The theory behind Skinner’s empirical study was that individuals is subject to superstitious behavior, an act in which one establishes a conditioned behavioral response to a drive regardless of there being no apparent correlation between the behavior and the drive. To test his hypothesis, Skinner established an experiment with pigeons. The pigeons were famished and then put into a cage which had a food hopper attached to it. The food hopper was controlled by a clock, and would therefore give food periodically. Photographs were taken at some intervals to compare the behavior through the time of the experiment. Lastly, in cases where a stepping behavior occurred, a mechanical record of the behavior was obtained. This was an accurate and appropriate
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For instance, there was an experiment performed in 1940s known as the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, in which the results showed a clear physical and psychological decline due to starvation in over 30 men (Baker and Keramidas). If a human cannot think straight when famished, how can one expect a bird to behave the same way as it would normally if it is famished? This greatly decreases the validity of this paper because one could argue the behavior occurred because bird could not think straight and therefore established a correlation between two unrelated …show more content…
One could establish a correlation by assuming something bad will happen and regardless of how bad it is they blame the event, as mentioned by Skinner “the contingency is not perfect (p. 274).” Overall, most people believe in some form of superstitious behavior, but if it is coming to the point where it hinders your quality of life then it is important to recognize that the behavior is superstitious and should be ignored. Superstitious behavior, undoubtedly, is a phenomenon that many fall victims to. It can occur with any two unrelated actions, and can be difficult to extinguish. Furthermore, depending on the actions, the probability of the behavior strengthening can be high over time, resulting in one to not see that they are being part of a superstitious phenomenon. Altogether, setting the flaws aside, Skinner drew many accurate conclusions regarding superstition, which can be proven merely by observing the countless superstitious behavior humans participate
For instance, there was an experiment performed in 1940s known as the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, in which the results showed a clear physical and psychological decline due to starvation in over 30 men (Baker and Keramidas). If a human cannot think straight when famished, how can one expect a bird to behave the same way as it would normally if it is famished? This greatly decreases the validity of this paper because one could argue the behavior occurred because bird could not think straight and therefore established a correlation between two unrelated …show more content…
One could establish a correlation by assuming something bad will happen and regardless of how bad it is they blame the event, as mentioned by Skinner “the contingency is not perfect (p. 274).” Overall, most people believe in some form of superstitious behavior, but if it is coming to the point where it hinders your quality of life then it is important to recognize that the behavior is superstitious and should be ignored. Superstitious behavior, undoubtedly, is a phenomenon that many fall victims to. It can occur with any two unrelated actions, and can be difficult to extinguish. Furthermore, depending on the actions, the probability of the behavior strengthening can be high over time, resulting in one to not see that they are being part of a superstitious phenomenon. Altogether, setting the flaws aside, Skinner drew many accurate conclusions regarding superstition, which can be proven merely by observing the countless superstitious behavior humans participate