Skinner himself believes that his own behavior is controlled primarily by his environment… Despite the fact that he is controlled by environmental conditions… he says that he feels free. This feeling of freedom does not depend on ACTUALLY being free.” (Pg. 154)
Nye even says in the concluding chapter, “Complete and constant agreement with radical determinism is impossible for most of us; it’s simply inconsistent with all we have learned as members of this society. From a deterministic standpoint, our genes and experiences have determined that we cannot ‘accept’ a completely deterministic philosophy…” (Pg. 183)
Although I firmly dislike Skinner and his ideas, this book is a fine overview and summary of his views, and Nye doesn’t shrink away from most of the ‘difficult’ questions.
Author Robert Nye wrote in the Introduction of this 1980 book, “B.F. Skinner and the radical behaviorism that he advocates are very controversial. He has a large and loyal following, but he also has many opponents who enthusiastically counter his view… My own position … is this: I’m not a completely devoted disciple, but much of what he says makes good sense to me… My thinking about Skinnerian psychology has changed over the years. Intensive exposure to this approach… has resulted in an increased appreciation of Skinner’s concepts… two major thoughts accompanied the writing of this book: a growing sense of the importance of Skinner‘s work, and the awareness that his ideas are often misjudged… My intention is to inform readers about B.F. Skinner and his approach in a RELATIVELY quick and easy (but accurate) way.”
He states three fundamental assumptions of Skinner: “1. Behavior is lawful: it is determined and controlled by systematic and consistent ways by genetic and environmental factors. 2. Genetic endowment determines certain aspects of behavior… however, environmental factors determine many details of behavior and can be observed and altered more directly… 3. The role of psychology is to discover the ‘cause-and-effect’ relationships between environmental factors and behavior… 4. The best method for determining critical relationships is to control specific environmental conditions (‘causes’) and observe the resulting behavioral outcomes (‘effects’)… 5. Studies of lower animals are useful in determining basic behavioral concepts that can then be tested out at the human level… 6. Behavioral concepts derived from the experimental study of relationships between environmental factors and behaviors can be applied to human problems… 7. It is unnecessary and misleading to speculate about feelings, thoughts, or other ‘inner states’ as causes of behavior.” (Pg. 23-25)
He notes, “Although giving so-called ‘rewards’ MAY be reinforcing , the important point is that they do not necessarily strengthen the behaviors they follow.” (Pg. 30) Later, he adds, “Through evolution… members of the human species are perhaps inherently reinforced by their effective behaviors… much of what we do may occur partly because … there doesn’t have to be any direct or obvious gain in what we do, but rather our behavior may be positively reinforced simply by producing an effect.” (Pg. 38)
He acknowledges, “Skinner admits that he doesn’t have all the answers about how to cope with annoying, dangerous, destructive, or otherwise harmful activities. However, he… advises using a method that reinforces INCOMPATIBLE behavior.” (Pg. 48)
He states, “Sometimes it is difficult to understand how the reinforcement of specific responses can lead to activities such as playing the piano, walking to a restaurant through a maze of city streets, telling a long story, or going through the process of getting ready for school or work in the morning. In Skinner’s view, these complex behavior patterns are made up of separate responses joined together in chains.” (Pg. 62-63)
He says, “For Skinner, there is no developing ego or self that eventually is able to take over and give deliberate, conscious, rational direction to our lives. In other words, the individual is not able, even with maturity, to wrestle control away from external factors and become removed from environmental control. We remain, in Skinner’s eyes, under the influence of our environments from birth to death. This is a foreign and aggravating opinion to many people. Who wants to believe that he or she can’t rise above surrounding circumstances and be free and autonomous? This is a cherished hope and belief that Skinnerian psychology tampers with, and those who hold it get impatient, annoyed, or angry when it is challenged.” (Pg. 71)
He notes, “The assumption frequently made is that Skinner doesn’t deal with human feelings and thoughts and that he has nothing to say about complex behaviors such as those displayed in creative activities. Even persons who know that he does discuss these matters often are not satisfied with his explanations. In either case, whether it is believed that Skinner avoids such issues or that his formulations are inadequate, there is cause for strong reactions. He has been accused of pushing a system that ignores the full meaning of being human.” (Pg. 75)
He notes that some people “feel that widespread acceptance of Skinner’s ideas would bring on a rash of irresponsible and criminal behaviors by people who would say, ‘I’m not responsible for what I do… Don’t blame me.’ Two points need to be made here. First, this type of excuse is [already] used by many delinquents, criminals, and others who behave in antisocial ways. Skinner provides no new excuse for them. Second, our present system … is not notably successful.” (Pg. 80)
He admits, “As Skinner has suggested, to say that we live completely DETERMINED lives doesn’t lead to the conclusion that we live completely PREDICTABLE lives… The same can be said about the environment. Even when a great deal is known about one’s environment, it isn’t possible to know everything…. so it isn’t possible (with presently existing techniques) to make COMPLETELY accurate predictions about behavioral outcomes.” (Pg. 81)
He also acknowledges, “[Skinner’s] successes derive mainly from behavior-modification programs carried out in situations, and under circumstances, that are quite specific and limited when compared with the extent and complexity of major political, legal, economic, and other social institutions. It is debatable, despite the evidence that has accumulated since the 1950s, that Skinner’s behavioral techniques would be effective if applied on a massive scale. Also, too little is known about the possible dangers and drawbacks of society-wide application. Perhaps he is being premature in advocating total acceptance of his approach.” (Pg. 89)
He argues, “it must be admitted that it is very hard to disprove the idea that conscious decisions lie behind most human behaviors. However, if time and again it can be shown that particular environmental events have predictable behavioral outcomes, are there any good reasons to assume that human behavior is guided by thought? Thinking may be going on, but is it this thinking or the environmental event that determines the behavior… Skinner votes for the environmental event and says that the accompanying thought processes are not influential. In fact, they too are influenced by what is occurring environmentally.” (Pg. 90)
He explains, “[Skinner] acknowledges that we experience these [mental] states, but he doesn’t see them as being in the causal chain. They are EFFECTS, not CAUSES… Skinner has pointed out two major problems that arise if mentalistic concepts are considered as explanations of behavior. First, how can mental states be observed?... Second, how can mental states be altered directly?” (Pg. 112-113)
Nevertheless, he notes that Skinner “wants people to FEEL free even though they actually can never BE free from the effects of environmental factors.”(Pg. 135) Later, he adds, “Skinner himself believes that his own behavior is controlled primarily by his environment… Despite the fact that he is controlled by environmental conditions… he says that he feels free. This feeling of freedom does not depend on ACTUALLY being free.” (Pg. 154)
Nye even says in the concluding chapter, “Complete and constant agreement with radical determinism is impossible for most of us; it’s simply inconsistent with all we have learned as members of this society. From a deterministic standpoint, our genes and experiences have determined that we cannot ‘accept’ a completely deterministic philosophy…” (Pg. 183)
Although I firmly dislike Skinner and his ideas, this book is a fine overview and summary of his views, and Nye doesn’t shrink away from most of the ‘difficult’ questions.
September 4, 2011
Unfortunately, the author is a bit confusing in parts.
Want to read
October 8, 2014okokok
August 5, 2011
Degree reading
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews