ov's experiment was the food, which caused the dogs to salivate. The unconditioned stimulus normally elicits this reaction. The neutral stimulus, something that does not normally elicit the same reaction as the unconditioned stimulus, was a tone or bell. When the two were presented together the conditioned stimulus or learned stimulus became the tone and the learned behavior or conditioned response was to salivate. John B. Watson (1878 - 1958) expanded Pavlov's theory into the behaviorism. Due to his contribution he became know as the Father of American Behaviorism. He described behaviorism as the study of overt rather than covert behavior. His emphasis was on objectivity instead of extrospection. This concept was drastically different then the psychoanalytical theory of the time. Burrhus Frederick Skinner (1904 - 1990) led a life that enabled him to take behaviorism to an extreme. His father was an ambitious lawyer and his mother was a bright woman with high moral standards. His younger brother died suddenly at the age of sixteen. Skinner was raised in a small town as a middle class American. His parents did not use physical punishments but their method of child rearing succeeded in teaching their son "to fear God, the police, and what people would think" (Englar 209). As a child, Skinner was fascinated with machines and interested in knowing how things worked. He developed a mechanical device to remind himself to hang up his pajamas, a gadget that enabled him to blow smoke rings without violating his parents prohibition on smoking, and a floatation system to separate ripe elderberries from green ones. As he matured so did his inventions. He worked unsuccessfully for several years on a perpetual motion machine. When his second daughter was born he invented an air crib to simplify her care and give her unrestrained movement in a temperature-controlled space. Unfortunately his air crib never marketed well. Skinner had wanted to become a writer. He majored in English at Hamilton College. He sent some of his short stories to Robert Frost who encouraged him to write. After a while, Skinner realized that he did not have anything important to say so he gave up writing for a while. About this time he read a book by John Watson and Ivan Pavlov, which influenced him to begin graduate work in psychology at Harvard. He got his PhD in 1931. He taught at the University of Minnesota for nine years. He then became the chairman of the department of psychology at Indiana University. He wrote Walden II, a book that describes a utopian society based on psychological principles. He returned to teaching at Harvard. At the age of 86 he died from leukemia. Skinner's was an optimist who believed that the answer lies in recognizing our lack of control, and committing ourselves to being more effectively controlled by a behaviorally designed technology. His idea of radical behaviorism was a stimulus-response theory of psychology can account for all of the overt behaviors that psychologist seek to explain. He also believed that individuals do not actually have a personality. One of Skinner's most important contributions is operant conditioning. He believed that many behaviors couldn't be explained by classic conditioning. He used the term respondent behavior to explain Pavlov's dogs. Respondent behaviors are reflexes or automatic responses that are elicited by stimuli. They are unlearned but may be conditioned or changed through learning. In contrast, operant behaviors are responses emitted without a stimulus necessarily being present. They are acts on the environment, made freely and occurring spontaneously. These behaviors allow for operant conditioning or spontaneous behaviors whose consequences determine their frequency. To test his theory he invented a box with a lever. This box is commonly known as the Skinner box. He used reinforcement, defined as anything that increases the likelihood of a response, to teach animals to push the lever. Since pushi

Some common words found in the essay are:
Walden II, Another Bandura's, Alumnus Award, Miller Dollard, Frederick Skinner, Cognitive Therapy, Okalahoma Lima, Opera Bandura's, John Dollard's, Ivan Pavlov's, rein forcer, rein forcers, unconditioned stimulus, avoidance conflict occurs, behavior followed, cognitive theory, behavior therapy, primary drives, skinner's theory, observational learning, avoidance conflict, cognitive therapy teaches, termination unpleasant situation, behavior followed termination, negative rein forcers,
Approximate Word count = 4616
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page double spaced)