Understanding: The Skinnerian Paradigm – Success, Failure, and What Came Next
From Simplicity to Complexity: How Behaviorism Oversimplified the Mind
Note: As usual, ChatGPT was research assistant and ghostwriter.
Author's Preface
As a psychology student in the 1970s, I read books by Skinner, maybe by Watson—I'm not sure—but I was certainly exposed to behaviorist ideas. Although I was probably on the fence at the time, I didn’t reject them outright. Now, I reject them completely, as there has been so much evidence showing their inadequacy.
How did intelligent and educated people get suckered into believing such rot? Is this another example of a paradigm shift, as outlined by Thomas Kuhn? What has replaced that paradigm? And what evidence is now presented to show that the Skinnerian paradigm is inadequate? What are the current thoughts on this, with both research and common sense?
The rise and fall of behaviorism: were its views ever tenable? B.F. Skinner, the Skinner boxes, and his forebears are discussed.
Introduction
The behaviorist paradigm, most notably advanced by B.F. Skinner, once dominated psychology. It focused on observable behaviors and dismissed internal mental states as unscientific. However, over time, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and empirical research revealed the limitations of behaviorism, leading to its decline. This essay explores the rise and fall of the Skinnerian paradigm, discussing its historical appeal, its inadequacies, and what replaced it. Drawing on Thomas Kuhn’s concept of paradigm shifts, the discussion examines how intelligent people were drawn to behaviorism, only to later reject it as new evidence came to light.
The Rise of Behaviorism: A Simplicity That Held Sway
Behaviorism rose to prominence in the early 20th century as a response to what was perceived as the unscientific nature of introspective methods. John Watson, and later B.F. Skinner, championed the idea that psychology should be grounded in observable, measurable behavior. Skinner's concept of operant conditioning—using reinforcement and punishment to shape behavior—was especially influential, as it provided a framework for understanding how organisms adapt to their environment (Skinner, 1953).
The appeal of behaviorism lay in its promise of objectivity and predictability. It fit neatly into the broader scientific ethos of the time, which valued empirical, observable phenomena. Skinner’s Skinner boxes, where animals like pigeons or rats were conditioned to perform tasks through rewards, reinforced the idea that behavior could be shaped in a controlled environment. To many, it seemed as though psychology had finally found a rigorous scientific method (Baum, 2017).
The Fall of Behaviorism: Why the "Rot" Set In
Over time, however, cracks began to appear in behaviorism's foundation. As Noam Chomsky famously pointed out in his critique of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior, behaviorism was unable to account for the complexity of language acquisition (Chomsky, 1959). Chomsky argued that children could not learn language solely through reinforcement and conditioning, as they often produce novel sentences they have never heard before.
This critique was part of a broader cognitive revolution in the 1950s and 1960s, where psychologists began to focus on internal mental processes like memory, problem-solving, and decision-making. Cognitive psychology emerged, offering a more nuanced understanding of human behavior, one that acknowledged the importance of mental states (Miller, 2003). As the cognitive revolution took hold, behaviorism was increasingly viewed as overly simplistic, a reductionist theory that failed to capture the complexity of the mind.
Paradigm Shift: Kuhn's Perspective
The decline of behaviorism can be seen through the lens of Thomas Kuhn’s theory of paradigm shifts. According to Kuhn (1962), scientific progress does not happen gradually but through revolutions, where an old paradigm is replaced by a new one that better explains the available evidence. Behaviorism, once the dominant paradigm in psychology, began to fail when it could no longer adequately explain the anomalies—such as language acquisition and cognitive processes—that it had previously ignored.
Kuhn’s framework helps explain why so many intelligent people were initially drawn to behaviorism. At the time, it offered a seemingly rigorous and scientific approach to psychology. However, as evidence accumulated that contradicted behaviorism’s key assumptions, the paradigm was replaced by cognitive psychology, which provided a more comprehensive explanation of human behavior (Kuhn, 1962).
What Replaced Behaviorism?
In the wake of behaviorism’s decline, cognitive psychology and neuroscience became the dominant frameworks for understanding behavior. Cognitive psychology focuses on internal mental processes, such as memory, perception, and decision-making. These processes are studied scientifically, using methods that behaviorism had dismissed as irrelevant. Cognitive neuroscience further expanded this understanding by linking mental processes to brain function (Gazzaniga, Ivry, & Mangun, 2018).
The combination of cognitive psychology and neuroscience has provided a much richer understanding of human behavior. We now know that behavior is not solely shaped by external stimuli but is also influenced by internal states, neural mechanisms, and even genetic factors (Gazzaniga et al., 2018). This more holistic approach has replaced behaviorism’s narrow focus on observable actions, providing a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the mind.
Summary
The Skinnerian paradigm of behaviorism, once a dominant force in psychology, eventually fell out of favor as its limitations became apparent. Though it initially seemed to offer a scientific approach to understanding behavior, it ultimately oversimplified the complexity of human thought and emotion. The cognitive revolution, fueled by critiques from thinkers like Chomsky, led to the rise of cognitive psychology and neuroscience, which replaced behaviorism with models that account for both observable behavior and internal mental states. Behaviorism’s fall is a prime example of Kuhn’s concept of a paradigm shift, where an outdated model is replaced by one that better fits the evidence.
References
Baum, W. M. (2017). Understanding behaviorism: Behavior, culture, and evolution (3rd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. https://www.amazon.ca/Understanding-Behaviorism-Behavior-Culture-Evolution/dp/140511262X
Note: This book provides an extensive discussion of behaviorism, tracing its development, rise to prominence, and eventual decline. The author offers a balanced view, acknowledging both the strengths and limitations of behaviorism.
Chomsky, N. (1959). A review of B.F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior. Language, 35(1), 26-58. https://doi.org/10.2307/411334 https://www.ugr.es/~fmanjon/A%20Review%20of%20B%20%20F%20%20Skinner%27s%20Verbal%20Behavior%20by%20Noam%20Chomsky.pdf
Note: Chomsky’s critique of Skinner’s work on language is a landmark in the cognitive revolution. This review is a must-read for understanding why behaviorism began to fall out of favor.
Gazzaniga, M. S., Ivry, R. B., & Mangun, G. R. (2018). Cognitive neuroscience: The biology of the mind (5th ed.). W.W. Norton & Company. https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393603170
Note: A comprehensive textbook on cognitive neuroscience, this book explores the brain mechanisms underlying cognitive processes and how they interact with behavior.
Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press. https://www.amazon.ca/Structure-Scientific-Revolutions-Thomas-Kuhn/dp/0226458083
Note: Kuhn’s seminal work on paradigm shifts provides a framework for understanding the rise and fall of scientific theories, including behaviorism.
Miller, G. A. (2003). The cognitive revolution: A historical perspective. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(3), 141-144. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(03)00029-9
Note: This article offers a concise history of the cognitive revolution and its role in the decline of behaviorism. It’s an essential reading for anyone interested in the transition from behaviorism to cognitive psychology.
Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. Macmillan. https://www.bfskinner.org/newtestsite/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ScienceHumanBehavior.pdf
Note: Skinner’s foundational text on behaviorism, outlining his theory of operant conditioning and its application to understanding human behavior.