B.F. Skinner, the man who taught pigeons to play ping-pong 

Over the years, many psychologists have attempted to decode the human mind and its labyrinths. You may have heard of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, two well-reckoned names in the field of psychology. Ever heard of B.F. Skinner? With his extraordinary experiments, this psychologist from Pennsylvania, USA, demonstrated how external factors influence human behaviour. What experiments did he carry out? Well, he taught a rat to pull a lever and a pigeon to play ping-pong! But why did he conduct these experiments, and what was their significance? Let us find out. 

B.F Skinner and his theory 
B.F Skinner is regarded as a renowned psychologist worldwide. He was also an author, inventor and philosopher. However, he first got noticed not as a psychologist, but as an inventor. As a professor at the Indiana University, US, he invented something called the Air Crib Baby Tender. A soundproof, germ-free and air-conditioned box, the crib aimed to provide the best possible environment for a child’s first two years of life.  

In 1948, he joined the Harvard University as a professor of psychology and began developing his behaviourism theory. He was curious about how the experience of reward and punishment shapes actions. Skinner was the first to use the word ‘reinforcement’ in literature and introduce the concept of positive and negative reinforcements! A positive reinforcement is the process of encouraging a pattern of behaviour by giving a reward when the behaviour is exhibited. An example would be kids receiving a reward after getting good grades. Whereas, a negative reinforcement would be promoting a pattern of behaviour by removing a negative outcome. Teaching children to use helmets when riding a bicycle to avoid any injury can be an example of negative reinforcement. Skinner’s two famous experiments, one with pigeons and the other with rats, addressed these concepts and one was even used in World War II (1939 to 1945)! Let’s have a look at these experiments. 

Skimmer’s Pigeon Project 
During World War II, Skinner experimented with ways to guide armed missiles towards their target accurately so that innocent lives are saved. For this project, he chose to take the help of pigeons! Why? Because they are gentle creatures and easy to train. He taught the pigeons to recognise a target, and peck when they saw it. When the pigeons pecked, the missiles would navigate accordingly. The project was named as the Pigeon Project. How did he teach them to do this? By making them play ping-pong! The pigeons did not use a paddle. Instead, they pecked the ball back and forth. If the pigeons successfully passed the ball, they were rewarded with a treat. With the help of positive reinforcement, soon, the pigeons were ready to help the military! The Pigeon Project, however, had one major flaw. Because the missile drop killed the pigeons, a large number of these birds were needed, and the military was unable to fund this. As a result, the project was called off. However, if you want to see the cockpit prototype in which these pigeons pecked and guided the missile, you can go to the American History Museum in Washington DC! 

The Rat Experiment 
The rat experiment, conducted in 1948, is also known as the Skinner Box Experiment. It was quite simple: Skinner placed a rat in a box with a lever. The box was called as the ‘Skinner Box.’ After exploring the box, the rat would accidentally pull the lever; this would result in the falling of a food pellet. The rat, now aware of this food-granting lever, would attempt to pull it when hungry! Skinner also made another lever in a different box which gave small electric shocks when pulled. The rats avoided this lever due to the shock. Thus, they learned to use and avoid levers in various boxes. This experiment supported Skinner’s theory about the effect of positive and negative reinforcement on human behaviour. 

How is Skinner’s theory applicable to us? 
Can you think of any instances where we use his theory? Yes, during dog training! When a dog obeys our command, we reward it with a treat and say, ‘Good boy!’ This is an example of positive reinforcement. We don’t touch a hot stove because it might burn us, just like the electric shock lever. This is an illustration of negative reinforcement. You see how reinforcements can influence our everyday behaviour!