Skinner (1984) lamented that behaviorism had not been more quickly accepted by society.  Pryor (2004) acknowledges the long rejection of behaviorism, but demonstrates how it is now being embraced to productive ends in many contexts.  As an interesting example of behaviorism in practice not mentioned by Pryor, Skinner commented on how particularly disparaging linguists were of his methods, but there are many popular language programs now that take students through carefully programmed instruction.  The most famous is Rosetta Stone.  While I’m not personally familiar with the program, one researcher described it as “using pictures to create contexts where meaning is clear, elicit responses, and provide immediate feedback” (Stoltzfus, 1997).  The use of stimuli to elicit responses and then provide immediate feedback sounds like something straight from Skinner’s writing, demonstrating the change that language instruction has undergone.  Pryor (2004) endorses reinforcement because it is effective, interesting to those trained by it, and creates a bond between trainer and trainee.  Kohn (2011) rejects these assertions, claiming that reinforcing children with praise causes them to become dependent on the approval of other people and less sure of their own opinions.  I can see Kohn’s point that some forms of praise can be demeaning.  Sometimes saying “good job” is really more dismissive and condescending than heartfelt and uplifting.  However, I found myself wondering if it’s realistic or beneficial for children to be completely self-reliant.  Humans are social creatures.  Our desire for the approval of other people is an instinct that serves an important function, to drive us toward intimacy because we are more effective as a group than as individuals, and to check our own fallacious tendencies through the feedback of other people.  It is natural for children to want approval.  As a result, while there can be an over-reliance on approval, total deprivation from praise may be just as destructive to a child’s self-esteem.  I agree more with Pryor in advocating behaviorism.  I found his examples of how some animals have tried to use reinforcement to train humans incredibly intriguing.  There may be less that distinguishes people from animals than we realize.

References

Kohn, A. (2011). Five reasons to stop saying “Good job!” Young Children. Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/parenting/gj.htm

Kohn, A. (2012, Feb 3). Criticizing (common criticisms of) praise. Huffington Post, 75, 783-787. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alfie-kohn/criticizing-common-critic_b_1252344.html

Pryor, K. (2002). Don’t shoot the dog: The new art of teaching and training. Gloucestershire, Scotland: Ringpress Books Ltd.

Skinner, B. F. (1984). The shame of American education. American Psychologist, 42, 947-954.

Stoltzfus, A. (1997). The learning theory behind the Rosetta Stone Language Library from Fairfield Language Technologies. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Association for Bilingual Education, Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved from ERIC.