Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionV. Learning Theories 15. Skinner: Behavioral
Analysis(^478) © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
brain was activated during the presentation of pleasurable versus bland pictures and,
more importantly, if individual differences in self-reported behavioral activation
were related to this activation.
The researchers found that people who scored higher on the personality vari-
able of behavioral activation experienced increased activation to the pictures of
cake and ice cream in five specific areas of the brain (right and left ventral striatum,
left amygdala, substantia nigra, and left orbitofrontal cortex) than their low behav-
ioral activation counterparts. In other words, the results supported the more general
conclusion that personality is related to differences in biological processes of how
we respond to reward. At this early stage in brain activation research it is hard to
know what increased activation means, but one hypothesis is that the increased ac-
tivation experienced by some individuals makes it more difficult for those individ-
uals to say no to appealing stimuli. If that hypothesis proves to be correct in future
research, it means that personality variables and individual differences in brain ac-
tivation play an important role in health outcomes such as obesity, and suggests
ways that therapists might use rewards to treat such outcomes. More generally, it
also means we will be closer to understanding why and what people find rewarding
and reinforcing.
Critique of Skinner
The maverick psychologist Hans J. Eysenck (1988) once criticized Skinner for ig-
noring such concepts as individual differences, intelligence, genetic factors, and the
whole realm of personality. These claims are only partly true, because Skinner did
recognize genetic factors, and he did offer a somewhat unenthusiastic definition of
personality, saying that it is “at best a repertoire of behavior imparted by an orga-
nized set of contingencies” (Skinner, 1974, p. 149). Although Eysenck’s opinions are
interesting, they do not offer a thoughtful critique of Skinner’s work. How does Skin-
ner’s theory meet the six criteria of a useful theory?
First, because the theory has spawned a great quantity of research, we rate the
theory very high on its ability to generate research.Second, most of Skinner’s ideas
can be either falsified or verified, so we rate the theory high on falsifiability.
Third, on its ability to organize all that is known about human personality,we
give the theory only a moderate rating. Skinner’s approach was to describe behavior
and the environmental contingencies under which it takes place. His purpose was to
bring together these descriptive facts and to generalize from them. Many personality
traits, such as those of the Five-Factor Model, can be accounted for by the principles
of operant conditioning. However, other concepts such as insight, creativity, motiva-
tion, inspiration, and self-efficacy do not fit easily into an operant conditioning
framework.
Fourth, as a guide to action,we rate Skinner’s theory very high. The abun-
dance of descriptive research turned out by Skinner and his followers has made op-
erant conditioning an extremely practical procedure. For example, Skinnerian tech-
niques have been used to help phobic patients overcome their fears, to enhance
compliance to medical recommendations, to help people overcome tobacco and
drug addictions, to improve eating habits, and to increase assertiveness. In fact,
472 Part V Learning Theories