Name: Are Theories of Learning Necessary
Price: 20.55 EUR
Availability: InStock
Author: B. F. Skinner
ISBN: 9781627555272

portada Are Theories of Learning Necessary

Type

Physical Book

Author

B. F. Skinner

Publisher

Wilder Publications

Language

English

Pages

Format

Paperback

Dimensions

22.9 x 15.2 x 0.2 cm

Weight

0.07 kg.

ISBN13

9781627555272

Synopsis "Are Theories of Learning Necessary"

Certain basic assumptions, essential to any scientific activity, are sometimes called theories. That nature is orderly rather than capricious is an example. Certain statements are also theories simply to the extent that they are not yet facts. A scientist may guess at the result of an experiment before the experiment is carried out. The prediction and the later statement of result may be composed of the same terms in the same syntactic arrangement, the difference being in the degree of confidence. No empirical statement is wholly non-theoretical in this sense, because evidence is never complete, nor is any prediction probably ever made wholly without evidence. The term "theory" will not refer here to statements of these sorts but rather to any explanation of an observed fact which appeals to events taking place somewhere else, at some other level of observation, described in different terms, and measured, if at all, in different dimensions. Research designed with respect to theory is also likely to be wasteful. That a theory generates research does not prove its value unless the research is valuable. Much useless experimentation results from theories, and much energy and skill are absorbed by them. Most theories are eventually overthrown, and the greater part of the associated research is discarded. This could be justified if it were true that productive research requires a theory, as is, of course, often claimed. It is argued that research would be aimless and disorganized without a theory to guide it. The view is supported by psychological texts that take their cue from the logicians rather than empirical science and describe thinking as necessarily involving stages of hypothesis, deduction, experimental test, and confirmation. But this is not the way most scientists actually work. It is possible to design significant experiments for other reasons and the possibility to be examined is that such research will lead more directly to the kind of information that a science usually accumulates.

B. F. Skinner

(Author)

View Author's Page

B. F. Skinner was an influential American psychologist and writer, considered one of the central figures of behaviorism. He authored fundamental works in the field of experimental psychology and learning theory, such as Science and Human Behavior (1953), Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971), and About Behaviorism (1974). He also ventured into fiction with Walden Two (1948), a utopian novel based on his behaviorist ideas. All the works mentioned are confirmed as his authorship.

His production is mainly in the genre of scientific essay and psychological dissemination, with key contributions in the analysis of operant behavior. Although he was widely recognized in his lifetime for his academic work, including memberships in institutions such as the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, he did not receive literary awards. His legacy endures as one of the pillars of psychological thought of the 20th century.

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