The Skinner Model of Shaping Desired Behavior

Human behavior can be shaped along desired lines by means of the systematic application of reinforcement.

Skinner's Key Ideas

This model includes new applications of Skinner's basic ideas. Skinner himself never proposed a model of school discipline. Other writers have taken his ideas on learning and adapted them to controlling the behavior of students in schools. The following ideas reveal the essence of Skinner's model:

1. Behavior is shaped by its consequences, by what happens to the individual immediately afterward.
2. Systematic use of reinforcement (rewards) can shape students' behavior in desired directions.
3. Behavior becomes weaker if not followed by reinforcement.
4. Behavior is also weakened by punishment.
5. In the early stages of learning, constant reinforcement produces the best result.
6. Once learning has reached the desired level, it is best maintained through intermittent reinforcement, provided only occasionally.
7. Behavior modification is applied in these two main ways:
   
   
   • The teacher observes the student perform an undesired act; the teacher rewards the student; the student tends to repeat the act.
   • The teacher observes the student perform an undesired act; the teacher either ignores the act or punishes the student, then praises a student who is behaving correctly; the misbehaving student becomes less likely than before to repeat the act.
8. Behavior modification successfully uses various kinds of reinforcers. They include social reinforcers such as verbal comments, facial expressions, and gestures; graphic reinforcers such as marks and stars; activity reinforcers such as free time and collaborating with a friend; and tangible reinforcers such as prizes and printed awards.

The Skinner model can be a powerful model for classroom teachers, one that can be easily modified and implemented with students of all ages and backgrounds.

Types of Reinforcers

Types of reinforcers commonly used in schools fall into four categories:

1. Social.

Social reinforcers consist of words, gestures, and facial expressions. Many students work diligently just to get a smile, pat, or a kind word from the teacher. Some examples are:

• Verbal * OK. Wow! Excellent. Nice going. Exactly. Right. Thank you. I like that. Would you share that.
• Nonverbal * Smiles, winks, eye contact, nods, thumbs up, touches, pats. walk beside, stand near, shake hands.

2. Graphic.

Graphic reinforcers include marks of various kinds such as numerals, checks, happy faces, and special symbols. Teachers make these marks with felt pens and rubber stamps. They may enter them on charts or use a paper punch to make holes in cards kept by the students. They may attach stars or stickers that are commercially available in large quantities and varieties.

3. Activity.

Activity reinforcers include those activities that students prefer in school. Any activity can be used as a reinforcer if students prefer it to another. Examples of activities that usually reinforce academic learning are:

• For younger students:
  • Being a monitor, sitting near the teacher, choosing the song, caring for the pet, sharing a pet or toy.
• For middle students:
  • Playing a game, free reading, decorating the classroom, having extra recess time, going to an assembly.
• For older students:
  • Working with a friend, being excused from a test, working on a special project, being excused from homework.

4. Tangible.

Tangible reinforcers are real objects that students can earn as rewards for desired behavior and are more powerful for some students than other types of reinforcers. They are widely used with students who have special behavior problems. Many primary teachers use tangible reinforcers regularly. Examples of inexpensive reinforcers are: popcorn, raisins, chalk, crayons, felt pens, pencils, badges, etc.

Comments on Skinner's Model

Teachers who once begin using behavior modification in a systematic way tend to stick with it, appreciating its powerful effects. They come to see it not as manipulating students, but as freeing them to behave in ways that bring success and positive recognition.

Systematic attention and reinforcing become natural parts of the teaching act, occurring automatically. After a while, teachers do not even have to think of them. That natural spontaneity makes reinforcement even more effective. Students feel that the teacher is simply kind, considerate, and friendly, not designing or manipulative.

But do teachers see behavior modification for what it really is? And if they do, are its inherent dangers evident to them? Considerable controversy over these questions began decades ago and continues to the present time.

One of the most perplexing questions has to do with whether, and to what extent, behavior modification amounts to blatant teacher control of students' thoughts and actions. Related to that question is the concern over free will, which most people believe to be the essential quality that sets mankind apart from other organisms. Skinner rejected the concept of free will, which he considered to be a formidable road block to understanding human behavior

In recent years, research has cast doubt on whether rewards, the keystone of behavior modification, actually serve to strengthen desired learning and behavior Some contend that rewards serve to reduce intrinsic motivation, supplanting it with a control-system of compliance and external modification (Hill, 1990).

In truth, not all teachers like behavior modification, but those who do, say it makes teaching easier and more enjoyable. With regard to discipline, they find behavior modification especially effective in preventive and supportive control, though they admit it is slow and cumbersome (and often ineffective) when it comes to correcting misbehavior.

Application of the Model

(Jack will not work)

Jack, in Mr. Jones' class, is quite docile. He never disrupts class and does little socializing with other students. But despite Mr. Jones' best efforts, he can hardly get Jack to participate in class activities. He rarely completes an assignment. He doesn't seem to care. He is simply there, like a bump on a log, putting forth virtually no effort. How would Skinner deal with Jack? Skinner would suggest that Mr. Jones try the following approaches with Jack.

1. Catch Jack being good (doing anything that is appropriate). Reward him whenever he participates or works.
2. Reiterate the class rules regarding work. Praise Jack whenever he follows the rule.
3. Consider stronger reinforcers. If praise is ineffective, use points, tokens, or other tangible objects to reinforce and shape Jack's improvement.
4. Set up a contract with Jack. Identify a reward that is exceptionally attractive to him. Outline what he must do in order to earn the reward. Share the contract with Jack's parents to enlist their support. Reinforce every improvement Jack makes.

More information about this model may be found in the following references:

• Charles, C. M., 1989, Building classroom discipline: from models to practice, Longmans Inc., New York. (pages 40-54).
• Hill, D. 1990, Order in the classroom, Teacher, 1(7), 70-77.
• Skinner, B. F., 1971, Beyond freedom and dignity, Knopf, New York.
• Tauber, R. 1982, Negative reinforcement: a positive strategy in classroom management, Clearing House, 56, 64-67