Freud vs. Skinner - 2255 Words

Sigmund Freud versus Burrhus Frederic Skinner Comparsion and contrast of their theories In the world of psychology, Sigmund Freud versus B.F. Skinner has been a long-standing debate. The question, â€Å"If one had depression, which would be the better therapist and why?† raises a great variety of controversies. This debate of Freud versus Skinner stems from their position and philosophy in psychology, psychoanalysis and behaviorism—Freud being the founder of psychoanalysis and Skinner maintaining a strong behaviorist stand. There are typically three viewpoints to this controversy: those solely in support of Freud, those solely in support of Skinner, and those not in total support nor total†¦show more content†¦You can learn more about each of these three aspects of personality and how they interact in this overview of the id, ego, and superego. Skinner’s operant conditioning Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. Behaviorist B.F. Skinner, which is why you may occasionally hear it referred to as Skinnerian conditioning coined operant conditioning. As a behaviorist, Skinner believed that internal thoughts and motivations could not be used to explain behavior. Instead, he suggested, we should look only at the external, observable causes of human behavior. Skinner used the term operant to refer to any active behavior that operates upon the environment to generate consequences. In other words, Skinners theory explained how we acquire the range of learned behaviors we exhibit each and every day. Examples of Operant Conditioning We can find examples of operant conditioning at work all around us. Consider the case of children completing homework to earn a reward from a parent or teacher, or employees finishing projects to receive praise or promotions. In these examples, the promise or possibility of rewards causes anShow MoreRelatedTheories Of Personality And Psychology1382 Words   |  6 PagesDebate on Psychoanalysis vs. Behaviorism: Freud and Skinner Moderator: Good evening, and welcome to the Northcentral University?s debate on psychanalysis versus behaviorism. My name is Nisaa Kirtman and I am from the Department of Psychology. It?s an honor to be the moderator of tonight?s debate. The topic for tonight?s debate are the contrasts between the foundations of psychoanalytic theory, developed by Sigmund Freud, and behavioristic theory, developed by B.F. Skinner. Specifically, based onRead MoreTheories Of Theories And Theories752 Words   |  4 PagesPsychodynamic model Initially, Sigmund Freud was the most influential thinker of his days and was known as the father of the Psychoanalytic theory. His theory was developed based on the belief that our behavior is impact by our thoughts and motivation outside of our consciousness. The experience from our childhood can greatly affect our behavior, meaning that our wants and needs can shape the way we behave regardless if we’re not conscious of them. Freud was able to test his theories, based on hisRead MoreEcological Systems Theory By Urie Bronfenbrenner1556 Words   |  7 Pagestraining with peers, and helping the child reach academic goals. Psychoanalytic Theory The Psychoanalytic Theory is associated with Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud. The theories associated with psychoanalysis are discontinuous being that the child must go through stages to confront both biological and social conflicts in development. Freud introduced the first theory to be associated Psychoanalysis. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is characterized by the psychosexual stages and the three parts of personalityRead MoreThe Theory Of Language Development1606 Words   |  7 Pagesspeak. Behaviourist approach- B.F. Skinner believes that language is developed through operant conditioning and that children receive rewards for using language. Skinner believes children develop language through motivating operations, discriminative stimuli, response, and reinforcing stimuli. Skinner also believes that children learn through prompting, shaping and imitation of others. Personality Development is understood through the psychodynamic theory. Freud saw the psyche structured in 3 partsRead MoreThe Development of Psychological Disorders1013 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Freud, development is sexual motivated and a child goes through five psychosexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Freud believed when the need for pleasure at any stage was overly satisfied or not satisfied at all, resulted in psychological disorders (Santrock, 2011, p. 23). According to Erickson, development happens throughout life. His developmental theory has eight stages. These are: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiorityRead MoreFree will vs. Determinism1124 Words   |  5 PagesFree will vs. determinism is an argument as complex, intertwined, and co-dependent as nature vs. nurture or the age-old question of whether it was the chicken or the egg that came first. Philosophers have contemplated the question for ages, and arrived at no satisfactory answer. While considering which topic to address for this assignment, I posed the question of free will vs. determinism to a philosopher friend, whose response was â€Å"I don’t care.† He feels that the question is not worth askingRead MoreSigmund Freud s Theory Of The Mind And Human Behavior Essay1816 Words   |  8 PagesSigmund Freud was born in Austrian in 1856 (Rana, 1997). He began his career in the field of psychology treating predominately Victorian era women for what was then called hysteria. This is where Freud began formulating his most famous theories based on his assertion that much of our behavior stems from unconscious motivations. This led Freud to pursue dream analysis as a way of extracting what machinations exist in this unconscious realm. In Freud’s analysis of the human mind and human behaviorRead MoreLifespan Development : Cognitive, And Personal And Social Development1717 Words   |  7 Pagesfactors which are; cultural factors, continuous vs di scontinuous change, critical periods vs sensitive periods, lifespan approach vs particular periods approach, nature vs nurture. The major theoretical perspectives in Lifespan Psychology is termed a broad, organized explanation and prediction concerning phenomena of interest. These theories could be either behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, contextual, evolutionary, psychodynamic. PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY- Freud Perspective: Psychodynamic, it is called psychoanalyticRead MoreThe Concepts Of Nature Vs Nurture1273 Words   |  6 Pages The concepts of Nature vs Nurture, are major concepts in social science. Nature is the hereditary pattern of physical features in a human being s development. These features include, but are not limited to, our personality, usual and unusual appearances and the general measurements of how humans hold the attributes of being sociable, hostile behavior, their emotions, and the usage of alcohol and drugs. On the other hand Nurture is slightly different. Nurture is the influence of the environmentRead MorePsychology2912 Words   |  12 PagesPSYCOLOGY EXAM Differentiate between Freud and Eriksons approach to psychoanalytic theory in this lesson. You will examine and compare developmental stages side by side and have the opportunity to test your knowledge with a quiz at the end. Example for Comparison Mary has a 3-month-old daughter. Mary bottle feeds her child and follows a strict schedule for feeding times. The child is not allowed to have a pacifier. Mary is an affectionate parent, and all of her childs needs are met. How could