Skinner`s Essays - Behaviorism, B. F. Skinner,

Skinner`s Influence B.F. Skinner was one of the most influential theorists in modern psychology. His work was very important and has been studied by many for years. Skinner was a very straightforward man and a very educated man. His theories have helped mankind in many ways. He has studied the behavior patterns of many living organisms. Skinner was a well-published writer. His work has been published in many journals. He also has written many books on behaviorism. His most important work was the study of behaviorism. First began by John B. Watson, behaviorism is one of the most widely studied theories today. B.F. Skinner and His Influence in Psychology B.F. Skinner was one of the most famous of the American psychologists. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1904. Skinner was the father of modern behaviorism. Skinner did not get into psychology until he was in graduate school at Harvard. He was driven to Psychology after reading about the experiments of Watson and Pavlov. He received his doctoral degree in three years and taught at the University of Minnesota and the University of Indiana and finally returned to his alma mater at Harvard. Skinner contributed to psychological behaviorism by performing experiments that linked behaviors with terms commonly used to describe mental states. Skinner was responsible for some famous experiments such as the "Skinner box". Skinner also wrote some very famous books. One of them was "The Behavior of Organisms". This book describes the basic points of his system. Another was Walden Two. This book describes a utopian society that functions on positive reinforcement. Skinner was a very productive person until his death in 1990 at the age of 86. Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology that is interested in observable behavior. Skinner said, "Behaviorism is not the science of human behavior; it is the philosophy of that science"(Skinner, 1974). There are various types of behavior, such as innate behavior. Innate behaviors are certain behaviors that we are born with, such as eating when we are hungry and sleeping when we are tired. Early Life Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania on March 20, 1904 to William Arthur and Grace Madge Skinner. Skinner's home was a warm and stable place. He lived in the house he was born in until he went off to college. Skinner also had a younger brother named Edmond James Skinner, born November 6, 1906. Skinner was very fond of his brother and loved him very much. At the young age of sixteen, Edmond died of a cerebral aneurysm. Skinner was a very inventive young man. He always was making or building things, such as wagons, model airplanes, etc. He also attempted to invent a perpetual motion machine, but it failed. He also read about animals. He collected toads, lizards, and snakes. He trained pigeons to do tricks after he saw them performing one year at a fair. Training the pigeons probably was where he got his ideas of operant conditioning. He attended Susquehanna High School just like his mother and father. In his graduating class there were only eight people including him. He was a very intellectual boy. He reported that he really enjoyed school. Over the four years in high school Skinner became quite good at mathematics and reading Latin, but was weak at science. He made up for it though, because he was always performing physical and chemical experiments while he was at home. His father was an avid book collector. Skinner always had a good library of books around his house. Skinner recalled the little collection of applied psychology journals that his father had bought. Those books could have been the starting point in his psychology career. Skinner grew up in a very religious family. His grandmother often reminded him of the concept of hell. His mother once washed his mouth out with soap literally for saying a bad word. His father never punished him, but he told him of the punishments that awaited him if he ever turned out to be a criminal. Overall Skinner had a good and happy childhood. College Life After graduating high school, Skinner went to Hamilton College where he majored in English Literature and minored in Romance Languages. He was drawn toward English when he was in high school by one of his teachers named Miss Graves. She also was responsible for his enjoyment of art and sculpting. Skinner never really fit into the campus life and he was not much of a sportsman. He said "my shins were cracked in ice hockey and

Struggle Between Good and Evil †Everyman Essay

Struggle Between Good and Evil – Everyman Essay Free Online Research Papers Struggle Between Good and Evil Everyman Essay Life is a struggle between good and evil. This concept is clearly shown in the play â€Å"Everyman.† In this play, God summons Death to search out Everyman and tell him that he must make a pilgrimage to his final reckoning to decide if he could enter paradise or not based on his actions while he was alive. Death promises to catch everyman who lives outside Gods law. While searching for everyman, Death notices Everyman walking unconcerned about anything except treasures, Death orders him to stand still and asks if he had forgotten his God. Death then goes on to say that God has asked to him to tell Everyman that he must to make a long journey, and he is to take with him his â€Å"full book of accounts.† Finally, Death warns Everyman to be careful because he has done many bad deeds and only a few good ones. Everyman argues saying that death was the farthest things from his mind at that moment and tries to bribe death into giving him more time. Death then says no man can bribe me regardless of worldly goods or rank, when summoned by god all men must obey. Everyman cries in vain for more time then asks if he must go on the long journey alone. Death says that everyman is allowed to take any companions who wish to make the journey with him. Reminding him that his life is only his on loan, Death advises that he will return soon, and in the meantime Everyman has an opportunity to find any possible companions for his journey. Unable to find an accomplice for the journey, Everyman turns to Goods, whom represents worldly treasures and greed, whom he has loved all of his life. Goods listens to his plea and offers to help him until he learns that the journey is travel far and wide. Goods promptly refused saying â€Å"I am brittle and would break easily.† But Everyman argues that Goods was suppose to solve all problems. Then goods argues that he would only make Everyman look worse in the eyes of god because bringing goods would only make Everyman look greedy. Consumed in self pity, Everyman calls aloud to Good-Deeds and asks for help. Good-Deeds answers feebly, since he is lying on the cold ground, bound by sins. Good-Deeds knows of the journey everyman has to take and wants to go along, but he is too weak. Good-Deeds tells his sister, Knowledge, to stay with Everyman until he regained his strength. Knowledge then guides everyman to Confession, who gives everyman a penance. After getting the penance, Good-Deeds is able to get up from the ground, cured of sickness, and declares himself able to go on the journey and promises to help Everyman tell his good deeds before god. Then Good-Deeds also gets his friends to counsel Everyman Strength, Beauty, Discretion, and the Five Wits. Finally, Everyman is prepared to meet Death with all his friends. Then suddenly one by one his friends all leave except Good-deeds. Then an angel comes and takes Everyman to paradise and then the play ends with a doctor reminding everyone that only good deeds will help men at final judgement and no one else. Research Papers on Struggle Between Good and Evil - Everyman EssayHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsMind TravelArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Capital PunishmentComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThe Hockey GameThe Fifth HorsemanWhere Wild and West MeetMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product