waldentwo

A persons behavior has always been a subject that has fascinated me for a number of reasons. It has always been a question in the back of my mind how people could live in the same world but be different products of different environments and they can act two different ways towards life in general. John Watson believed that people reacted to certain stimuli the same way that animals did, (if something is presented to a human we all would react to it the same way.) B.F Skinner looked at things from a different point of view, he knew that everybody didn't react to specific stimuli in the same ways. He proposed that people operate on the environment to produce certain consequences. This makes perfect since to me because everything around you can influence how you might react the stimuli around you. Everybody does not learn the same and everyone might have different influences that would make them react differently. This video explains exactly what I am trying to say.

When BF Skinner wrote the book Walden II in the late 1940's he set off a controversy. The book called for a community living utopia with socialist ideals. Skinner himself describes the community as a type of non-violent anarchy. One of the most controversial issues was the call to disband the traditional family and involve the community in child rearing. While I don't entirely agree with Skinners book I think the concepts are intriguing and worth thinking about. If anyone gets a chance to read this interesting book you will be greatly rewarded. The book's concepts are extensions of what we will learn about radical behaviorism in our text book and lectures.