BF Skinner's Beyond Freedom And Dignity
In Beyond Freedom and Dignity, psychologist B.F. Skinner argues that all human behavior, including consciousness, is a product of the social environment. This position is a notable departure from cognitive psychology, which focuses on the inner psyche of individuals. Skinner eschews the idea of unobservable inner phenomenon as unscientific, arguing that consciousness itself is socially constructed behavior.
Though Skinner rightly points out that all human activity has social roots, his rejection of core concepts such as individual autonomy and free will prove unsettling. For example, Skinner takes an extreme position on consciousness, stating, "it is not only not the special field of man, it is not within the range of a solitary man" (192).
By its very name, "behaviorism" focuses not on a person's thoughts and attitudes, but their actions. This is done through a system of differential reinforcements, wherein "we change the probability of an act by changing a condition of deprivation or aversive stimulation" (94).
In Skinner's view, behaviorism is not only as a method of studying behavior, but also a way to control this behavior to achieve a desired outcome.
Skinner commits critical lapses by his total rejection of concepts such as free will and autonomy. Behaviorism does not explain, for example, why growing up in a drug-infested slum area would push one teen into a life of crime and spur another teen to extraordinary effort and success. Neither does behaviorism explain the actions of people who act in defiance of social expectations - from criminals who commit unspeakable offenses to iconoclasts such as Picasso, Martin Luther King or Margaret Sanger. Many of these people specifically acted according to deeply held principles that ran counter to prevailing social norms and values.
In conclusion, Skinner's makes a valuable contribution to psychology by recognizing the social roots of much individual human behavior. However, in denying the role of autonomy and free will, Skinner presents human beings as mere products of their environment, whose actions and thoughts are all but pre-determined.
Works Cited
Skinner, BF. Beyond Freedom and Dignity. New York: Knopf, 1971.
