B. F. SkinnerRezensionen

Disturbing ideas about free will and collective control; good seminar fodder

Utopian novels appeal to me. This one is not badly done, but kind of scary, being organized on conditioned response theory.

Walden Dos toma su nombre de la experiencia del filósfo H. D. Thoreau, que se retiró durante dos años a un lugar del bosque de Concord (Massachussets) llamado Walden para vivir en aislamiento, apartado de una civilización industrial que, según su propia experiencia, «convierte al hombre en instrumento de sus propios instrumentos». Walden Dos, la comunidad de Skinner, es «una comunidad de unas mil personas que gozan de un placentero ambiente rural y trabajan sólo unas cuantas horas al día sin ser obligadas a hacerlo. Sus niños son cuidados y educados por especialistas, la comida es buena y la atención médica y sanitaria, excelentes. Hay mucho tiempo libre. Florecen el arte, la música y la literatura, y se fomenta la investigación científica.» Es, en definitiva, una utopía construida de acuerdo con los últimos adelantos científicos, especialmente en el campo de la psicología social.

A reprint of the 1976 Macmillan edition. This fictional outline of a modern utopia has been a center of controversy ever since its publication in 1948. Set in the United States, it pictures a society in which human problems are solved by a scientific technology of human conduct.

Simultaneously intriguing and chilling.

Biblio Raquel

9/6/22

9/6/22

Classic utopian fiction based on behavioral principles.
From reviews, it is most interesting to students of the history of behaviorism.½

This novel is the exploration of what might happen if a group of people chose to take Thoreau's advice and learn to live like he did - minimalistic and off the land. The thoughtful and contemplative ideas raised in the book contain references to Veblem's Theory of the Leisure Class, child-raising, Malthus on birth-control, identification in psychology to do with childhood aspirations (wanting to be like father or mother).

I liked the way the two university professors investigating the new community had contrasting opinions - the philosopher reasons where the psychologist experiments.

Burrhus Frederic Skinner incorporates his own ideas into the novel by questioning the living practices, the personal initiative, the techniques and engineering practices used to shape the behaviour of the community. The principle of positive reinforcement in a non-competitive culture to achieve a personal sense of freedom. The science of behaviour. "Experimentation with life - could anything be more fascinating?"
Trying to discover the original nature of man; basic psychological characteristics of human behaviour, inherited characteristics, the possibility of modifying them, a science of behaviour. The hunch is to develop techniques of psychological control to discover and cultivate special abilities - better artists, better craftsmen, better behaviourists.

Bibliographical references of Morris' News From Nowhere, Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain, Bellamy's Looking Backward, and of course Walden by Thoreau.

Hai que recoñecer que engancha e algúns temas de organización da comunidade como o reparto das cargas de traballo, o deseño dos obxectos cotiáns e as implicacións do deseño arquitectónico dan pé a reflexión. Polo resto non deixa de ser unha noveliña máis ou menos aquelada que xira en torno ao prometedor potencial de cambio do conductismo que foi xa desbotado/superado.

Hai que recoñecer que engancha e algúns temas de organización da comunidade como o reparto das cargas de traballo, o deseño dos obxectos cotiáns e as implicacións do deseño arquitectónico dan pé a reflexión. Polo resto non deixa de ser unha noveliña máis ou menos aquelada que xira en torno ao prometedor potencial de cambio do conductismo que foi xa desbotado/superado.

This book has two target audiences, really, and the quality varies strongly depending on where you fall.

As a fiction reader, this book falls short in so many, many ways. Characters are merely loudspeakers for the author, going so far as to be named after him. Most characters, while having distinct viewpoints and personalities, are one-dimensional. There is no discernible plot whatsoever. And I mean none. The plot is the same as a virtual tour on an apartment website. As this is a novel of a utopia, the flavor is bland. Everything is perfect for the residents of Walden Two. You almost resent them. I was bored, despite the brisk pace.

As a behavior analyst, this novel is almost pornographic. This novel is Skinner's dreamworld, a perfect application of successful behavior analysis to a voluntary community of a variety of educated persons. Its moving. Its beautiful. It is almost overwhelmingly optimistic and positive. It even supplies research ideas.

If you are a behavior analyst, you've probably read this already.
If you are someone with a passing interest in aba and an open mind, give it a whirl.
For anyone else, please, stay away. For your own sake.

Overall, BFD covers much the same material as About Behaviorism (AB) does. Its not as in-depth as AB, but its also more accessible than AB. I still plan to use AB in my courses over BFD, since 1) grad students in the field should come in with far more background than a layperson, and 2) they'll have support while reading the text. However, if a layperson asked for a recommendation, I'd point them to BFD over AB in a heartbeat.

The ideas in this text are so deeply uncomfortable for most folks. However, the text is dripping with optimism for those willing to actually engage with it.

2019: Re-read with my students for my radical behaviorism course. This book is so goddamn good. Skinner's writing is dense and lush and some of the most well-thought-out academic/technical prose I've ever read.

And, like most dense things, it is hard to digest. I can't imagine reading this without a mentor, or at least a reading buddy. (Which makes sense, it was written for use as a graduate textbook.) I'm still finding new things, or getting reminded, as I read.

The heavy theoretical bent to the book is probably its biggest stumbling block to wide adoption, however. I think a lot of classes/programs jump right to protocols and procedures and introduce actual radical behaviorism as a historical event rather than a modern philosophy. CHH is a good book, even great, but it doesn't give the concepts behind the procedures. You need texts like this to show how everything is connected.

10/10, will read again next year.

CG-2

S-4

This slim volume is one of the best self-help books I've read. Instead of being filled with cheer-up nostrums, it offers a pragmatic, face-reality view of old age, as a time of diminished capabilities that can be worked around. It is permeated with Skinner's behavioralism, though not labelled as such until an appendix that maps the text's plain-spoken simplicity to technical terms of behaviorism. Its central precept is both devoid of sentimentality yet oddly comforting, for it puts the power to mitigate old-age's drawbacks within the individual's power: "In all these examples [of coping with, defeating, or succumbing to, the drags and diminutions of old age], what people feel is the by-product of what they do and of the circumstances under which they do it. Instead of trying to feel differently by some act of will, you do better to change what is felt by changing the circumstances responsible for it."

Gli studi che lo hanno reso famoso riguardano l'analisi del comportamento e delle relazioni con il rinforzo e, nello specifico, con le occasioni nelle quali una determinata risposta ha preceduto una ricompensa data, definendo una forma di condizionamento (quello operante) diversa dal paradigma classico legato alla figura di Pavlov.

L'esperimento che consente a Skinner di sviluppare il paradigma del condizionamento operante è il seguente: Skinner mise dei piccioni, preferiti ai ratti perché più rapidi nei movimenti, in una gabbia speciale (la cosiddetta camera di condizionamento operante o Skinner-box) dotata di una griglia elettrica associata a un generatore di corrente e di alcuni stimoli di discriminazione, sia vocali che luminosi, all'interno della quale la somministrazione del cibo avveniva attraverso la pressione del becco su una leva (l'oggetto da manipolare per ottenere il rinforzo).

A bit of a dry read, like many books that focus more on the development of the setting than the characters, but an interesting book nonetheless.

read while in college and even then educational reform was an issue

I first heard of this book while reading a paper comparing it to A Clockwork Orange and became interested in finding it after that. I came across the book at a sale the English department of my university was having that I had volunteered for. Before starting it, however, I felt in necessary to read the original Walden in order to have a complete understanding of the themes I would be dealing with. I highly recommend to anyone who plans on reading this to read the original Walden. It isn't entirely necessary, but it will give the reader a basis of understanding over many of the subjects covered in the novel.

An enormous chunk of this book consists of the creator of the community, Frazier, describing what Walden Two is and how it outshines modern government and societal standings through behavior modification and a genuine reflection of natural human laws. He explains these aspects to the narrator, a philosophy professor by the name of Burris, along with his colleagues that join him through the tour of the town. Castle, another philosophy professor, Rodge and Steve, who work for the military, and their respective girlfriends Barbara and Mary. These characters cover different opinions over the community for Frazier to answer at a level of confidence that suggests bragging, but later becomes a little more fleshed out.

If you're looking for a gripping story with interesting characters and an explosive plot, I will have to ask you to turn away from this book. This story's purpose is not to entertain like traditional science fiction but instead to describe a hypothetical community that one would dare call a "perfect haven." Skinner's ability for scientific and cultural detail paints this town much deeper than what lies on the surface. It serves as a different look from our current standing of a community and has caused me to question aspects of the education system and behavioral understanding in our country even more than before. Again, it isn't the most fulfilling read, but it exists for the reflection of your own community lifestyle, and in that it succeeds.

This book was not really what I expected, and neither do i feel that I have a better understanding of behaviorism after reading it. I feel like this book was a response to criticisms of behaviorism, and spent a lot of time comparing behaviorism to other theories...but that I couldn't give a more detailed explanation of behaviorism (no more than what I had in my mind before I read this book.

This book was not really what I expected, and neither do i feel that I have a better understanding of behaviorism after reading it. I feel like this book was a response to criticisms of behaviorism, and spent a lot of time comparing behaviorism to other theories...but that I couldn't give a more detailed explanation of behaviorism (no more than what I had in my mind before I read this book.

An interesting and sometimes unsettling look at the darker side of social engineering.