Which of the following statements about B. F. Skinner\'s views is FALSE? Skinner
ID: 3491693 • Letter: W
Question
Which of the following statements about B. F. Skinner's views is FALSE? Skinner believed that environmental conditions cause criminal and other undesirable behaviors in society. Skinner advocated the greater use of punishment to control human behavior and achieve a more perfect society. Skinner believed that notions such as a person having free will and self-determination are really just illusions. Skinner suggested that society could be improved by using principles of operant conditioning to shape desired behaviors.Explanation / Answer
B.F. Skinner who proposed the theory of operant conditioning strongly believed in using both rewards as well as punishments as fantastic reinforcements to condition and shape desired behaviour. He also believed that a criminal does not have much of a choice in making a decision for himself. It is the environmental conditions that causes a certain behaviour. He also clearly dismissed free will and determination as plain illusion. Skinner believed that a person does not choose to exhibit a certain behaviour because he wants to, it is the environmental factors that a person is unaware of and thus, likes to believe that he made a choice for himself. Skinner advocated for both rewards and punishments as reinforcements that would condition and shape an individual's behaviour but he never emphasised on one of the factors playing a greater role than the other to control human behaviour. According to Skinner, rewards and punishments equally play an important role in shaping desired behaviours.
Thus, the False answer is, B.
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