Like a Lump of Clay- More vs. Skinner
... want to strive for more in life. Whether it be recognition, power, or money, Castle attests that people inevitably live to gain something. However, Frazier illustrates through a multitude of “behavioral engineering” practices that man can function without looking to constantly acquire and achieve. Man simply needs to be deprogrammed from the notion that one should always have more. The psychological principles evident in Walden Two is perhaps one of Skinner’s most controversial ideas. Skinner believes that man is not simply born one way or another with a definitive predisposition. Instead, Skinner feels that all behavior originates outside of man. Man is a responder to the environment in which he lives. “’It is impossible to understand how ‘thank you’ sounds to anyone who has lived for a few months in Walden Two’” (Skinner 159). Here Frazier explains that a behavior as commonplace in society as the exchange of gratitude will feel foreign after living in a new environment devoid of such standards. People will adapt to cultural differences and replace old habits with ones that are socially acceptable within the new society. Thus, the environment plays an integral role in determining the behaviors of a culture. Arguably Skinner’s biggest contributions to the field of psychology was the idea of “operant conditioning.” Any behavior which is followed by a positive reinforcement is likely to be repeated. The practice of positive reinforcement has proven to be highly successful in the modern world. Skinner's behavioral technology has been used to improve patient behavior in psychiatric wards, as well as cure problems like wetting the bed and stuttering. Operant conditioning also finds a home in Walden Two. The training of young children by means of a lollipop is a prime example. If the children can avoid temptation, then the lollipop becomes their reward. The children thus learn quickly that by hiding the candy, they soon forget about the desire. The reinforcement is that in the end the children receive their treat. As a result, eating the treat at the end of the experiment promotes the behavior of initially placing it “out of sight, out of mind.” These children have therefore been conditioned to respond to a scenario in a certain way. Thinking beyond treats and toddlers, operant conditioning could be implemented to receive any number of desired responses f...