Memorial Presbyterian Church

In America’s history there have been many instances where rewards vs punishments had an impact on people all around the globe. What made Skinner realize this was when his Grandmother told him that if he ever lied he was going to hell. His father then confirmed this idea, leaving him in shambles. Although they often skipped church and were not extremely religious, this had a major impact on his mental health. For years he would lie awake at night sobbing over a lie he had once told and although he wasn’t physically being punished, the mental turmoil that he suffered was enough to impact his ideas as a psychologist where he would focus on rewards rather than punishments. This idea is known as operant conditioning and a perfect example of this in history is the attack on Pearl Harbor which led America to declare war on Japan. The actions of the Japanese led the Americans to become angry and declare war which the Japanese ultimately lost which is an example of positive punishment because the Japanese were punished by being attacked by The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This used something rather than taking something away which is why it is considered positive punishment. This led to Japan surrendering and not declaring war of America again since so the "punishment" did what it was intended to do.

B.F. Skinner. Famous Scientists. https://www.famousscientists.org/b-f-skinner/. 

This biography discusses all of the important milestones in professional psychologist B.F. Skinner's life. Before making some of the most well known discoveries and theories Skinner went to school and wanted to be a writer. Although he failed at first, once he went on to pursue psychology, everything changed. He eventually accomplished this goal and published a novel about exploring the effects of utilizing behaviorism principles in a community of people. His ideas of operant conditioning and rewards versus punishment are so important to history because they give people insight and the ability to look back and reevaluate why something happened the way that it did.

Music Ministry. https://memorialpcusa.org/music-ministry/. 

This source is the website of the actual place that this entry is based off of. Religion played a big role in Skinner's life, regardless of he himself not being a very religious person. The ideas of punishment for his sins haunted him throughout his childhood because the adults that he looked up to led him to believe that he wouldn’t be able to escape his own lies. Skinner's family belonged to a Presbyterian Church similar to The Memorial Presbyterian Church in this website. This church stood out because it is located in my state and has an instrument that has the name Skinner in it which turns out to be completely ironic. This website talks about the history of this church and the religion that it practices. This religion, seemingly unconnected to psychology, led to one of the most famous psychological ideas that is still used today.