Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionV. Learning Theories 15. Skinner: Behavioral
Analysis(^470) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Social Control
Individuals act to form social groups because such behavior tends to be reinforcing.
Groups, in turn, exercise control over their members by formulating written or un-
written laws, rules, and customs that have physical existence beyond the lives of in-
dividuals. The laws of a nation, the rules of an organization, and the customs of a
culture transcend any one individual’s means of countercontrol and serve as power-
ful controlling variables in the lives of individual members.
A somewhat humorous example of both unconscious behavior and social con-
trol involved Skinner and Erich Fromm, one of Skinner’s harshest critics. At a pro-
fessional meeting attended by both men, Fromm argued that people are not pigeons
and cannot be controlled through operant conditioning techniques. While seated
across a table from Fromm and while listening to this tirade, Skinner decided to re-
inforce Fromm’s arm-waving behavior. He passed a note to one of his friends that
read: “ ‘Watch Fromm’s left hand. I am going to shape a chopping motion’ ” (Skin-
ner, 1983, p. 151). Whenever Fromm raised his left hand, Skinner would look di-
rectly at him. If Fromm’s left arm came down in a chopping motion, Skinner would
smile and nod approvingly. If Fromm held his arm relatively still, Skinner would
look away or appear to be bored with Fromm’s talk. After 5 minutes of such selec-
tive reinforcement, Fromm unknowingly began to flail his arm so vigorously that his
wristwatch kept slipping over his hand.
Like Erich Fromm, each of us is controlled by a variety of social forces and
techniques, but all these can be grouped under the following headings: (1) operant
conditioning, (2) describing contingencies, (3) deprivation and satiation, and
(4) physical restraint (Skinner, 1953).
Society exercises control over its members through the four principal methods
of operant conditioning: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and the two
techniques of punishment (adding an aversive stimulus and removing a positive one).
A second technique of social control is to describe to a person the contingen-
cies of reinforcement. Describing contingencies involves language, usually verbal, to
inform people of the consequences of their not-yet-emitted behavior. Many exam-
ples of describing contingencies are available, especially threats and promises. A
more subtle means of social control is advertising, designed to manipulate people to
purchase certain products. In none of these examples will the attempt at control be
perfectly successful, yet each of them increases the likelihood that the desired re-
sponse will be emitted.
Third, behavior can be controlled either by depriving people or by satiating
them with reinforcers. Again, even though deprivation and satiation are inter-
nal states, the control originates with the environment. People deprived of food are
more likely to eat; those satiated are less likely to eat even when delicious food is
available.
Finally, people can be controlled through physical restraints, such as holding
children back from a deep ravine or putting lawbreakers in prison. Physical restraint
acts to counter the effects of conditioning, and it results in behavior contrary to that
which would have been emitted had the person not been restrained.
Some people might say that physical restraint is a means of denying an indi-
vidual’s freedom. However, Skinner (1971) held that behavior has nothing to do with
personal freedom but is shaped by the contingencies of survival, the effects of rein-
464 Part V Learning Theories