Psychology: Raymond Cattell and B. F. Skinner Essay

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Although Cattell agrees with All ports list of trait, he also considers the four thousand traits as being too many to manage. Therefore, Cattell argues that psychology should be objective and mathematical if it is to be a scientific study. He identified less numbers of basic human traits by using a factor analysis. This factor analysis entails the incorporation of the computer in the handling and analysis of the meaningful relationships and patterns in behavioral data. He believes that though there are some unique traits in personality, most of the common traits are shared by different individuals ( Cocuzza 2002).

He uses multivariate factor-analytic research to determine the basic structures of personality by using obtained information from life record data, questionnaire data and objective-test data to get interrelationships among these variables at one. He goes onto determine that the motivations instilled in humans entails native inclinations referred to as ergs and the environmental resolute motives called segments.In other words, some of the motivational traits are inborn, and others are learned from environment where we are surrounded. His idea is essentially similar to Freud’s drive and instinct reduction. Cattell’s list of innate traits is longer than Freud’s sexuality and aggressiveness (Villalba 2000).

Cattell states that personality was not the study of the way people acted in the way they did, but embracing the factors that establish the reason s why most people will react to various situation in different ways. His test has been the foundation for almost all current personality tests such job placement tests. Also His contribution to psychology is that he analyzes personality in empirical research rather than subjective speculation.

Skinner emphasizes on empirical research rather than assumption which have been made. He is a radical behaviorist who studies of human behavior by experiment behavior of animals in a very logical way, and on the surface, it seems that it should work. His approach to the investigation of behavior concentrates especially on the use of observable methods. Therefore, his research has involved experiment on animals in a laboratory setting.

He used the effects of stimuli on animals in controlled situations, proposing that all human activity is based upon response from environmental stimuli. Motivation must be alienated by a definite period of time in line that they may be accepted as separate, a physiological reality owing to inaction in the sense-organ. He is well recognized for his pigeon study that led to the box of skinner which is a controlled environment for studying the behavior of organisms. He embraces confidence on his theories that he applied many of his ideas with his own children.

Most famous story of Skinner box is that, in order to stimulate the learning process of his children he puts his children in a specially made learning box so that they can clearly distinguish and learn more about the world as well as themselves. His primary argument for rejecting the Freudians method that investigates human behavior by studying inner drives or instinct is that they cannot be measured. He argues that if concrete information cannot be obtained, then it technically doesn’t exist, and is not worth consideration. In other words, if you can’t study the unconscious determinants of behavior scientifically, then there was no need to study them.

He was not concerned with the nature of the inner states of human mind but stimuli which may affect certain patterns of behavior. His most controversial argument is that we have no “free-will”. He alleged that behavior was controlled by the genetic and the environmental factors.Skinner argues that all choices or behavior we made was predetermined by biological and environmental factor. Biological determination means that our “genes” have shaped or influence over what we do and the choices we makes (Kim, 2000).

Environmental determination is the idea of environment around us also shape or influencing on making the choices of all the individuals(Robert 2003).He proposes the idea of a causal chain to behavior as having three links which have link to next to each other. First an external operation performed upon the subject, for example, starvation, ink to second, an inner “psychic or physiological” condition, for example, physiological condition for hunger and it link to a behavior itself, eating food. Each link determines the characteristics of the next behavior. Sinner suggests that since there is no way of verifying the second link we need to focus on the first link.

Skinner agrees with Pavlov’s conditioning which is the technical term for learning procedures. Pavlov won a Nobel Prize for the founding of classical conditioning. He acknowledged prior to getting any food that the dogs that he worked with would salivate. In other words, if a dog saw or heard cues that indicated they were going to get food soon dog salivate increased. However, Skinner argues that behavior when an organism does something and the consequences of that behavior are reinforcing, it is more likelihood to do it again. This aspect by Skinner’s is based on the inspiration that a clear behavioral change can be depicted through the learning process.

The individual’s response to stimuli in any given environment is what ascertains the changes seen in this behavior.reinforcement are considered to be of two types the negative and the positive ones. The negative reinforcement is not punishment; a negative supporter reinforces when it is withdrawn. In other words, reinforcement is that any stimulus that increase of likelihood to response when there’s positive reinforcement, or, when adverse situation is withdrawn entailing the negative reinforcement (Robert, 2003). Through this Skinner believes that behavior can be shaped in the desired direction which he called modification of behavior.

References

Cocuzza E, (2002) Treatment of intermediate character disarray with risperidone. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 63(3):241-4.

Kim, S. (2000) assessment of variety Personality and thoughts inside the Apparel Product Category, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management 4(3), 243-252.

Robert B. Cialdini (2000) Influence: Science and Practice by 4:266 pp. Allyn & Bacon, Inc.

Villalba R, (2000) Rhythmic self -harmful actions: A neuropsychiatry point of view and review of pharmacologic treatments. Clinical Neuropsychiatryseminers.:215-26.

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