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Cons of the Behavior Modification Theory

Behavioral modification theory, pioneered by B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), is a simple and simplistic approach to human life. Behaviorism is based on conditioning, or the connecting of two or more sequences of events in the mind, one automatically provoking the other. Simply put, desirable actions are rewarded to the point where the agent associates positive actions with the reward. In this case, the person has been conditioned to like and repeat desired actions since it is automatically associated with a pleasant reward.

  1. Darwin

    • Skinner assumed Darwinism was right and that human beings evolved as persons interested in survival, or the avoidance of pain and the pursuit of pleasure. Humans are seen merely as complex machines that are predictable and easily programmed.

    Freedom

    • Most radically, Skinner's approach condemned human free will and held that humans were merely a bundle of nerve endings. This is the root of all the cons of the behaviorist school.

    The Mind

    • The behavioral idea holds that the mind is merely a pleasure-seeking device. There is no real process of reasoning other than the strength of one's desires. This has been one of the most stubborn of all anti-behaviorist critiques, since Skinner rejected the idea that any human being would do anything for any other reason that the avoidance of pain.

    Virtue

    • Given the above, there is no such thing as virtue. Pleasure and pain become the only criteria for good or bad actions. Therefore, behaviorism is based around rewarding good actions and punishing bad ones. These rewards and punishments do not affect the free will (since it does not exist) but rather programs the human animal to react positively to desired behavior and negatively to undesired behavior.

    Tyranny

    • This all means that there must be an agency that will decide on which actions are desired and which are not. This decision will be enforced through the relevant and appropriate conditioning. Skinner held that modern science was the true determinant of what is good or bad.

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