Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

Psychology on the Web
1. B. F. Skinner had an impact on society and on thought that is only hinted at in our 
discussion of learning. Find additional information on the web about Skinner’s life 
and infl uence. See what you can fi nd out about his ideas for an ideal, utopian society 
based on the principles of conditioning and behaviorism. Write a summary of your 
fi ndings.
2. Select a topic discussed in this set of modules that is of interest to you—for example, 
reinforcement versus punishment, teaching complex behaviors by shaping, violence 
in video games, relational versus analytical learning styles, behavior modifi cation, and 
so on. Find at least two sources of information on the web about your topic and 
summarize the results of your quest. It may be most helpful to fi nd two diff erent 
approaches to your topic and compare them.
Here we have discussed several kinds of learning, 
ranging from classical conditioning, which depends on 
the existence of natural stimulus–response pairings, to operant conditioning, in which 
reinforcement is used to increase desired behavior. These approaches to learning focus 
on outward, behavioral learning processes. Cognitive approaches to learning focus on 
mental processes that enable learning. 
We have also noted that learning is aff ected by culture and individual diff erences, 
with individual learning styles potentially aff ecting the ways in which people learn most 
eff ectively. And we saw some ways in which our learning about learning can be put to 
practical use, through such means as behavior-modifi cation programs designed to 
decrease negative behaviors and increase positive ones. 
Return to the prologue of this set of modules and consider the following questions 
about the very-well-learned response to cellphones and other handheld devices:
1. When people check their messages as soon as their device beeps, is that an example 
of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or cognitive learning? Why?