Skinner and psychological development

Abstract

Skinner's contributions about developmental psychology or psychological development are the goal of the present paper. In so doing, the first step is to define the boundaries of the topic. The second step is to explicit some points of Skinner's writings directly related to the genesis of human psychological development, that is philogenetic and ontogenetic histories. It follows with the analysis of the main Development Theories, the most relevant from our cultural point of view, and the functional of behavioral theory of psychological development. An example fixed to this last conceptualization is provided with regard to a very important repertoire in our days, such as the formation and maintenance of beliefs and values.